Meth takes child labour campaign to Mthatha as services reach Eastern Cape families
The employment and labour minister leads the national commemoration on 18 September, with a services drive running in the surrounding areas before the main event.
Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth will lead the national commemoration of the Day Against Child Labour at Mthatha Stadium on Friday, 18 September 2026, under the theme “Let me be a child”.
The event runs from 10:00 to 12:00 at 107 Errol Spring Avenue in the Eastern Cape, and brings together government departments, civil society, social partners and communities around a single commitment, the elimination of child labour in South Africa.
Ahead of the main programme, the department is running its Taking Services to the People programme in the areas around Mthatha, taking the department’s services directly to residents rather than asking them to travel for them.
What the day is for
The 2026 commemoration is built around four things the department names as central to protecting children: awareness, enforcement, education and collaboration. The event is also a working session for the stakeholders who attend it, a chance to strengthen understanding of the national policies and legal frameworks that govern child labour, to exchange ideas, and to push collective action on prevention.
The International Labour Organization defines child labour as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. The organisation’s definition of the worst forms of child labour covers children who are enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses, or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities.
That definition is the standard the day is measured against, and it is the reason the department frames the commemoration as a national commitment rather than a single event.
Who is answerable
The minister carries the political responsibility for the day and for the department’s child labour work, and she will be in Mthatha in person to lead it. The department’s Eastern Cape provincial communication officer, Ms Cebisa Siyobi, is handling media accreditation for the event, and the ministry spokesperson, Ms Thobeka Magcai, is handling media enquiries.
The commemoration will highlight the importance of awareness, enforcement, education and collaboration in protecting children from child labour and promoting their rights and well-being.
The partnership list is wide by design. Government departments, civil society, social partners and communities are all named as participants, which reflects how child labour is actually addressed in practice, through schools, labour inspectors, courts, families and the communities where children work.
The services drive
The Taking Services to the People programme is the practical limb of the build-up. It takes departmental services into the surrounding areas of Mthatha in the days before the stadium event, which matters for families who would otherwise have to absorb the cost of a trip to a government office.
For residents in those areas, the programme is the part of the week with a direct effect: services delivered closer to home, and a clearer line to the department for anyone who needs to raise a case.
What happens next
The event itself is the next dated step. The commemoration takes place at Mthatha Stadium on Friday, 18 September 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00, and media attending are asked to RSVP to Ms Cebisa Siyobi at Cebisa.Siyobi@labour.gov.za or 072 427 6034.
Source: South African Government, Minister Nomakhosazana Meth leads commemoration of National Day Against Child Labour, 18 Sept, https://www.gov.za/news/media-advisories/government-activities/minister-nomakhosazana-meth-leads-commemoration
