Introduction

The Network Against Child Labour (NACL) is a non-profit organization that was established in 1990.
It is made up of organizations actively working to end child labour in South Africa.
We believe that children are the most precious source and must be cared for and protected.

Children must be free to learn and play to develop to their full potential. Child labour is work by persons under eighteen years, which is exploitative hazardous or otherwise inappropriate for their age, or detrimental to their schooling or their social physical or moral development.
Poverty plays a big role in driving children to exploitative labour. The NACL brings together organizations and individuals that are concerned with child laour for a national lobby against child exploitation.

We raise awareness about child labour and the exploitation of children and provide information and policy guidelines on child labour to interested parties.
We lobby for appropriate legislation and enforcement mechanism to prohibit child labour.
We advocate for social policies and programs that will assist children caught up in exploitative labour and in the long term bring about the elimination of child labour, Like for example access to social security and education.
We engage in research to expose the child labour problem in South Africa. The NACL can also assist in reporting cases of child labour and arrange for appropriate interview.

In February 2003 he NCAL received a small grant fro the Department of Labour’s “Strengthening Civil Society Fun”. During may and June 2003 the NACL embarked on awareness raising workshops on the issue of child labour and exploitation in the 9 provinces with practitioners in child welfare and children’s rights organisations.

Simultaneously a survey (see appendix 1) was conducted amongst the 179 participants of the workshops on how best to address the issue of child labour being encountered presently in South Africa. A total of 72 responses were received. The survey was an ancillary piece of work conducted by the NACL in preparation of a draft white paper on a national Child Labour Action Programme for South Africa (CLAP). The paper was prepared by the Government Departments and all other relevant stakeholders.

It examines the factors which cause or increase real or potential harm to children who may be engaged in child labour and seeks to determine which of the Government Departments would be the appropriate resource Department to address the worst forms of child labour in a time-bound programme.