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Lesotho Child Labour Survey of 2004

Ministry of Labour and Employment and Bureau of Statistics

Lesotho undertook a comprehensive national survey on child labour in 2004, establishing not only the extent of child labour but also providing insight into its underlying reasons and its impact on children in terms of education and health.

The survey was jointly conducted by the Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Labour and Employment and was funded by the International Labour Organisation.

Some key findings are presented below. They do not capture the detail of the study especially in terms of the description of the family circumstances of child workers and the regional variations in child labour.

Extent of child labour

A total of 146 519 children – 23.3% of the population aged 5-17 years – were engaged in child labour in 2004. A small proportion of these children were engaged in economic activity – 6.8% said they had been employed during the last seven days and 9.7% during the past year – and by far the greatest component of child labour comprised extended household duties. A sliding scale was used to measure “extended” household duties for different age groups. In the age group 5-9 years anything over seven hours’ work a week was seen as extended, while in the 15-17 year age group housework exceeding 56 hours a week was regarded as extended.

Patterns of child labour

Child labour affected boys more than girls in all age groups and was far more common in the rural areas than the urban areas.

Age

Children in employment

Children doing extended housework

Boys

Girls

Both

Boys

Girls

Both

5-9 years

6.5%

2.5%

9.0%

27.9%

25.4%

53.3%

10-14 years

21.8%

13.7%

35.4%

24.1%

21.4%

45.6%

15-17 years

32.4%

23.2%

55.6%

0.2%

0.9%

1.1%

Total

60.7%

39.3%

100%

52.3%

47.7%

100%

Relationship between child labour and education

Approximately four out of five child labourers were attending school, roughly the same proportion as that prevailing for all children in Lesotho.

Children engaged in child labour were more likely than other children to repeat grades and to be older than the normal age for their class. The survey indicates this difference may be due to child labourers dropping out and frequently missing school.

Reasons for child labour

The family’s inability to afford school fees was cited as the top reason for children being engaged in child labour (50%), with the need to supplement family labour being the second most frequent reason (20.3%).

This suggests that child labour is in many instances a consequence of education system limitations rather than the primary cause of a breakdown in education.

Impact on health and safety

While many child workers reported frequent illnesses (22% reported being ill five or more times in the past year), none associated this pattern with the conditions of their work.

A total of 902 children reported being injured in the past year during the course of their work.

Virtually all child labourers (99.7%) said they were exposed to hazardous conditions, while a mere 0.3% of non-child labourers suffered such exposure. The most common type of hazard was extreme temperature or humidity.

Full text
Child Labour Survey

For more detail see

Tables for Child Labour Survey:
Tables for Child Labour Chapter 3
Tables for Child Labour Chapter 4
Tables for Child Labour Chapter 5