Empowering communities. Cultivating change.
The Child Labour Platform (CLP) Country Working Group in Uganda is a partnership dedicated to eradicating child labour and promoting decent work, with a strategic focus on the coffee supply chain. This collaborative effort brings together key stakeholders to build a more sustainable and equitable future for local communities and the coffee sector. The work of the CLP is founded on collaboration with key actors and partners, including the National Steering Committee on the Elimination of Child Labour (NSCCL) and Child Wellbeing Committees (CWCs). CWCs, composed of local government and civil society representatives, are central to data collection, monitoring and referral of child labour cases.
Why Uganda?
Uganda has made significant progress in tackling child labour by implementing ILO Conventions, strengthening enforcement measures and improving access to education, including universal access to primary and secondary education. The Government of Uganda has developed a National Action Plan (NAP) on the elimination of child labour, with a key pillar focused on strengthening partnerships with the private sector. As coffee production is concentrated in smallholder farms operating outside the formal legal framework, private companies must actively engage in policy, research and advocacy to address child labour.
From strategy to impact: our work in action
The CLP’s action plan in Uganda is designed to accelerate progress through an integrated approach. Key areas of work include:
- Policy and systems at the national level.
- Child labour identification, remediation and prevention at the regional and community levels.
- Empowerment and representation of women and youth.
- Capacity-building on child labour due diligence and other fundamental principles and rights at work.
Our progress and key initiatives
The CLP Uganda Working Group is implementing several key initiatives:
Policy and systems: The CLP is supporting the ratification of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187), and is coordinating with the Government to evaluate the National Action Plan on Child Labour. The CLP is also strengthening social dialogue and collective bargaining in the coffee value chain, including the revision of seven collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) to incorporate clauses on child labour, occupational safety and health (OSH) and non-discrimination. In this regard, 38 constituents (23 males, 15 females) were trained on social dialogue and the integration of fundamental principles and rights at work, in May 2024. In addition to that, policy dialogue is ongoing with the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Agriculture (MAAIF) on the revision of the national hazardous child labour list.
Child labour identification, remediation and prevention:
- The CLP is strengthening the capacity of Child Wellbeing Committees (CWCs) at district and sub-county levels. In 2024, 557 community-based social service workers and 168 teachers were trained on child labour prevention and child protection. Along with that, forty-two schools were equipped and trained to register reported cases of violence and to create a safe learning environment. In this context, 449 children (268 boys and 181 girls) were identified in child labour between July 2024 and May 2025 in the Kalungu district through the Child Wellbeing Committees (CWCs) – 198 of them were remediated (105 in school and 93 in TVET).
- A vocational training programme for vulnerable children aged 14–17 is being developed and implemented in Masaka, Kalungu and Manafwa districts. Children removed from hazardous work are referred to technical and vocational education and training (TVET) services.
- The CLP is supporting the development of a coherent National Framework for a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) led by the Government and built on existing efforts of Government, private sector and civil society in Uganda. The aim is to provide clarity on the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder, enhancing the coherence and impact of efforts through an area-based approach; support advocacy and awareness-raising on child labour; and enable a more efficient allocation of resources for child labour prevention, monitoring and remediation. The CLMRS framework is aligned with both international and national frameworks, including the Child Wellbeing Management Information System (CWMIS) which incorporates 5 child labour indicators.
Empowerment of women: The Women Leadership Empowerment Programme (WLEP) aims to improve women’s leadership in the coffee supply chain through the Training of Trainers (ToT) methodology. In its first phase (Dec. 2024-June 2025), 14 mentors and 35 mentees were trained in the Kalungu district, fostering a better knowledge of child labour and supporting women to gain more responsibilities in farmer organizations and cooperatives. The programme is planned to be scaled up with a target group of 100 female coffee farmers in the Masaka district and in partnership with the International Women Coffee Association (IWCA).
Capacity-building on child labour due diligence: Two capacity building programs on child labour due diligence for CLP members and their suppliers were carried out in 2024 and early 2025. An upcoming second module will take place in 2026 focusing on developing and improving CLDD policies; real case scenarios (i.e. what to do, whom to go to, what structures and principles to follow when child labour is found) based on the local context and the national legal frameworks; dialogue with senior probation officers of the CWC from Kalungu.