‘Ramaphosa says changes in global economy will assist in eliminating child labour’ 15 May 2022

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his optimism that through the “Durban Call to Action on the Elimination of Child Labour”, social partners and stakeholders will be able to chart a course towards eliminating child labour by 2025. Ramaphosa was delivering an address at the Fifth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in partnership with the International Labour Organisation in Durban on Sunday. The conference has brought together stakeholders from all over the world that will be drawn from governments, labour, business, civil society and international organisations such as Unicef, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank. The conference will be looking at why millions of children are victims of exploitative labour practices, why this persists in some countries but less so in others, and what decisive interventions are needed to end these practices.

“We are here because we share a common conviction that child labour in all its facets is an enemy. Child labour is an enemy of our children’s development and an enemy of progress. No civilisation, no country and no economy can consider itself to be at the forefront of progress if its success and riches have been built on the backs of children,” Ramaphosa said. According to the ILO and Unicef, there have substantial progress in addressing the worst forms of child labour exploitation.

…Ramaphosa addressed the reality that prospects for eliminating child labour and achieving decent work were limited unless the structure of the global economy and the institutions that support it were changed. Among other things, this required patterns of trade and investment that were more inclusive, creating opportunities for developing economies to become more integrated into global value chains, he said. He called on all social partners to adopt the Durban Call to Action that focuses on the practical steps needed to take to make a difference… “Lastly, we need to ensure that companies and consumers are more aware of child labour and its effects, and that through their purchasing and investment decisions, they do not support exploitative labour practices,” he said.