US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE729

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000729 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER 
DRL/IL FOR LAUREN HOLT 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EIND, ETRD, PHUM, SOCI, Child Labor 
SUBJECT: WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR UPDATE 
 
REF: (A) 03 LILONGWE 909; (B) 04 LILONGWE 696; (C) 04 
 
LILONGWE 821; (D) 04 STATE 163967; (E) STATE 143552 
 
1. This is an update of reftel C as per reftel E request. 
 
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Child labor law enforcement 
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2. According to Paul Gondwe, the head of the child labor 
control unit in the ministry of labor, seven employers 
have been prosecuted and convicted over the past year. 
None of the convicted employers (most of them farm 
owners) received a custodial sentence but rather paid 
fines of between US$60 and US$100. These cases involved 
small children herding cattle and working in tobacco 
estates.  Post believes that, in view of Malawi's low 
income levels (average $170 per year) and correspondingly 
low monetary fines, the imposed sentences were stiff 
enough to deter others. 
 
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New developments in the fight against child labor 
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3. Ministry of Labor has prepared and published a 
National Code of Conduct on Child Labor. The booklet was 
published on November 29, 2004, and the ministry has 
placed one press release in the local press to publicize 
its contents. Gondwe stated that his ministry plans to 
translate the code of conduct into local languages. As 
resources allow, the code of conduct will be distributed 
to all farm owners who are the major culprits in child 
labor. 
 
4. To strengthen the fight against child labor, the 
Ministry of Labor, in collaboration with workers and 
employers, has completed its work on a "hazardous work 
schedule" that is now awaiting final review. Once 
approved, this schedule will be appended to Employment 
Act No.6 of 2000. The schedule details all work that is 
considered hazardous and not for persons below the age of 
18. (Minimum legal age for non-hazardous work is 14 in 
Malawi). 
 
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Efforts to combat child trafficking succeeding 
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5. According to Justin Hamela, Project Coordinator for 
the Stop Harming and Exploiting Children project, a 
number of cases have been reported where children have 
been trafficked from one town to another, particularly 
from villages to town on promise of a good job. The 
children are often orphans or from broken homes. 
Interventions have paid off in some cases, and a total of 
14 children have been retrieved and repatriated in the 
past year. The establishment of child protection workers 
in the rural areas has contributed significantly to this 
success. These are voluntary workers but get paid small 
honoraria through a project supported by UNICEF. 
 
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Capacity Building for fight against child labor 
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6. Ministry of Labor has conducted three refresher 
courses for its 150 child labor inspectors and its 
district and community labor committees. In addition, 77 
child labor youth activists have been given training on 
child labor using the just-developed child labor code of 
conduct. These 77 youth activists have also received 
bicycles through a project funded by NORAD through 
UNICEF. 
 
7. Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare and Community 
Services has trained 240 child protection workers 
throughout the country. This has been possible through 
financial assistance from the Nordic Agency for 
Development under the "Stop Harming and Exploiting the 
Children Project." This project has three components-- 
prevention, protection and rehabilitation--and targets 
street children, children with disabilities and children 
in danger of abuse. It is also working with local NGOs by 
providing resources for working with local communities. 
 
8. GoM has set aside about US$60,000 in the FY05/06 
budget to support ministry of labor conduct civic 
education campaigns on child labor and to buy office 
equipment for district labor inspectors. This is the 
first time a specific amount has been put in the budget 
for child labor monitoring activity. 
 
EASTHAM