Peer-reviewed article
THE REGULATION OF CHILD LABOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA
K Padi ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines South Africa's legislative framework for regulating child labour and identifies poverty as the root cause driving children into work. The authors argue that legislation alone is insufficient without effective enforcement mechanisms and coordinated implementation. They recommend combining legal intervention with poverty alleviation programmes and access to education as a sustainable approach to eliminating child labour.
Key points
- Global child labour increased from 152 to 160 million children between 2016-2020, with sub-Saharan Africa showing the highest prevalence and increases since 2012
- Poverty is identified as the most important reason children enter child labour
- Legislation regulating child labour is necessary but cannot succeed without effective enforcement mechanisms
- A multifaceted approach is needed, including poverty alleviation programmes and ensuring children stay in school
- Collaborative and coordinated approaches are essential for effective implementation and enforcement of child labour legislation
Limitations
This document is a policy analysis and does not evaluate the effectiveness of specific interventions or regulatory approaches through empirical measurement. It cannot tell us what impact current enforcement efforts have had or which specific policy measures are most effective in reducing child labour.
Abstract
Child labour is a persistent phenomenon, and its prevalence globally has challenged law makers to focus on legislative intervention but most importantly, to employ a multifaceted approach towards an effective and sustainable elimination of child labour. The new “Global Estimates on Child Labour”, covering the period 2016-2020 show a global increase from 152 to 160 million children involved in child labour. It is estimated that of all the regions in the world, child labour is most prevalent in the sub-Saharan African region. This region has seen an increase of children in child labour since 2012. Children work for different reasons; the most important reason being poverty, and the pressure for these children to escape it lands some of them in situations of child labour. This study thoroughly discusses the legislative framework implemented towards the regulation of child labour in South Africa, and further highlights the importance of tackling the root causes of child labour by implementing poverty alleviation programmes for its effective elimination. With poverty at the centre of this challenge, the study argues that any intervention should seek to alleviate poverty and create decent work for adults so that children can stay in school and acquire education that will empower them for a better future. The study acknowledges that the introduction of legislation regulating child labour is a great start towards child protection, however without effective enforcement mechanisms, the elimination of child labour becomes impossible. Therefore, challenges relating to the enforcement of existing legislation are highlighted and the importance of collaborations to ensure a coordinated approach for effective implementation and enforcement of legislation is discussed. vii