'An Africa without child labour is possible’

The General Agricultural Workers’ Union of Ghana (GAWU) has been Mondiaal FNV’s partner for many years. Deputy General Secretary Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe is a familiar face in the fight against child labour in cocoa plantations and the fishing industry. In the USA, he recently received a prestigious award for his ongoing efforts against this global issue. We spoke with him about the significance of this award and the importance of his fight.

Interview: Astrid van Unen. Photo: Samuel Grumiau

Andrews Addoquaye Tagoe (1965), affectionally called ‘Andy’, is referred to by the American government as a ‘champion in the fight against child labour’. He recently received the Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor, named after a Pakistani child labour activist who was murdered in 1995. The award was established by the US Department of Labor in 2009 to honour advocates and raise awareness about this global problem.

Andy Tagoe. Photo: Hivos

 

What does this award mean to you?

‘A great deal! I feel even more motivated to continue. It also means a lot to my team, and especially the children. When I told them the news - which has given us a real boost - they cheered. The fight against child labour is not an easy one. Sometimes it is very hard to reach the children if they work deep inside the forests, in cornfields, or in mines. So it is very inspiring to see that people thousands of miles away from Ghana recognise what we are doing. Once, when I was much younger, a senior trade union colleague told me that trade unions have no business being concerned about child labour. That made me really angry. And I am glad I persisted - with strong support from Mondiaal FNV and the Stop Child Labour coalition - in creating zones in Ghana that are free from child labour.’

Mondiaal FNV has always stood in solidarity with us.

Which initiatives against child labour have you executed in collaboration with Mondiaal FNV over the past few years?

‘Mondiaal FNV has always stood in solidarity with us when it comes to improving work in the informal sector. There is a lot of informal work in the Ghanaian agricultural sector, meaning without contracts and therefore without rights. Mondiaal FNV is a key partner in our work. In 2007, they put us in touch with the Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation (MVF) in India, in cooperation with Hivos, the IUF, and the Global March Against Child Labour (Global March).

‘India was the first country to have child labour free zones. The underlying principle is that the chief or village leader announces that all children belong in school and adults at work. A statement like that from such a central figure within the community is more powerful than if the government makes it. Next, everyone becomes involved: parents, teachers, educators, and hospitals. I was taken on a business trip to see with my own eyes how this approach works in India. With the knowledge I gained, I was able to get started in Ghana.’

Without the GAWU, there would be no child labour free zones in Ghana.

How important is the trade union’s role in this?

‘Over 15 years ago, I started creating child labour free zones within fishing and cocoa-farming communities in Ghana. Trade union members form a child protection committee made up of members of the community. If there is no school in the village, they engage in lobbying activities at government level and enter into talks with employers. Trade union members also actively search for children in work situations.

‘We established a kind of pre-school for children who had not - or not yet - received any education and needed to catch up to the level of their peers. They follow an educational programme that combines learning with sports and play so that they will find it interesting. They are also provided with meals in order for them to be fit enough to take part in the classes.

‘Without the GAWU, there would be no child labour free zones in Ghana. We organise and empower communities. The trade unions have become stronger, and eventually the children will become adults and will continue advancing the project. They will have had an education and therefore already be more developed. Child labour free zones are not just there for children - adults benefit from them as well. They even make entire communities happier because more decent work is generated.’

The Ghanian government in the meantime has embraced child labour free zones as a positive project. That is a major achievement.

‘Yes, the project was incorporated into the National Action Plan five years ago, and I was invited to become national coordinator. This has also inspired other African countries such as Zambia and Uganda. An Africa without child labour is possible. I believe in it.’

There was a setback during COVID-19. More children went back to work or did not return to school.

‘Multiple problems occurred because of corona. We had already warned before the lockdowns that children needed protection, but that was difficult to achieve. As a result, more girls became pregnant. During the lockdowns, children left school and a number of them never returned. They often started working again in areas with no child labour free zones. We are now investigating how we can reverse the situation. Children have lost interest in going to school, and it is not easy to get them back. But we do manage to encourage young mothers to resume their education.’

Despite all efforts to put a stop to child labour, it still occurs in Ghana. According to the National Action Plan of your Ministry of Labour, it involves about 3.2% of children in the 5-to-14-year age bracket. According to UNESCO’s figures from 2021, however, 13% of children are involved. Three-quarters of them work in the agricultural sector. What are your future plans?

‘We would like to develop a national partnership in which we can spread child labour free zones over the entire country. We want to involve more cocoa-farming areas in the project. Moreover, we want to set up a cash fund that supports impoverished women. Studies have shown that if these women are given the equivalent of eight euros a week, they will often escape poverty within 100 weeks. This would also reduce the percentage of child labour.’

‘A second strategy is that we recycle cocoa waste, which remains after the beans have been picked, to make and sell black soap. This popular soap is very beneficial for the skin. We want to have it produced on a large scale so that small farmers and agricultural labourers have extra income.’