Effective public-private partnership: Key in eradicating child labour in Malawi - Page 2

n Plan Malawi wants Employment Act revised n Tobacco companies fight child labour in Kasungu, Dowa Page 3 Page 10

Special pullout the nation 5 September 2012

hot
malawi national child labour conference inStitutionS

Special interview

effective public-private partnership:

Key in eradicating child labour in malawi

the following institutions and organisations are promoting the eradication of child labour in malawi
1. alliance one

he international labour organisation (ilo) estimates that globally, 60 percent of all children in hazardous work aged 517 years work in agriculture. Globally, over 129 million girls and boys undertake work that is damaging to their mental, physical and emotional development. it is, therefore, not surprising that agriculture is one of the three most dangerous sectors in terms of work-related fatalities, non-fatal accidents and occupational diseases for children. malawi, where agriculture is the backbone of its economy, forms one of the largest platform of child labour, especially in tobacco estates. ahead of this years national conference on child labour, our correspondent FatSani GunYa caught up with the minister of labour eunice makangala to shed more light on the child labour situation in the country and how best it is being combated. Q: how bad is child labour in malawi? a: i would say the image is not good as the current statistics are not in our favour. a number of studies done in the country have shown that child labour exists in different sectors of our economy. the 2002 malawi child labour Survey revealed that there were 3.8 million children in the 5-17 years age range, representing 34 percent of the estimated countrys population. of these, 1.4 million or 37 percent were engaged in child labour. Q: the international labour organisation (ilo) Worst Forms of child labour convention no. 182 (1999) defines the worst forms of child labour as all forms of slavery, trafficking of children and forced recruitment for armed conflict, use of children in illicit activities, sexual exploitation and hazardous work. What are the common forms of child labour in malawi? a: according to the study i alluded to earlier, the agriculture sector had the largest share, with 53 percent of the child labourers. the same is true on the global scale where child labourers form the majority of workers in the sector. however, subsequent studies, notably the 2006 multiple indicator cluster Survey (micS) undertaken by malawi Government in collaboration with unicef showed a decline in the prevalence of child labour from 37 percent to 2 percent. this is evidence that steady progress is being made in the fight against child labour. Q: For claritys sake, who is a child? a: For the purpose of child labour, the employment act defines a child as any person below the age of 18 years. however, considering the level of our economic development (poverty levels), the act makes it permissible for children aged 14-17 to be employed, but only where the work involved is light.

2. Farmers union

3. ahl

4. limbe leaf

5. plan malawi

Q: What then is child labour or when does it occur? a: child labour is defined as the economic exploitation of a child or performance of work by a child that is likely to be hazardous to the childs health, physical, mental, social or moral development of the child or work that interferes with the childs education (convention on the rights of the child). child labour occurs when one or more of the following manifest: children working at too early an age; working for many hours; working under physical and psychological stress or in dangerous conditions or it can be some work that prevents or prejudices the childs attendance at school. in short, child labour is work that interferes with schooling and is damaging to the health and personal development of children. another important feature of child labour is that it is also associated with very early entry into work, sometimes between 5 and 7 years of age. it is defined on the basis of a childs age, hours and conditions of work, activities performed and hazards. the ilo minimum age for employment convention no. 138 (1973) sets the minimum age for children to work at 15 years in general. For hazardous work, the age is 18. Q: Why are there increased efforts to curb child labour now? a: i believe it is coming now simply because previous studies discovered that the malpractice is, to some extent, sponsored. For instance, within the agricultural sector, plantations or estates and family farms were found to be main users of child labour. most children worked as unpaid family members in farms or as members of the family of tenants on the tobacco plantations. its all about maximising efficiency with cheap labour which is not helped by the countrys poor economic status. in few cases where such labourers are paid; the wages are so low that one

makangala: child labour dehumanises children can hardly survive on them. usually, labourers work on handto-mouth basis, with nothing to show for their toil. the situation becomes worse when it comes to child labourers. involving them only dehumanises them. this is where we need to be critical in our approach. Q: most children work as a result of widespread poverty at household level, which forces them to work in order to supplement family incomes. are there any other factors? a: other factors include harmful cultural practices, particularly those which discourage or interfere with school attendance or encourage early marriages. however, of late, most victims are hiV and aids orphans who are forced to fend for themselves. Q: Why is child labour a concern? a: apart from the physical harm that child labour inflicts on the children involved, child labour has the effect of depriving children their right to education which is key for them to develop into productive citizens necessary for the development of any nation. the children are also deprived of their dignity as human beings since most of them are treated inhumanly due to their immaturity. Q: how committed is government in the fight against the malpractice? a: over the years, government has scaled up its commitment towards the elimination of child labour through several ways. one of them is through establishing relevant legislation and policies. For example, in 1999, government ratified some international instruments relating to child labour namely the international labour conventions 138 on minimum age of admission into employment and 182. this one touches on the Worst Forms of child labour. We are also a signatory to the united nations convention on the rights of the child (crc). We also enacted into laws and adopted some policies on child labour. these include the republican constitution; the employment act of 2000; the child care, protection and Justice act of 2010; the orphans and other Vulnerable children policy; and we also have the national code of conduct on child labour which was developed in 2004. Q: are labour issues covered in the malawi Growth Development Strategy (mGDS) ii? a: one of the areas in the

6. Save the children

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PhotograPh: James ChimPhweya

Special pullout the nation 5 September 2012

plan malawi wants employment act revised

FatSani GunYa Correspondent lan, an international organisation seeking to promote child welfare globally, says the fight against child labour in the country may continue facing challenges unless the employment act is revised urgently. the act, which was enacted in 2000 prohibits any form of employment of persons under the age of 14, but allows for employment in light work only for those between the ages of 14 and 17. however, without stiff legal penalties, it is difficult to force farm owners to respect the law, according to macDonald mumba, plan malawi rights of the child adviser. Some estates follow anti-child labour regulations, but others purposefully flaunt the law in the interest of higher profits. to put real pressure on farmers, we need stiff punishment and prison terms, mumba said. he added that some quarters will continue exploiting children in their quest of cheap labour, taking advantage of the current legislation which, he said, is weak. mumba suggested that much as his organisation would have loved to see the act revised immediately for it to be tandem with modern fines and penalties, authorities must be given a maximum of one year for proper consultation. his remarks confirms internet sources that report that during the past few years, only 49 farm owners of Kasungus 22 000 registered tobacco farms had been prosecuted and most of them got away with fines of around K8 000 only, according to mumba.

there is lack of alternative solutions for the withdrawn children that had been driven into the problem due to lack of provision for basic needs. the employment act is one of the legislations that touch on addressing child labour, but does not provide for stiff penalties against offenders. there is need to increase the concerted efforts of addressing child labour in the country, particularly in terms of capacitating families and undertaking some law reform to zero in on providing for stiffer penalties against offenders of child labour, said mumba. plan malawi believes that major factors behind the high prevalence of child labour include family poverty and employers inclination to exploitation labour, but was quick to highlight what it called limited enforcement of the existing legislation due to lack of political will as the major culprit. mumba, therefore, said government has a big incentive to protect tobacco farmers. malawi is the worlds fifth biggest tobacco producer and an estimated 70 percent of the countrys export earnings come from tobacco. therefore, the specialist called for legal frameworks to be put in place so as to help foster the rehabilitation and re-integration of children withdrawn from child labour practices both from farms and on the domestic scene. meanwhile, plan malawi has also expressed gratitude on the countrys hosting of the international conference on child labour, saying it is a chance for children to advocate for their own rights. We hope stakeholders are going to see this as an opportunity to help children rediscover their lost voices, said rejoice phiri, the organizations

Some children miss school to help with chores

mumba: children need to rediscover their lost voice

communications officer. She called on various stakeholders in the fight against the child labour malpractice to improve coordination which she noted continues to show

a decimal performance despite increased initiatives aimed at curbing the malpractice in the country. commenting recently on the same

when plan malawi celebrated 17 years in the country, director for child development affairs in the ministry of Gender, children and community

Development hyacinth Kulemeka said government treats the organisation as a true partner and as such, will continue lobbying for more and effective legislation and policies on child protection. Since its inception in 1994 here in malawi, plan has been a trusted friend of the government in ensuring that everyone is given an opportunity to succeed in life through its various programmes in many of our communities. For such organisations, we have put necessary legal framework and policies to create a conducive working environment, she said. plan international works with about 27 million children in 48 countries worldwide since its inception in 1937. among other highlights in fighting for child rights globally, the organisation through its because i am a Girl campaign, has been instrumental in the adoption of october 11 by the un as the international Day of the Girl child. n

PhotograPh: FatsaNi guNya

PhotograPh: NatioN library

Special pullout the nation 5 September 2012

MALAWI LAKE BASIN PROGRAMME AND HUMAN RIGHTS SOCIAL JUSTICE ON ANTI CHILD LABOUR
By: Chikondi Chabvuta
this year, the World Day against child labor will provide a spotlight on the right of all children to be protected from child labor and from other violations of fundamental human rights. World Day 2012 is about highlighting the work that needs to be done to make the roadmap to end child labor, a reality. human rights are one aspect that is mainstreamed in malawi lake basin programme (mlbp) which is a consortium organization that comprises of malawi union of Savings and cooperatives (muScco), Farmers union of malawi (Fum), Swedish cooperative centre (Scc), Vi agroforestry, and national Smallholder Farmers association (naSFam). these organizations are working together to ensure that farmers make a quantum leap from poverty and allow consortium members to have a more visible presence at the household level. the overall goal is to improve livelihoods and reduce poverty for the rural poor households in programme areas. mlbp is anti-child labour and it ensures the fight on child labor in all its initiatives which revolve around improving the livelihoods of the rural malawian. this approach is implemented using rights based approach, and together with other international human rights instruments, the programme ensures that children are not part of the workers participating in the initiatives. instead the programme encourages children who are of school going age to attend school to end illiteracy cycle. this is embedded more in the empowerment programme of adult literacy which focuses on teaching women and men to read and write and also empower them to be their own change agents using the regenerated Freirean literacy through empowering community techniques (reFlect) approach to learning. this is an approach to adult literacy that uses participatory rural appraisal (pra) and leads to strong ownership of the issues that come up. During the programme implementation, there are role modelling points that take place by the staff that ensures that when carrying out mobilization work, children see the benefits of school and hence encouraged to go to school instead of repeating the cycle of poverty. the children in the target areas are being encouraged to attend school to be educated and acquire skills that prepare them for decent work as adults. mlbp believes that when these children enter the labour market prematurely, they are deprived of this critical education and training that can help to lift them, their families and communities out of a poverty cycle. this is arrived at because, in its worst forms, child labourers may also be exposed to physical, psychological or moral suffering that can cause long term damage to their lives and hence development work would prove futile as the root cause of poverty would not be addressed. Given the challenges of poverty and limited labour law enforcement in remote areas the inclusion, ownership and commitment of local communities is key to achieving sustainable solutions. innovative approaches that combine community ownership and agricultural solutions with rights-based action to ensure both sufficient income and food security on the one hand and effective implementation of initiatives on the other hand, are encouraged and widely used in all mlbp initiatives. Strategically, mlbp has the gender mainstreaming component to ensure that the initiatives being targeted are strengthening families ability to earn decent incomes, food availability and nutrition which empowers families to send their children to school rather than to work. that is why the programmes are supporting income diversification through Group Savings and loans (GSls), village banking, establishment of cooperatives; risk resilience through agronomical programmes, natural resource management through conservation farming, afforestation and reforestation programs just to mention a few. this is to ensure that rural livelihoods are improved by transforming subsistence and emergent smallholders in agriculture into business oriented enterprises through cooperatives. the programme has four sub-components in which, the gender and hiV/aiDS component is mainstreamed, aimed at achieving the overall objective and the specific objectives without hindering on anyones rights. Without respecting child rights, just like all other gender groups does not ensure sustainable businesses. the programme also ensures targeting the root causes of child labor, thereby helping to provide sustainable solutions for addressing child labor in development. Raising Awareness mlbp holds open days to sensitize on the dangers of child labor and promotes the rights of children. this is done to sensitize on the rights that children have, and to boost school attendance in the target areas where the programme is operating. the open days encourage plays, dramas, poetry and dance to bring the message home on the dangers of child labor. they also aim to sensitize the communities on the importance of sending their children to school. children take part on the sensitization through poetry and they usually bring out domestic issues that are hampering the rights of children which the community may deem appropriate but is harmful and is going against the childrens rights. With these programmes, the treatment of children in communities has improved and children are able to speak out on their issues and their rights are respected. have a fountain of knowledge nearby to help them excel in their education. Youth Clubs there are also youth clubs that are being supported by the programme which are used as agents of spreading the messages against child labor. the clubs have children ranging from 10-25 years old. they are available in the target areas. this is where they also get equipped about their rights among many other topics which they later use drama, poetry, and dance to relay the same to their audiences. these clubs are also used to generate and share knowledge on human rights especially child rights. Support groups there are also support groups in the target areas that deal with issues of early childhood development. these groups offer counselling services to abused children and encourage dropouts to get back into school. there are also Gender based Violence committees in place that look into any barbaric acts those children are facing and they ensure to bring the perpetrators to justice by the laws of the country.

Children singing a song anti child abuse and raising awareness on their rights Capacity development this is done at staff level and down to study circles and GSls on mainstreaming of child labour through mainstreaming efforts of the mlbp. the use of reFlect as an approach to eradicating illiteracy, and Study circles which aim to empower the communities as they are learning the different concepts, are some of the approaches used to raise awareness of human rights. mlbp takes into account the fact that development has to go hand in hand with respect to human rights. mlbps use of rights-based approach aims to strengthen the capacity of the organizations and empower the beneficiaries of the programme for more sustainable development and an enhanced environment receptive of development.

A play showing child abuses and how this hinders development in Tembwe, Salima Information Centers the programme has also established resource centers for the youth. these centers have different books that the children can read for their education as well as general information on social issues. this initiative is aimed at encouraging children to amass enough knowledge which will empower them in their education as well as social life. considering there are many children in the villages with no or little access to literature, this initiative will expose them to the world of knowledge as they now

Special pullout the nation 5 September 2012

makangala calls for joint effort in dealing with child labour

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national strategy to be addressed is child labour. again, government, through the ministry, which i now head, has developed what we call the Decent Work country programme (DWcp) spanning from 2011 to 2015 where child labour is high on the agenda. Further to this, the ministry also launched the child labour national action plan (nap) in 2010 as a strategy for mobilising resources and scaling up the fight against child labour in a more coordinated manner. under nap, government has set as its overall goal the elimination of the worst forms of child labour by 2016. Q: Some quarters have argued that policies, charters and plans rarely bring about the needed change in society, adding that such initiatives die during conception as they never materialise. has the national action plan on child labour yielded any results since it was launched? a: of course; yes. and the results are enormous. So far, nap has helped government secure support from several partners: the united States Department of labour (uSDol) is currently funding the Support to the national action plan (Snap) project which is being implemented by the international labour organisation, international programme on the elimination of child labour (ilo/ipec). Sensing that tobacco, as our main foreign exchange earner, attracts large numbers of child labour involvement, there is also the elimination of child labour in tobacco Growing (eclt) foundation. the foundation is also financing the child labour elimination actions for real change (clear) project which is being implemented by Save the children. the project is targeting tobacco growing areas in mchinji, ntchisi and rumphi. it aims to achieve sustainable withdrawal of child labourers through the improvement of access to quality education and the provision of basic social amenities and services at district and community levels, among others. the objective is to reduce child labour through improvements in education opportunities, awareness and economic empowerment of tobacco growing communities in the project areas in lilongwe and ntcheu. of late, another tobacco buying companythe Japanese tobacco international (Jti) has provided funding to the ilo/ipec to implement the achieving reduction of child labour in Support of education. Q: commercial agriculture especially in tobacco is said to be one area where child labour is manifest. are there some direct action programmes against the malpractice on that front? a: there is a project specifically for that. its called child labour in commercial agriculture (ilo/ipec commagri). it was implemented from 2002 to 2005 in the tobacco growing districts of mchinji, Kasungu and mzimba. it used two approaches one of which was direct action whereby the interventions involved combating child labour through prevention, withdrawal and rehabilitation of children. rehabilitation was done by way of providing alternatives to withdrawn children and reintegrating in the society. it also involved withdrawal through improving working conditions of children by removing the hazards from their work or moving them to light work. the second approach had a developmental focus in such a way that child labour was tackled by addressing the social and economic deprivations and needs of the families in the project areas. Q: is there anything on advocacy and prevention, since it seems that most of the interventions are reactive? a: there is another stream of action programmes that have focused on exactly these components. Several national and community advocacy and awareness raising campaigns aimed at sensitizing the masses on the evils of employing children have been conducted by the labour officers and some non-governmental organizations. the ministrys child labour unit continued with monitoring and inspection of workplaces as part of enforcement of the labour legislation. Q: is government satisfied with the mainstreaming of child labour issues by its social partners and other stakeholders? a: i can say we are not complaining. in fact, we are more than overwhelmed by the response from our partners and various stakeholders. it only shows that child labour is really an ill thats supposed to be eradicated earlier than later, and this surely needs concerted efforts. So far, there has been some initiatives from such partners that include: workers organizations (trade unions) incorporating child labour issues in their workers education programme; with decentralisation now in full swing, it is important to note that district councils have budget lines for child labour in their District implementation plans and child protection Strategy. FG: What do you think has helped consolidate the child labour elimination agenda in the country? em: there are many factors, but i believe the establishment of the national labour network in 2007 has improved networking and collaborating among stakeholders in child labour eliminations efforts.. again, the fact that the elimination is now an integral part of the national development strategy as articulated in the mDGS ii and the malawi Decent Work country programme. as a result, child labour activities are funded through both other recurrent transactions (ort) and Development Funding that have seen scaling up of child labour elimination by the ministrys child labour unit. Q: With the national conference on child labour underway in lilongwe, do you have any special message to the nation? a: the fight against child labour requires a multi-sectoral and multistakeholder approach because of the enormous challenges of the problem both in terms of magnitude and complexity of the causal factors. child labour exists in almost all sectors of the economy ranging from the domestic sector in individual households spread throughout the country to big industrial establishments in the formal economy. there is also an urgent need now than ever before to enact a law on tenancy labour as the system presents particularly serious challenges to the fight against child labour. otherwise, i wish the delegates fruitful discussions for a better malawi. n

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FatSani GunYa Correspondent eople in some parts of Kasungu and Dowa Districts are reaping the fruits of the tobacco industry despite the leaf continuing to fetch mixed fortunes on the market in the recent growing seasons. this comes in the wake of some interventions a consortium of tobacco buying companies has been funding for the past six years in Katalima and Suza in the respective districts. the interventions, aimed at mitigating and eradicating child labour previously reported to be rampant in the two districts where the countrys green gold is largely grown, are funded under the integrated child labour elimination project (iclep). alliance one international, british american tobacco (bat) malawi company and africa leaf are some of the major buyers funding the project. established in 2002, iclep strengthens community response to combating child labour in tobacco growing through inter-related interventions of education, health, food security and water and sanitation. With emphasis placed on building strong and sustainable capacity to support withdrawn and other vulnerable children in the projects impact area, iclep is implemented in the districts by the creative centre for community mobilization (creccom), total land care, lifeline malawi and the nkhoma ccap Synod of. these stakeholders are initiating projects in promoting health, primary school education, and sustainable agriculture with a bias towards climate change adaptation and mitigation among communities with an aim of reducing the occurrence of child labour in the districts. Speaking recently at nguza primary School in Kasungu, former secretary for the ministry of labour andrina mchiela hailed the companies for the initiative, calling it a positive step towards eradicating child labour in the country. its compelling to find that these buyers are willing to assist the country kick-out child labour by making sure that they buy child-labour free tobacco, a field where most of the victims are allegedly employed, She said. mchiela added that the vice could long be gone by now had such interventions begun long before. of course they [the companies] may not have addressed every problem

Special pullout the nation 5 September 2012

tobacco companies fight child labour in Kasungu, Dowa

most child labour takes place in tobacco industry

with this project, but if truth be told; they have done a tremendous job worthy emulating, she said. She therefore urged other stakeholders to join forces with government to completely eliminate the malpractice if the country is to forge ahead with its development agenda that hinges mainly on the agricultural sector. however, there are fears that more than 200 000 people in Kasungu risk getting poor health service delivery or no services at all this year should no new interventions be identified urgently. this comes amid concerns that the only health lifeline communities from most parts of chief mwases area, which has been running for the past six years in the district, is to wind up soon. according to lifeline malawi, who have been providing reliable health services to the communities in complimenting the existing meagre health facilities in the impact area, the withdrawal will be disastrous once the project phases out. For the past six years, the organization-through its mobile clinic component-has been offering the communities integrated health services including family planning and hiV and aids, in a project called integrated child labour elimination project (iclep). Speaking in an interview, lifeline malawi operations manager Gift Dula said their component has been crucial in alleviating the communities dire health status which has

Dula: We visit the centres once a week

beneficiaries get drugs from a mobile clinic centre at nguza primary School in Kasungu

been made worse with the hiV and aids pandemic. We have seven centres under our care, which means that we visit each one once a week which is inadequate if their health needs are anything to go by, he said. he added that on monthly average, his team of a clinician, a nurse, a dispenser and a

patient attendant-with the aid of health surveillance assistants-caters about 16 000 in all the centres from a catchment area of 25 group village headmen. Dula also said lifeline malawi attended to 158 000 last year alone with malaria and maskeletol pains topping the list of ailments.

the project, which stands to benefit 65 000 household, was being funded by a consortium of tobacco buying companies as a gesture of contributing to the fight against child labour said to be plummeted by tobacco farming in the district. initially, we wanted to conduct the under-five clinics alone as it is done in most government such centres but we found it hard to mind the childs health while neglecting that of the parent. but we may not strain ourselves any longer if reinforcements do not come urgently, bemoaned Dula. according to Village head chinsinde, the current health status detrimentally affects the schooling of children in the area. if nothing comes to our rescue, all these interventions by various stakeholders to keep the child in school will prove futile as the children will have to walk long distances to get health services or play guardian to their ailing relations once admitted at Kasungu [District hospital]. he however hailed the gesture by the tobacco buying companies and their partners for initiating the project whose fruits the village headman said have left a long-lasting legacy. the impact area; made of Suza, Katalima, mambala, Kaphaizi, nguzi, chipanga among others, is located north of Kasungu boma with nguzi the nearest at 16 kilometres. With the phase-out looming, the district hospital remains the peoples only option. n

PhotograPh: FatsaNi guNya

PhotograPh: FatsaNi guNya

PhotograPh: FatsaNi guNya

Special pullout the nation 5 September 2012

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Special pullout the nation 5 September 2012