The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has joined the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the global community in raising a red card against child labour as the world commemorates the World Day Against Child Labour.
Speaking to Voice of Nigeria in Geneva, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the 114th International Labour Conference, ITUC-Africa General Secretary, Mr Joel Odigie, said governments and societies must make deliberate efforts to ensure that children remain in school rather than engage in work to support their families.
He stressed that it was unacceptable for children of school age to be in workplaces, warning that such a trend would endanger the future of coming generations.
“No child should be at work. It is a taboo,” Odigie said.
He stated that societies that allow children to work cannot prosper because denying children the opportunity to develop properly also undermines national development.
“It is important that children are allowed to grow as children to play, learn, study and develop before entering the labour market when the time comes. The African situation is unacceptable,” he said.
Odigie described child labour in Africa as a consequence of structural crises, noting that the continent could reverse the trend with the right political will.
“We need genuine and conscious investment in education. This is not rocket science. We should invest in education,” he said.
He noted that school absenteeism and dropout rates among children continued to rise in Nigeria and across Africa, making it easier for children to fall into labour.
As part of the solution, ITUC-Africa called for policies that incentivise schooling and make learning more attractive to children and families.
“School feeding programmes are one of the measures that should be strengthened,” he said.
Odigie pointed to countries such as Rwanda, where public investment in education has made public schools more attractive than private institutions.
In a statement issued in Geneva to mark the 2026 World Day Against Child Labour, ITUC-Africa urged governments and stakeholders across the continent to intensify efforts to eliminate child labour.
The statement, signed by Comrade Joel Odigie, aligned with the global campaign theme, “Fair Play for Children, Decent Work for Adults”.
According to ITUC-Africa, about 138 million children remain trapped in child labour globally, with nearly 54 million engaged in hazardous work. It said Sub-Saharan Africa bears the greatest burden, accounting for nearly two-thirds of global child labour cases, about 87 million children.
Odigie said poverty, inequality, conflicts and inadequate investment in social protection and quality public education were driving the persistence of child labour in Africa.
“Progress on paper cannot mask the lived reality of tens of millions of African children denied their right to learn, play and grow safely,” he said.
The labour leader said African workers were committed to collaborating with governments to tackle the structural challenges that fuel poverty and child labour.
“We are committed to working with our governments to defeat and reverse the structural challenges weighing down our continent and exacerbating developmental problems such as child labour,” he said.
He described child labour as fundamentally a labour rights issue, arguing that poor wages, unemployment and weak social protection often force families into desperate choices.
“When adults are denied decent work, fair wages and social protection, families are pushed into impossible choices,” he said.
Odigie said ending child labour would require stronger investment in social protection programmes, including universal child benefits and income support for vulnerable households.
He also called for stronger public education systems, effective enforcement of labour laws and responsible practices across agricultural supply chains. Agriculture alone, he noted, accounts for 61 per cent of all child labour cases globally.
ITUC-Africa urged African governments to fully ratify and implement ILO Conventions 138 and 182 on the minimum age for employment and the worst forms of child labour.
The organisation also called for the implementation of the Marrakech Framework adopted at the Sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour.
“Together, we say: Red Card to Child Labour”, Odigie declared.
