New Delhi — Children as young as six are being forced to work on Mpumalanga farms as part of a deliberate strategy by farmers to use the cheapest and most docile workers available.

The children, employed on sprawling citrus and sugar farms in Mpumalanga's fertile Onderberg region, are paid as little as R2,08 per day in return for 12- hours hard physical labour. Most of them are illegal Mozambicans. Labour Department inspectors recently raided 15 of the Onderberg farms and discovered serious abuses on all 15 farms, worst being the Piet Maritz's estate near Marloth Park.

The provincial labour department has formally charged Maritz for allegedly contravening the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, which prohibits the use of children younger than 15. Other offenders have been served notices.

For further information contact Toko Tomita, Global March Against Child Labour; Tel: (91 11) 622 4899; E-mail: yatra@del2.vsnl.net.in, Website: www.globalmarch.org