BuaNews (Tshwane)
27 April 2007
The 11th African Regional Meeting of the International Labor Organization (ILO) has called on governments, employers and workers to jointly work towards combating the problem of child labour in Africa.
The meeting, being held in Addis Ababa, also deliberated on ways of creating youth employment in Africa.
The ILO is chaired by South Africa's Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana.
Although the rate of children aged five to 14 years old who were economically active declined from 29 per cent in 2000 to 26 per cent in 2004, the actual number of child workers is estimated to have increased from 48 million to 49.3 million over the same period due to population growth, a report by the ILO Director General indicates.
The report also said African youth are three times more likely to be unemployed than their adult counterparts, while the majority of African women still work in the rural subsistence economy.
HIV and AIDS were said by the report to be decimating labour markets in Africa.
In 2005, an estimated 9 million men and nearly 7 million women of working age -- between 15 and 64 years -- in the labour force were living with HIV and AIDS in Africa.
This represents nearly two-thirds of the 24.6 million labour force participants throughout the world living with HIV and AIDS.
The meeting is also expected to discuss on issues on integrated employment and social protection policies to upgrade the informal economy, governance and social dialogue.
The 11th African Regional Meeting of the ILO themed "Decent Work Agenda in Africa 2007-2015", began here Tuesday. - BuaNews-NNN
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