ICFTU OnLine

August 7, 2006

Interview by Pierre Martinot

"We often come across the worst forms of child labour"

Brussels, 7 August 2006 (ICFTU OnLine): According to a 2003 ILO study
covering 1,500 cocoa producers in Côte d'Ivoire, there are over 5,000
children working in the country's cocoa plantations. These children may or
may not be paid and are not receiving any form of education. Most come from
the neighbouring countries and are victims of the child trafficking rackets
organised with Burkina Faso, Benin and Mali.

Ignace Bla, Deputy General Secretary of the free trade union "Dignité",
explains the main reasons behind this situation and the work that is being
done in Abidjan and the cocoa-producing regions on combating child labour.

What is the child labour situation like in Côte d'Ivoire?

Child labour certainly exists and there is a cultural aspect that needs to
be borne in mind. In fact children have always been involved in family
farming activities, especially during holiday periods. In order to normalise
the situation and prevent certain misunderstandings, a law was introduced
one year ago that stipulates types of work that are regarded as dangerous
for children. More specifically, the authorities have drawn up a list of
jobs that are prohibited for people under 18 years of age.

There is another growing problem, however, which is much harder to
control. That is the trafficking of children, mainly from the neighbouring
countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Benin. These children are working in the
cocoa industry. Dignité is tackling this problem, by trying to identify the
children concerned and to escort them home to their countries of origin.
This is a type of forced labour, in fact, and is hard to control since there
is connivance from our government.

Do you manage to find these children's families?

In some cases, yes we do. The children themselves provide valuable
information and we supplement that with information from the authorities.
Very often the children are staying in camps near the plantations and
unfortunately some of these farms manage to escape the notice of the labour
inspectorate.

What action has Dignité been taking to tackle this problem?

Dignité has organised several awareness-raising initiatives, since we
think this is a cultural problem and linked to attitudes. The people
affected by child labour, and particularly the parents, do not necessarily
know that it is illegal. So we need to take measures to inform them about
the illegal nature of the work. We also hold seminars in order to inform
other social groups. We held a March with more than 1,000 young people and
its main slogan was "Stop child labour in all its forms!" Our aim is clear:
to get the country to respect the national and international conventions it
has signed on employment law.

What are the children's working conditions like?

We often come across the worst forms of child labour. When children work
in plantations they are forced to walk long distances with huge loads on
their heads. They also work with very sharp tools. Many other economic
sectors exploit children too, such as the building trade or the food
industry. The starting point of this forced labour is the sale of children
on the black market. The buyers can make huge profits.

How much does a child cost?

Quite frankly a child can be bought for something between 120,000 and
220,000 CFA francs (185-340 euros). For that price the child will work for
the owner for 1 to 3 years. The length of time to be worked can be
negotiated.

How much does the child earn?

Virtually nothing or nothing at all. The owner allows the child to eat,
but that's all. Occasionally, a child will be a given a small bonus at the
end of a year.

Where do the children come from?

The initial trading is done in the neighbouring countries. It is hard to
estimate the number of children who are victims of this trafficking or to be
sure about the identity or nationality of the sellers. But in our
exploratory missions we have met children from Burkina Faso, Benin and Mali.

We try to find out who these children are before picking them up, wherever
possible. We have to act quickly so that they are not moved to other
workplaces.

When they arrive at the reception centre we hold a debriefing and then
arrange their repatriation. Sometimes, we manage to get them into schools.

Given the magnitude of the problem what is the official reaction of the
authorities in Côte d'Ivoire?

As you know black markets are, by definition, invisible. The markets move
from one part of a town to another and it is very hard to keep a track on
developments. That said, we keep the government informed about any such
dealings we notice. In Oumé, for instance, the government and the local
authorities are supporting a programme aimed at eradicating this problem. A
list of illegal activities has been drawn up and legal measures are in place
for punishing the criminals.

The trafficking involves different countries in the sub-region, so what is
the cooperation like between unions in the various countries?

We are permanently in contact. In January 2006, we held an international
seminar on immigration issues in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital.
With support from the World Confederation of Labour we were able to invite
unions from Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali to the seminar.

One observation from the workshop was that when families emigrate they
automatically expose their children to the danger of trafficking. We need to
promote exchange of information between the countries and pool our efforts
better, but we lack the resources we need.

Does Dignité support children working in the informal economy?

Yes, organising the informal economy is one of our basic policies. Our
local unions belong to sectoral organisations, which facilitates the
circulation of information. But saying that, the informal economy has many
sectors that are not organised and in which many children are working. I'm
particularly thinking of the agricultural and food production industries. By
organising in local unions we have managed to identify some children. We
would like to organise the grass roots better, so as to become even more
effective and to free children from this exploitation. If we can manage that
more jobs will become available and older people will be able to get work.

Apart from poverty, what do you see as the reasons behind child labour?

Poverty is not the only cause but it is one of the main ones. There is no
getting away from the fact that Côte d'Ivoire, Benin and Burkina Faso are
very poor countries. What is more, these countries need a lot of labour for
producing certain raw materials. That cannot be a justification for child
labour, however. The problem needs to be tackled at the roots, by using
international levers to help the producers get a decent income. Then
children will quickly leave the system and go back to school.

Child labour is also a cultural phenomenon. Can you change something that
is so deeply rooted?

Yes, of course we can, by using awareness-raising policies. We have
noticed that attitudes are changing. In remote villages in Côte d'Ivoire
some parents would like their children to go to school. In the unions, we
explain the benefits of having children, villages, regions and indeed a
country with proper schooling. Where children are exploited, the opposite is
the case, since the country regresses and poverty takes hold.

Is access to education equal for boys and girls?

Yes, 15 years ago some of our parents could only imagine keeping their
daughters at home. But now the politicians want to have women in
decision-making bodies. If we want women to become members of parliament,
ministers or even the President (why not?!), we have to start at the grass
roots with determined, gender neutral policies.