By Sydney Masinga
The labour department is on a national drive to stamp out child labour.
At the last count in 1999, more than 4,8-million of South Africa's 13,4-million children between the ages of 5 and 17 were involved in some form of economic activity.
Yet it is illegal in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act to hire anyone aged 15 or younger.
"Children between the age of 15 and 17 are only allowed to work if there are protective mechanisms in the working environment," said department spokesperson Zolisa Sigaba.
The director of the Campaign Against Child Labour, Francesca Velaphi, said Aids, poverty and being too old for their grade resulted in many children seeking jobs.
"You find that households that take care of Aids orphans require them to work excessive hours, or to do work that is inappropriate for their age," said Velaphi.
Poverty at home also causes children to seek jobs on farms or in factories, where they are often exploited.
"Neglect by parents also causes children to go out and look for ways to make a living, like prostitution, for example," said Velaphi.
She said if labour inspectors stopped a child from working, however, the child needed to be offered an alternative, such as being helped to access social grants.
The justice system also needed to clamp down on adults who use children to commit crime, she added.
"These adults should be made to take responsibility. We must not let the children face the music alone," she said.
In 2006, governments and civil society organisations from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland met in Johannesburg to share ideas on how to combat child labour in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sigaba said it was estimated that more than 50 million children in sub-Saharan Africa between the ages of 5 and 14 were economically active.
The Campaign Against Child Labour began on April 16 and ends on May 16. - African Eye News Service