Namibia's working children

Child labour is a global problem which is mostly driven by poverty and, Namibia has not escaped untouched in this regard.
Jana-Mari Smith
International watchdogs have in recent years commended the Namibian government for stepping up efforts to address child labour and human trafficking, a problem described as significant in parts of the country.

Still, red flags have been raised by the international community around worrying gaps in legislation, enforcement, oversight and services, which dilute Namibia's efforts to reduce child labour. The suggested to-do list includes implementing draft legislation to tighten oversight and prosecution, as well as care services for victims of child labour and human trafficking, activities that at times overlap. A 2012 report published by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the worst forms of child labour in Namibia, found that child labour is a “major concern” in Namibia. According to the ILO report, cases of child labour in Namibia mostly fall under hazardous work, which is defined as “work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children”.

Studies have found that child labour in Namibia can be linked to severe poverty, ignorance of the benefits of education, and a lack of understanding on what constitutes child labour and its harmful impact on the development of children and communities.

Bro-Matthew Shinguadja of the Namibian labour ministry told Namibian Sun said “family poverty, migration, absence of parental care, lack of education or nearby school facilities, school dropouts, food insecurity and traditional practices, and lack of understanding and awareness” are risk factors for child labour.

He said although allegations of child labour have been made over the past three years, “particularly from domestic households, communal farms and informal businesses”, none of the investigations concluded as child labour cases for prosecution purposes, he said.

Not all work done by children is classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination.

The ILO clarified that children's or adolescents' participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling is generally regarded as being something positive.

This includes activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays.

“These kinds of activities contribute to children's development and to the welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience, and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life.” In Namibia, the Labour Act states that a child under the age of 14 may not be employed, and children aged 14 to 15 must be protected from work that could harm their health or development or undermine their education.

The 2013 'Decent work country profile' on Namibia stated that the government and trade unions have “taken a clear stand against child labour and forced labour” through the ratification of global conventions and national legislation. Nevertheless, the report pointed out that in Namibia child labour remains “widespread”.



International input

A report on the worst forms of child labour in Namibia by the United States department of labour in 2016 concluded that while Namibia has made “moderate advancement” in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in Namibia, and more needs to be done.

The report found that children in Namibia “are trafficked within the country for forced labour in agriculture, cattle herding, domestic work, and commercial sexual exploitation”.

The US department of state 2017 Trafficking in Persons report made similar findings.

This report highlighted the development of the draft national action plan against child labour and domestic work, Namibia's participation in the global combatting human trafficking initiative and reactivating the inter-ministerial committee on child labour. Namibia has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labour and established laws and regulations related to child labour, including its worst forms, but notable legislative gaps and social services targeting child labour in agriculture remain.

In January, Martha Newton, deputy undersecretary for international affairs at the US department of labour, said the country specific reports are aimed at identifying concrete actions and frameworks to address illegal child labour. “What these reports can do is help shine a light,” she said and, when necessary, “put feet to the fire” of countries struggling or neglecting to tackle the problem.

The US labour department's child labour reports are aimed at promoting a fair global playing field for workers in the United States and the world by “enforcing trade commitments, strengthening labour standards, and combating international child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking”.



Root causes

Marcia Eugenio, director in the office of child labour, forced labour and human trafficking at the US department of labour said, in many cases, illegal labour can be traced back to poverty and other social challenges. She added that some parents do not recognise the benefits of education, especially “if they think my child won't become a doctor, or a lawyer, anyway”. For many households the priority is to put food on the table instead. A major focus of the labour reports, Eugenio explained, is legislation, which provides a powerful tool to address child labour, and human trafficking, if implemented.

“Just raising awareness in and of itself helps, but it doesn't put food on the table.” A child labour study from 2010 in four northern regions of Namibia identified “ignorance among some rural communities” about the value of education as a push factor into child labour. Other push factors included “traditional and cultural beliefs, expectations and practices”, in addition to teenage pregnancies, alcohol and drug abuse, lack of adequate community services, and long distances between homes and schools.

Moreover, an “increasing need for cheap labour and preference for younger people as a more affordable and convenient labour source” was another contributing factor.

In some cases, young women were forced to drop out of school to help raise families. The main consequences of child labour are poor school performance, examination failure and school dropouts, the authors found.

Eugenio emphasised that addressing the root causes, including poverty, discrimination and lack of opportunities, especially for women, are key steps to end child labour.

“How do you ensure that the people are able to earn a living and put food on the table without having to use their children,” is a crucial way to look at the problem, she said.



International shame

According to the ILO globally, child labour has decreased by nearly 40%, from 246 million in 2000 to 152 million in 2016. Among them, 152 million are victims of child labour, almost half of them, 73 million, work in hazardous child labour.

Many are concerned that the pace of reducing child labour is slowing down. Nearly one in ten children in the world are in child labour, and the proportion of children in child labour in sub-Saharan Africa continues to increase, with one in five children in child labour. The US labour department has warned that despite progress, “much more needs to be done in most countries to ensure effective labour and criminal law enforcement, as well as coordinating mechanisms and social programmes that offer the protection that children deserve.”

The report further warned “even the most perfectly crafted statutes, are meaningless if they are not enforced.”



Working towards success

During targeted labour inspections in 2010 and 2011 in Namibia, a number of suspected child labour cases were investigated, but technicalities, such as “lack of acceptable proof of age rendered the suspected cases not being investigated for prosecution,” permanent secretary Shinguadja told Namibian Sun.

Shinguadja admitted that “awareness and collaboration still need improvement and all responsible state institutions are working towards improvement in this area.”

A key step has been the launch of the inter-ministerial committee that has the mandate on child labour.

The committee has developed a plan for targeted joint inspections to uncover and process possible cases of child labour. Further, the committee has trained labour inspectors, carried out awareness initiatives and established a SMS hotline (66111), to which complaints of suspected child labour cases can be reported.

*This article is based on an international reporting tour attended in January 2018 in the United States by Namibian Sun journalist Jana-Mari Smith on invitation by the US Department of State's Foreign Press Centre. She joined 19 other journalists from around the world to help create awareness and gain insight into combating human trafficking through prevention, protection and prosecution.











JANA-MARI SMITH

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-11-23

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment

Katima Mulilo: 20° | 36° Rundu: 20° | 37° Eenhana: 22° | 36° Oshakati: 25° | 35° Ruacana: 22° | 36° Tsumeb: 23° | 36° Otjiwarongo: 22° | 35° Omaruru: 23° | 36° Windhoek: 23° | 34° Gobabis: 23° | 35° Henties Bay: 14° | 19° Swakopmund: 14° | 16° Walvis Bay: 13° | 20° Rehoboth: 23° | 35° Mariental: 24° | 38° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 39° Aranos: 28° | 38° Lüderitz: 13° | 25° Ariamsvlei: 23° | 40° Oranjemund: 13° | 21° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 22° | 36° Lubumbashi: 17° | 32° Mbabane: 18° | 31° Maseru: 16° | 32° Antananarivo: 17° | 31° Lilongwe: 22° | 33° Maputo: 23° | 31° Windhoek: 23° | 34° Cape Town: 17° | 27° Durban: 20° | 25° Johannesburg: 19° | 31° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 22° | 33° Harare: 21° | 31° #REF! #REF!