Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Boitumelo Moloi says there is an inter-governmental structure to monitor undocumented foreign nationals who expose their children to dangerous and hazardous work as a means of survival.
Moloi says the structure which includes the Department of Home Affairs works together with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the police to conduct assessments.
Moloi was speaking from the sidelines of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Durban.
“You will realise that those who are begging on the streets with children, some of them are those foreign nationals who are undocumented. Because their children are out of school, this not only needs government but the entire community to let us know so that we can be able to check hotspots and be able to bring the parents to book.
So this is combined effort for us, it actually cuts across all the departments, social development basic education and everybody else.”
Child Labour Conference | Spotlight on social protection of children: Khethani Hlongwa
The European Union (EU) has announced a R168 million donation towards the eradication of child labour in the agriculture sector.
Delegates at the 5th Global Conference on the elimination of child labour said ending child labour will require increased social protection and monitoring of supply chain through a multi-stakeholder approach.
Research by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) indicates that child labour increased by 16.6 million in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last four years.
