50 representatives from Government and Social partners gather to address decent work deficits in the tobacco sector in Tanzania.

Participants to propose a three years programme to address the decent work deficits in the country

Media advisory | 11 March 2020

Dar es Salaam (ILO News) The above workshop, organized by the ILO and the Prime Minister’s Office - Labour, Youth, Employment and People with Disability (PMO LYED), 11 – 13 March 2020 in Arusha, Tanzania will map out the decent work deficits as per the Integrated Strategy endorsed by the 337th session of the ILO Governing Body in October - November 2019 and propose a three years programme to address child labour in the sector. 

The workshop was specifically targeted at prioritising key outputs and activities for implementation in Tanzania, identifying key stakeholders for project implementation, identifying key target areas of geographic coverage and developing project implementation roadmap. 

Addressing the participants on behalf of the Labour Commissioner (PMO-MLYED), Canal Francis Mbindi, Mr. Gerald Mziray, Senior Labour Officer, stated that, Tanzania has already ratified the core conventions of the ILO, which include No. 138 (1973) and 182 (1999) on the elimination of child labour. He further added that,  

“…We need to honour our commitment to ending child labour in all its forms by 2025 as stipulated in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda which reaffirms the urgency of eliminating the worst forms of child labour including hazardous work, and need to secure safe working environments for all workers by 2025…” 

He further commended the ILO and other stakeholders for their continued support in addressing the problem of child labour in various sectors in the country including – in agriculture, mining, fishing, domestic work and the informal sector. 

The National Programme Coordinator, Dr. Gerson Nyadzi, speaking on behalf of the Director, ILO Country Office for East Africa, Mr. Wellington Chibebe, informed that ILO estimated that there were a total of 152 million children – 64 million girls and 88 million boys – in child labour globally in 2016 and nearly half of all those, 73 million were in hazardous work that directly endangers their health, safety, and moral development. 

“…In Tanzania, according to ILFS (2014), there were more than 4 million children in child labour…about 29 percent of children aged 5-17 years, were engaged in child labour in agriculture, domestic work, fishing, and mining industries.…” he added.

The Coordinator further lauded the government for the efforts already made to withdraw thousands of children from child labour and provided them with education and rehabilitation services and also developing several tools including the National Plan of Action on Violence Against Women and Children (NPA VAWC) 2017/18-2021/22 and the new National Strategy for Elimination of Child labour 2018-2022. Other efforts include mainstreaming child labour issues in employment and Labour Relations Act No. 6, the Child Development Policy and the Law of the Child Act, among others. All these will provide guidance in executing the current assignment.

Narrating on the strategy, he explained that “…The integrated strategy is looking at promoting decent work and reducing child labour in the tobacco sector but also recognizes the importance of rural economy at local level particularly in areas where tobacco is grown, where there is a very huge contribution in terms of income, employment, and livelihoods…”.

The ILO implemented the programme “Achieving Reduction of Child Labour in Support of Education (ARISE II) programme in Tanzania since 2016 which led to prevention and withdrawal of more than 1,200 children and some prevented from entering child labour in Uyui and Urambo districts in Tabora region. Child protection teams were established and strengthened in the two districts and in about 50 wards.

Since April 2019, the ILO is implementing, in Tabora, the project “Addressing decent work deficits in the tobacco sector of Tanzania.“ Some of the key achievements are: Development of training tools on child labour, Labour Inspection Manual, training of Tanzania Mainland Labour Officials on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and on labour inspection with attention to child labour issues and mapping of child labour stakeholders in Tanzania.