Luanda – Economic Commission of Cabinet Council approved Monday the proposal of a Presidential Decree that provides for updating the list of occupations prohibited or restricted to minors aged between 14 and 18 years old.
The document was approved at the 2nd ordinary session chaired by the President of the Republic João Lourenço.
The objective is to combat and eradicate child labour, through adaptation of the Angolan legal system to the recommendations and normative provisions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The action plan does not only bring repressive measures, as the Government is aware of the social situation of some families, said the Secretary of State for Public Administration, Labour and Social Security (MAPTSS), Pedro Filipe.
Speaking to the press, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Economic Commission of the Cabinet Council, Pedro Filipe said that a set of programmes is in progress which are being implemented by the Executive.
These include the Kwenda and PAPE programmes, aimed to support the most needy families.
Pedro Filipe referred to existing a considerable increase in child labour, especially in activities related to agriculture, civil construction, services, industry, mines, crushers, grave digging and toxic materials industries.
The number has increased since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in Angola, according to the Secretary of State for Public Administration, Labour and Social Security (MAPTSS), Pedro Filipe.
Data from the latest survey on multiple indicators, published by the National Statistics Institute (INE), that need to be updated, point to more than 25,000 children who are subjected to child labour.
“We are aware that we should update this survey and we should share with society much more realistic statistics. From our empirical observation, the numbers are beyond these indicators”, admitted Pedro Filipe.
He said more than 172 million children in the world are subjected to degrading work, or, does not contribute to their growth.
In view of this trend, he said that a multi-sector commission was created in 2021, chaired by the minister of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security (MAPTSS), tasked with carrying out activities aimed to combat child labour, in partnership with the General Labour Inspectorate and the National Children’s Institute.
“Under domestic legislation, these constraints are not just the object of activity, but linked to working hours”, he said, adding that, as a rule, working time extends up to eight hours, or better, 56 hours on weekly basis.
According to the official, parents should have a double criterion, that is, there are certain activities in which their children are absolutely prohibited from acting, but there will be others in which they will be conditioned by working time and exposure to which they may be subject to.
Under very strict criteria, children aged between 14 and 18 years old may work with their parents’ permission.
Source: Angola Press News Agency