Child Domestic Workers in Zimbabwe

10. Conclusion

10 Conclusion Save the Children’s policy on children and work emphasises that we should be guided by the best interests of children, that we should see the benefits of work to the children, and that it is often preferable to improve the conditions of working children, rather than to remove them from their source of livelihood. Sometimes, however, children are in a working situation so harmful to them that we should be looking to remove them from it. Here we are to be guided by the ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labour and its accompanying recommendation, 190. We have seen that some of the conditions of some child domestic workers do meet the criteria laid out in these documents. Children are sometimes forced to work. Their hours are sometimes excessive. The pay is sometimes inadequate. Some of their tasks are hazardous. Their education is neglected. They are restricted from returning home and from meeting with their peers. While we do not have exact numbers, we have evidence that urgent redress is required for a significant number of children. We suggest that the children themselves are best able to identify those in such circumstances and they can then seek redress with the help of the supporting trade union, who in turn can call upon other appropriate agencies. UNICEF has warned of the problematic nature of child domestic work in general. There is a danger that distinguishing the worst employers from the rest will result in ignoring the problems that children always face in this kind of work.115 Indeed, we would prefer a world in which no children needed this kind of employment for their livelihood. The children, however, clearly distinguish employers who care for them, often as members of the employers’ family, from others who treat them badly. They see benefits in their employment when they are treated well.116 The majority of children do not want to be removed from employment and we should take seriously their perceptions of what is in their best interests. In most cases we do well to follow the policy of Save the Children in trying to discern both positive and negative ele95 ments of children’s work, in order to improve the children’s situation . In spite of the many problems that domestic employment brings to children, to abolish the employment of children will not benefit those children who need money. While in other countries it is feasible to remove children from employment and back into school by providing their families with an alternative income,117 this is unlikely to be feasible for the majority of working children in Zimbabwe, since resources are not available to provide such income in the present economic climate and in any case many of the children do not have families to support them. Here a more realistic policy is to capitalise on the benefits that employment can bring to children. As long as we are unable to offer the children something better, we should commend rather than condemn employers who offer their young employees a chance to improve their lives and take care of their well-being and futures. Accordingly, we are not against rewarding children with payment for their work. We are, however, in favour of providing working children with an environment that respects their dignity and gives them an opportunity to develop. We respect the wishes of the children to have their conditions of work improved. We have pointed out that the employment of children is not the same as the employment of adults. We have made recommendations that we would not make for adult employees. We recommended that the child’s family ensure regular visits to the working child; that employers ensure that children are able to visit their families regularly ; that they have adequate time for sleep. We acknowledge that employers are responsible for the well-being and safety of the children , which limits the children’s freedom to go where they please. We have also recommended that employers be responsible for the child’s continuing education, as an element of the child’s well-being. We have noticed that children are happier when they are to some extent incorporated into the employer’s family. It helps when the employer is related or at least known to the child’s family. It helps when the child eats with the family, and can play with the children of the family. All this fits the image of child domestic workers...