Child labour - inspectors target farms
2011-03-25 22:16
Johannesburg - Labour inspectors in the Free State will inspect farms for under-aged children who are employed during the school holidays, the provincial labour department said on Friday.
"Teams... will also visit farms in the Petrusburg district to do follow ups on some farms against whom the department had opened cases of child labour after having been found to have employed children last year to harvest potatoes and herd cattle," spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said in a statement.
"The children were subsequently removed and placed in the care of their parents whilst the law takes its course."
The department had identified a list of farms which labour inspectors would target, he said.
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act prohibits employers from employing children under the age of 15 years.
Children above 15-years-old may also not be employed to do work that was inappropriate for their age or that put them at risk, Mavasa said.
- SAPA
