•  December 2000February 2001 Local News Headlines

Friday, March 2, 2001 - Web posted at 9:08:33 AM GMT

SADC ministers home in on 'labour enemies'

ALL SADC members states should ratify the relevant International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions on child labour and bring their domestic laws in line with these international commitments, Prime Minister Hage Geingob told top SADC officials in Windhoek yesterday.

Geingob was officially opening a two-day SADC Employment and Labour Sector Annual Meeting of Ministers and Social Partners which ends today.

Added Minister of Labour, Andimba Toivo ya Toivo: "This meeting would do well if it would come up with concrete and practical recommendations as to how this very inhumane practice can be eliminated."

" Toivo recommended that the gathering consider obliging SADC member states to submit, as part of their country report, a report indicating progress made with regard to the elimination of child labour.

It is estimated that 80 million of the estimated 250 million working children in the world are in Africa.

More often than not these children are exposed to dangerous conditions and suffer extreme forms of exploitation.

HIV-AIDS and child labour have been two of the focal points of the gathering which aims to chart the future road of the employment and labour sector in the SADC region.

Since the last meeting 13 new ratifications of fundamental conventions have been registered, including an increasing number of anti-child labour programmes and activities.

The overall employment situation in most SADC member states was reported to be below the desired levels.

Chairperson of the meeting and Minister of Labour and Social Security of Zambia, Edith Nawakwi, noted that given the slow pace of economic growth in the region, levels of unemployment continue to rise while incomes and wages remain very low.

The meeting also addressed the scourge of HIV-AIDS with its serious employment, economic and human resource implications.

As a response to the disease the SADC Employment and Labour Sector has established a code on HIV-AIDS.

Nawakwi reported that some member states are implementing components of the code while others are formulating national codes in line with the regional code.

Toivo expressed the view that the meeting should get involved in developing relevant standards that would prevent discrimination and ensure employment equity in regard to the pandemic.

Director of the ILO's Area Office in Pretoria, Dr Kenneth Andoh, urged members states to develop a 'social vaccine' to the disease, proposing programmes and legislation to "protect the dignity of HIV-AIDS victims".