Date of publication: August 7, 2006
Source: ICFTU OnLine
Author: Pierre Martinot
Interview by Pierre Martinot
Brussels, 7 August 2006 (ICFTU OnLine): According to a 2003 ILO study
covering 1,500 cocoa producers in Côte d'Ivoire, there are over 5,000
children working in the country's cocoa plantations. These children may or
may not be paid and are not receiving any form of education. Most come from
the neighbouring countries and are victims of the child trafficking rackets
organised with Burkina Faso, Benin and Mali.
Ignace Bla, Deputy General Secretary of the free trade union "Dignité",
explains the main reasons behind this situation and the work that is being
done in Abidjan and the cocoa-producing regions on combating child labour...