Child labour on farms

More than 5,600 Namibian children under the age of 15 years are working in the country's northeastern farms as part of the unregulated workforce, the Namibian Society for Human Rights (NSHR) told IRIN on Thursday. "Although the Namibian constitution outlaws child labour, we have seen very little action by the government to address the problem of child labourers, especially on the farms," Phil ya Nangoloh told IRIN. At the same time, a report commissioned by the Namibian government on child labour was completed some time ago but has not yet been released. 'The Namibian', however, reported that the study claims that children as young as seven-years-old are engaged in back-breaking work in agricultural farms or in domestic households. "Working in agricultural farms, which account for 44.3 percent of the labour force, a child earns around (US $1.6) a month," said 'The Namibian'. The newspaper added that the study calls for national legislation to make primary education compulsory and to exempt children of rural workers from school enrolment fees.