Child Labour

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

There are over four hundred million children involved in child labour globally. About 250 million of these children between five and fourteen years are found in developing countries. In Africa half of the children engaged in child labour work exclusively, while the other half combines schooling with work (U.S Department of Labour: 2002). In Zambia the child labour situation is similar to that reported in other countries. The 2005 Child Labour survey report indicates that 895,246 children are child labourers and 64 percent of these combine school and work. These children work under conditions that are harmful to their health and education and this threatens their normal psychological and social development.

According to Liebel (2004), there has been a steady increase in the number of children who are caring for themselves, and their siblings. This increase has been attributed to growing poverty and the spread of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The U.S. Department of Labour (ibid) reveals that about 15 percent of children aged fifteen or younger have lost one or both parents in Zambia. The increase in the number of orphans has put pressure on the traditional extended family system, which for many years has acted as a social safety net. This is because many families that take in orphans have themselves been affected by the AIDS pandemic. This has resulted in an increase in homes headed by children or grand parents, most of whom have no sources of income. Children from such homes are forced to become child labourers in order for them to provide or supplement the family's income for their own survival (Liebel: ibid).

In A Rapid Assessment of HIV and AIDS, and Child Labour conducted in Lusaka, Copperbelt and Eastern Provinces, Mushingeh et al (2003) report that at least a third of the 306 child labourers interviewed stated that one or both of their parents had died from AIDS related complications. The non-orphaned children had parents who were unemployed because of chronic illness; this diminished the capacity of these parents to support their children. The result was that such children were forced into child labour. The children were mostly involved in petty vending on the street and markets, quarrying and stone breaking, fetching water, household and domestic chores, picking bottles and prostitution.

Greenberger and Steinberg (1986) affirm this when they argue that several studies they conducted on children's involvement in work in North and South America show that working more than fifteen hours a week is associated with poor school performance, an increase in anti-social activity that includes drug and alcohol use, and misconduct in school. In addition children in child labour have high incidence of deviant behaviour and difficulty relating with peers and parents.

Not only does child labour negatively affect the physical and psychological development of children, but it also denies them their rights. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), article 32 recognizes the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development. To this end the article urges states parties to provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment, provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and condition of employment and provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of the article. In addition ILO Convention (No.182) of 1999, prohibits all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, forced or compulsory labour, debt bonding, prostitution, pornography or work that is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children (ILO/IPEC: 2007).

1.1 Statement of the Problem

The child labour problem in Zambia is pervasive and it has been growing steadily over the years. In the 1999 Child Labour Survey, it was reported that 72,704 children were found to be combining school and work. In less than ten years this number had increased to an estimated 575,000. Child labour has adverse effects on the physical, psychological, social and intellectual development of the child. According to Nkandela (2001), the hazardous environments that children work in (mining, quarrying and trading) are likely to expose them to psychological and social risks. These children are also exposed to physical harm and report problems such as headaches, chest pains and bruises resulting from job related fights. The children are also exposed to diseases such as coughing, malaria and sexually transmitted infections. The International Labour Organisation, ILO (2005) in a paper presented during a workshop organized to build capacity on child labour in Chililabombwe, revealed that child labour denies children the ability to realize their educational capacity. It was reported that child labour also exposes children to mental, physical and psychological problems through exposure to vices such as drug abuse, early marriages, child prostitution and criminal activities

1.2 Aim of the study

The aims of the current study were:

1. To examine the psychological and social impact of child labour on children

2. To examine the impact of child labour on children's school attendance.

1.3 Specific Objectives

The research seeks to examine the relationships between:

1. a) Child labour and absenteeism from school.

b) Child labour and children's emotional well being.

c) Child labour and children's social conduct.

2. To find out the views of children on child labour

1.4 Significance of the Study

According to Woodhead (2004), many researchers have made advances in accurately determining the negative impacts of child labour that affect children's physical development. Unfortunately there has been little or no progress made in identifying dangers that impact children's psychological wellbeing. Woodhead explains that most physical hazards and their impact on children's wellbeing can easily be seen. However, the impacts of negative psychosocial hazards on children are not easily identifiable even though they present a much greater risk