Projects
EMPLOYERS
CONSULTATIVE ASSOCIATION OF MALAWI
ECAM
BRIEF
ON THE EMPLOYERS’ CHILD LABOUR PROJECT
1.
About ECAM
The
Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) is an Employers
body registered in 1963 under the Trustees Act of Malawi. With
a corporate membership of over 200, the body is the only recognized
employers ’ federation in Malawi under the ILO labour tripartite
structure.
2.
Background to the Project
With
funding from the Norwegian Government and with technical support
from the International Labour Organization, ECAM is coordinating
a project entitled ‘Employers Fight Against Child Labour
in commercial Agriculture’. The project is now in its second
year.
The
focus of the project is on providing guidance and direction to
businesses on issues relating to child labour specifically the
Worst Forms of Child Labour. Similar projects are being undertaken
by Employer Federations in the following countries: Mali, Ethiopia,
Ghana, Uganda, Malawi and Zimbabwe in Africa in addition to Moldova
and Azerbaijan in Eastern Europe.
3.
The role of Employers in the fight against Child Labour and associated
Challenges
Progressive businesses do not touch child labour for
a variety of reasons some of which are as follows: Child Labour
can have a direct negative impact on business in addition to denting
the public image of the organization as well seriously jeopardizing
its international market exploits.
Employers
generally believe that during child hood every child should have
a right to education thereby increasing their opportunities to
become skilled adult workers to form a pool the very same employers
will recruit from in the long term.
The
public may wish to know that ECAM commissioned a Rapid Assessment
Survey (more on survey report) in 2005 to generate and analyze data on Child Labour in
the two districts of Mulanje and Thyolo and further examine the
role played by employers in addressing the problem.
Contrary to the negative picture that has been painted over the
area over the years, the findings of the study revealed that,
in fact, employers in the Sector have taken a leading role in
combating Child Labour in the plantations so much that over a
period of five years, from 2000 to 2005, the problem is now statistically
insignificant in the commercial Estates and has instead shifted
towards the domestic sector.
The survey further confirms that as a matter of sector policy,
the minimum age for employment is set at 18 and no-one under the
age of 21 is allowed to work in the processing factories. Controlling
managers who flout this policy are severely disciplined.
Most
plantations own and manage schools as well as run Education and
Health Care programmes. However, the study further revealed, all
these efforts go unnoticed by the public.
Businesses do meet various challenges in their efforts. For
Example, in the absence of civil registry and the National Identity
System in
Malawi it is very difficult for employers to ascertain one’s
age. As such,
some desperate children may beat the system and over-declare their
ages just to get employed. In addition employers are sometimes
pressed
by desperate guardians who would tend, in the face of poverty,
to off-
load their children especially the girl child to formal employment.
As
employers we welcome the news that the Ministry of Home Affairs
and
Internal Security is tirelessly working towards the introduction
of National
ID’s.
In November 2007, Ecam conducted another Rapid Assessment Survey Report on the profile of the people living in the communities surrounding commercial tea plantations in Thyolo and Mulanje districts and their level of awareness on child labour. According to the survey findings, there
seems to be no concrete evidence of the
existence of child labour in the Large Tea
Plantations in these districts. None of
the households reported any incidence of
child employment in this sector. Almost all of the
respondents agreed that there is a problem
on the small holder sector as well as the
informal sector. The survey also recommends that future intervention
programmes on livelihoods improvement focus
more on the women who happen to stay at
home whilst their husbands are in the Tea
Plantations.
4. The Future of this project
The
project through ECAM will continue to guide employers appropriately
and support them towards this end. Already a draft ECAM Policy
on Child Labour awaits adoption by the Council. Once adopted this
will form the basis of enterprise- based policies on child labour.
A Training and Resource Manual has already been developed and
published by the project for use by employers.(more on training & resource manual) Preparations to
develop a first ever employers website on Child Labour are already
underway. The site will primarily disseminate information on Child
Labour and in particular highlight best practices from employers.
The project will also continue to support the Child Labour monitoring
systems in designated districts through the District Labour and
Vocational Training Offices.
For
more information contact the undersigned on 01830075.
Lillian Kanjadza
Programme Officer
Employers Fight Against Child Labour Project.
Gladys E.S Mwale
Executive Director
ECAM
