Kenya yet to Comprehensively Address Child Labour

As you walk or drive across the busy street of Nairobi it is not a wonder that you come across children who are hawking sweets and ground nuts persuading you to buy from them, if you gain interest and have a chat with this kids they will explain to you that their parents or guardians expect them to assist in getting the extra coin to assist in their household expenses. 

Away from the big cities and into the villages you will find children in coffee, flower and tea farms, and also quarries some who have been forced to leave school and others who are trying to multi task in going to school and also engaging in work. This affects their concentration and hence affecting their performance in school. They also miss out on engaging in children activities. 

According to ILO Child Labour is work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It is important to understand where we draw the line between child labour and children engaging in chores at home. Engaging in chores contributes to children's development and to the welfare of their families; it provides them with skills, attitudes and experience, and helps to prepare them to be useful and productive members of society during their adult life.

According to surveys, child labour is still rife and rampant in Kenya today. This could be attributed to many factors not limited to poverty, ignorance, cultural practices and exploitation.  In the world's poorest countries, around one in four children are engaged in work that is potentially harmful to their health. Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest proportion of child labourers (29 per cent of children aged five to 17) and is considered detrimental to their health and development.

The law under the Employment Act, 2007, and the Children Act, defines a child in Kenya as a person below the age of 18 years. The Employment Act, Part VII provides for protection of children including protection from the worst forms of child labour. 

In section 58 and 59, the minimum age for employment in an industrial undertaking is 16, unless he/she is an apprentice under the Industrial Training Act (Cap. 237, Laws of Kenya). The law also puts a time limit for a child in an industrial undertaking to between 6.30am to 6.30pm.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by world leaders in 2015, include a renewed global commitment to ending child labour by 2025.  

Kenya has made major progress toward achieving this goal by ratifying most key international conventions concerning child labour, including Minimum Age, Worst Forms of Child Labour, Optional Protocol on Armed Conflict, and Palermo Protocol on Trafficking in Persons.

The country must now also ratify the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.