Child labour in Swaziland

Swaziland ratified both the ILO Minimum Age Convention (C138) and the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (C182) in 2002. In addition, the country also ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995. It also signed the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in 1995, but has not ratified it as yet.

No dedicated child labour survey has been conducted in Swaziland and little data exist that could illustrate the nature and extent of child labour in Swaziland. However, the 1997 Population and Housing Census found that 2,992 children between 12 and 14 were employed in Swaziland at the time. An additional 18,064 children between the ages of 15 - 19 were employed.

Studies are being finalised by 2008 to give a clearer picture of the extent and nature of child labour in the country.

Swaziland’s Employment Act is the principal law governing employment-related matters. It defines a child as a person below the age of 15 years and a young person as a person between the ages of 15 and 17 years.

Between 2006 and 2008 the country has been in the process of formulating its Strategy and Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, which was nationally endorsed on 1 April 2008.^[1] This was done with the assistance of the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) programme Towards the Elimination of the worst forms of Child Labour. A discussion document, summarising available information on child labour, and analysing existing policies, was published in 2007, and this formed the starting point for the formulation of the action plan.

The development and implementation of the programme is guided by a Programme Advisory Committee on Child Labour (PACC), representing government departments, organised labour and business, and civil society.

The different elements of the process are described in this article.

References