ZFE attributes increase in Child labour to poverty

THE Zambia Federation of Employers (ZFE) says the increase in child labour is due to high poverty levels in the country.
Federation president Dan Musenge said the trend could be reduced if employers took immediate effective action in a bid to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour.
Mr Musenge said this when he officially opened a two-day employers sensitisation workshop on child labour at Cholwa guest house in Luanshya today.
He said employers had the responsibility to contribute to the fight of the worst forms of child labour by ensuring that children are not employed in harmful work.
He bemoaned the high levels of child labour, which have increased from 600,000 in 1999 to 895,000 in 2005 by 48 percent.
Mr Musenge appealed to employers to have specific interventions to cover vulnerable groups such as orphans and street kids through patronage, financial backing or organisational help.