Cablegate: Tanzania's Update: Worst Forms of Child Labor

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DE RUEHDR #1937/01 3490803
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 150803Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5235
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0401

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 001937

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PLEASE PASS TO DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER AND DRL/IL FOR TU
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID TZ
SUBJECT: TANZANIA'S UPDATE: WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR
REPORT

REF: STATE 184972

1. (U) SUMMARY: While official 2005/06 figures on child
labor have not been yet be released by Tanzania's National
Bureau of Statistics (NBS), stakeholders agree child labor
remains a problem in Tanzania, compounded by the scourge of
HIV/AIDS, a weak educational system, and rural-urban
migration. Since 2004, however, there has been a major
increase in awareness across the country as the Tanzanian
government has partnered with non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) on projects to reduce child labor through education
such as the Timebound Program. The Government of Tanzania
(GOT) has also passed a National Strategy to Combat the Worst
Forms of Child Labor and two labor laws in 2004,
criminalizing child labor. The head of the Ministry of
Labor's Child Labor Unit summarized the changing situation,
"There is no way for us to reverse this rise in awareness.
Now, Trade Unions, local authorities, and communities are
aware that child labor is a crime and that children should be
in school." While attempting to cope with child labor
directly through legislation and education, the GOT has also
made reducing poverty the number one priority on its national
agenda. END SUMMARY.

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor:
--------------------------------------
2. (U) According to a report from the National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS), an estimated 35.4 percent of children ages
5 to 14 were working in 2000-2001. In February 2007, NBS
will publish an updated Integrated Labor Force Survey Report,
providing 2005/06 figures for the incidence of child labor.
Post will report on the most recent figures from the NBS
report as soon as possible.

3. (U) Agriculture remains the largest sector of Tanzania's
economy and children continue to work on tea, coffee, sugar
cane, sisal, cloves, and tobacco farms, and in the production
of wheat, corn, green algae, pyrethrum and rubber. On
Zanzibar, children work primarily in the market place, in
fishing, and in some hotels. Incidences of child labor in
Tanzania occur primarily in the informal sector of the
economy, which accounts for over 50 percent of the economy
according to the World Bank. The Ministry of Labor,
Employment and Youth Development, stressed the growing orphan
population from the scourge of HIV/AIDS as an important cause
of child labor, since orphans are often vulnerable to
involvement in exploitative labor. A 2005 study by the
Eastern and Southern African Universities Programme estimated
the orphan population in Tanzania at 2.5 million.

4. (C) A U.S. based NGO working in Tanzania, Winrock
International, has observed a growing level of awareness
across the country about the criminal nature of child labor.
Winrock has noted that large-scale farms rarely use child
labor any longer as employers have been sensitized to the new
2004 labor laws that criminalize child labor. The Ministry
of Labor and the ILO have noted that Trade Unions are
beginning to provide an important measure of oversight.

5. (U) Based on statistics provided by the Ministry of
Education and Vocational Training, the 2005 gross primary
enrollment was 109.9 percent and net primary enrollment was
94.8 percent compared to 97 and 82 percent respectively in
2004. The June 2006 Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania
(BEST) Report outlined the following improvements in the
education sector from 2004-2005:

-- improvement in the teacher to pupil ratio from 1:58 to
1:56;
-- 568 new schools built;
-- an additional 458,145 pupils enrolled in primary schools;
-- an additional 83,369 children between 5-6 years enrolled
for pre-Primary education;

6. (U) Despite significant strides forward in Tanzania's
education sector, primary schools are still overwhelmed by
the increase in children seeking free primary education.
Moreover, of all primary school students, only about 36.5
percent continue on to secondary school and of all the
students who continue on to secondary school, only
approximately 10.5 percent complete their secondary education.

Legislation and Enforcement:
----------------------------
7. (U) In 2004, the Union Government of Tanzania (GOT)
passed the Employment and Labor Relations Act No.6 and the
Labor Institutions Act No.7, both of which provide for the

protection of children from exploitation in the workplace and
prohibit forced of compulsory labor. The Employment and
Labor Relations Act includes a specific prohibition of forced
labor by children. Unlike the previous law, the new labor
laws establish a criminal punishment for employers that use
illegal child labor as well as forced labor. Violators can
be fined an amount not to exceed 5 million shillings (USD
4,382.12), imprisonment for a term of one year, or both. The
new laws also prohibit children under the age of 18 from
being employed in a mine, factory, ship or other worksite
that the Minister of Labor deems to be hazardous.

8. (U) The 2004 Acts are not yet in effect, however, because
implementing regulations are still being finalized.
According to Mr. Festo Musee, Child Labor Unit coordinator at
the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Youth Development, the
Ministry has worked diligently in 2005 and 2006 to establish
institutions, such as the Commission for Mediation, which
will enable the GOT to enforce the 2004 labor laws. The
Ministry of Labor is optimistic both laws will become
operational in 2007. In May 2006, the GOT formally reaffirmed
its commitment to the USG to fight trafficking in persons.
The GOT has stepped up efforts on the legislative front, with
Ministry of Justice drafting an anti-trafficking in persons
(TIP) bill in 2006. According to the Attorney General's
Office, the legislation is expected to be submitted to
Parliament in 2007.

9. (U) Several government agencies have jurisdiction over
areas related to child labor, but primary responsibility for
enforcing the country's child labor laws rests with the
Ministry of Labor. Although the Ministry of Labor reportedly
made inspections throughout the year and gave warnings, there
were no child labor cases in 2006. The low number of
inspectors and the low salaries inspectors receive,
undermines the enforcement of laws against child labor. In
2004, the Ministry of Labor did recruit and train 40 new
labor officers and inspectors, bringing the total number of
national labor inspectors to 145. In 2006, however, the
total number of inspectors dropped to 124, due to a high
level of turn-over. Musee explained that, "many officers
obtain their training and then leave for greener pastures
(i.e. higher pay)."

10. (U) In Zanzibar, which has a separate Ministry of Labor
and labor law, the law prohibits employment of children under
the age of 18 years, depending on the nature of the work.
The Employment Act N.11 of 2005 categorizes child labor
practices as (a) ordinary practices for child labor, and (b)
the worst forms of child labor. The penalties for category
(a) offenses are a fine of 500,000 shillings (USD 350.57) or
imprisonment of up to 6 months. For category (b) offenses, a
fine of not less than 3 million shillings (USD 2,629.27) or
imprisonment of at least one year, or both. In 2006,
Zanzibar's Ministry of Labor did not prosecute any cases of
child labor.

GOT Policies and Programs:
-------------------------
11. (U) In November 2006, the Union Government's Ministry of
Labor and Ministry of Education began working in partnership
with Winrock International, a U.S. based non-government
organization, to implement a five year project known as TEACH
- Tanzanian Educational Alternatives For Children. TEACH
will work in five of Tanzania's most remote districts to
reduce the overall number of children and/or youth engaged in
the worst forms of child labor. The TEACH project will
establish non-formal Primary Feeder schools, Model Farm
schools, and will provide scholarships and student kits for
children to attend government schools. The project will be
implemented over five years with a USD 5 million budget,
funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL).

12. (U) The GOT has been working with the ILO-IPEC to
implement the USDOL-funded Timebound Program (TBP) to
eliminate the worst forms of child labor in Tanzania by 2010,
including child labor in agriculture, domestic service,
mining, fishing, and prostitution. The Child Labor Unit of
the Ministry of Labor is working with ILO-IPEC under the TBP
to provide training for district child labor coordinators and
district officials in the TBP's 11 target districts, to
increase their capacity to combat the worst forms of child
labor. According to the ILO, Phase I of the TBP was
implemented by August 2006, with completion of a National
Strategy to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labor, a
monitoring system, and an awareness campaign launched through
the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Community
Development. Phase II, which will involve expanding Phase I

programs at the district level, is expected to be complete by
the end of 2008.

13. (U) In January 2006, a U.S. based NGO known as the
Education Development Center (EDC) handed over learning
centers to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training,
which the EDC had established in partnership with the
Ministry from 2004-2005. The purpose of the learning centers
is to ensure children who are at risk of entering the worst
forms of child labor have access to basic, quality education.

Comment:
--------
14. (U) In 2006, weaknesses in the education system, the
HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the high level of poverty in Tanzania,
continued to make Tanzanian children vulnerable to
exploitation in the labor market. The level of awareness
about child labor appears to be on the rise in Tanzania,
stemming from the efforts of the GOT and partner NGOs working
in the most vulnerable regions across the country. Tanzania
has also made significant strides to improve its primary
education system. Opportunities for secondary education,
however, remain limited. Enforcement efforts in Tanzania
have been hindered by the lack of institutional capacity to
ensure labor laws become enforceable on a national scale and
the fact that many children are employed in the informal
sector of Tanzania's economy. Post will follow the Ministry
of Labor's activities carefully in 2007 to assess progress on
making the 2004 labor laws fully operational. END COMMENT.
RETZER

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