Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2020, publiée 109ème session CIT (2021)

Convention (n° 182) sur les pires formes de travail des enfants, 1999 - Zimbabwe (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report and the supplementary information provided in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020).

The Committee notes the observations of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) received on 31 August 2019 and 29 September 2020, respectively.

Article 4(3) of the Convention. Periodic examination of the list of hazardous work. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that following the adoption of the Labour Amendment Act of 2015, focus would be given to the revision of its supporting regulations, including the list of the types of hazardous work. 

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the amendments to the Labour Act are still ongoing and that once the draft Bill is adopted, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare will proceed to revise the list of types of hazardous work. Observing that the Government has been referring to the revision of the list of types of hazardous work since 2003, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years is revised, adopted and enforced, in the near future. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s information that it had been implementing the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) as well as the School Feeding Programme in order to ensure that vulnerable children are able to go to school and to ensure their attendance and retention in schools. The Committee noted, however, from the UNESCO Education For All National Review 2015, Zimbabwe, that while school enrolments remained relatively high, about 30 per cent of the approximately 3 million children enrolled in primary school did not complete the seven-year primary cycle. This report also indicated that the Government efforts were far from meeting the needs of about 1 million children who belonged to poor and disadvantaged families. The Committee urged the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure access to free basic education to all children, particularly children from poor and disadvantaged families.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that it continues to strengthen the School Feeding Programme (SFP) which is currently being implemented in more than 70 per cent of the total number of registered schools in the country. The Government also indicates that the SFP has been linked with the Food Deficit Mitigation Programme as a sustainable support measure towards food provision to children in primary schools. It further notes the Government’s information that in 2019, the Government allocated 63 million dollars for the implementation of the BEAM. According to the Government’s report, the BEAM programme targets in particular, school-going children from poor households, child-headed households, orphans and children neglected by parents, children who have never been to school, and children who have dropped out of school or have failed to pay fees and levies due to poverty. The Committee, however, notes the Government’s statement that although numerous efforts are being made towards ensuring children’s access to education and enhancing the completion of basic education, financial resources remain a gap due to the economic challenges facing the Zimbabwean State as a whole.

The Committee notes that according to the findings of the UNICEF 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of Zimbabwe, the percentage of children of school-going age who enter the first grade of primary education is 67.6 per cent and their net attendance ratio is 90.5 per cent. The percentage of children of primary school age, lower secondary school age and upper secondary school age not attending any school is 4.7 per cent, 23.6 per cent and 70.3 per cent respectively. The Committee also notes that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in its concluding observations of 10 March 2020 expressed its concern at the high school-dropout rates among girls (CEDAW/C/ZWE/CO/6, paragraph 35). While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee must express its concern at the high number of children who are not attending any school. Considering that education is key in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure access to free basic education to all children, particularly girls and children from poor and disadvantaged families, including through the BEAM project, the School Feeding Programme or otherwise. It also requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, particularly with respect to addressing the financial barriers to education, with a view to increasing school attendance rates and reducing drop-out rates.

Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing children from engaging in and removing them from the worst forms of child labour, and ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration. 1. Children engaged in hazardous work in tobacco farms. The Committee notes the observations of the ZCTU that children working in tobacco farms are involved in hazardous work and exposed to hazardous conditions which affects their health and disrupts their education. The Committee also notes a report provided by the ZCTU on a tripartite study conducted in June 2020 on child labour in the tobacco industry by the Ministry of Labour with the participation of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), ZCTU and the Employers Confederation. According to the findings of this study, children working in tobacco farms work for long hours, carry heavy weights and are exposed to extreme weather conditions and harmful chemicals such as nicotine and pesticides. The Committee also notes the Government’s information in its supplementary report that the report on the survey on Child Labour in Tobacco Sector conducted in March 2019 is being validated by the stakeholders which will be followed by dissemination and post survey interventions in the four provinces where the survey was conducted. The Government further indicates that this report is also intended to educate the general public of the dangers associated with child labour in these areas as well as to provide targeted interventions and strategies in the eradication of child labour in this sector. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that children under 18 years of age are not engaged in hazardous work in tobacco farms and to take effective and time-bound measures to remove them from such work and to provide for their rehabilitation and reintegration. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved. It further requests the Government to supply a copy of the findings of the survey on child labour in the tobacco sector, once available.

2. Children engaged in hazardous work in the mining sector. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the ZCTU’s statement that one of the worst forms of child labour most common in Zimbabwe was work in the mining sector, where children scavenge for minerals to survive. It also noted that 67 per cent of children working in this sector use chemicals (including mercury, cyanide and explosives), and approximately 24 per cent of these children work for more than nine hours a day. The Government indicated that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development was working together with the law enforcement bodies to remove children from illegal mining activities. 

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the statistics of children removed from illegal mining are currently not available and that they shall be provided once they are obtained. In this regard, the Committee notes the observations made by the ZCTU that hazardous child labour is still high in the mining sector. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take effective and time bound measures to prevent the engagement of children in hazardous work in the mining sector, and to provide for their removal and subsequent rehabilitation and social integration. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of children removed from illegal mining activities by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and provided assistance for rehabilitation and reintegration.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. Orphans of HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children (OVC). In its previous comments the Committee noted the Government’s statement that it was committed to implementing the National Action Plan for Orphans and other Vulnerable Children (NAP for OVC) and was actively funding its programmes targeting all vulnerable children. It also noted the impact of the Harmonized Social Cash Transfers schemes (HSCT) and the BEAM project, which contained components aimed at protecting and supporting orphans and vulnerable children as well as the National Case Management System Project which addresses the needs of OVC. The Committee noted, however, that according to the 2015 UNAIDS estimates, an average of 790,000 children aged 0 to 17 years were orphans due to HIV/AIDS. The Committee therefore urged the Government to strengthen its efforts in order to prevent the engagement of these children in the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the coordinated efforts between the BEAM Community Selection Committee and the National Case Management System for the Care and Protection of Children which is responsible for the identification and referral of eligible children has remarkably increased the Government’s reach to vulnerable children. In addition, initiatives to harmonize the social protection programmes have been taken so that children benefitting from BEAM can also benefit from other programmes such as the HSCT programme.

The Committee further notes the Government’s information that the NAP for OVC which has embarked on its phase III from 2016 to 2020, has a multi-sectoral approach to comprehensively assist and support children and families in the country and there are defined coordination mechanisms and referral pathways for efficiency and programme effectiveness. The Government also indicates that within the framework of this action plan, a total of 91,391 children (42,315 males and 49,076 females), including 508 children involved in child labour and its worst forms, were assisted during the year 2018. The Committee further notes that according to the 2019 UNAIDS estimates, the average number of children aged 0 to 17 that are orphaned due to HIV/AIDS is 500,000, indicating a reduction from the 2015 estimates. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee urges it to continue its efforts to prevent the engagement of orphans and OVCs in the worst forms of child labour, including through the NAP for OVC, the HSCT, the BEAM project and the National Case Management System. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved in this regard.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.