1. International Law and Supervision 2018
Child Labour
International Law and Supervision 2018

2. Freedom from child labour as a human right
Until late 1980s there was almost no discussion of this as a right. No definition existed in international law.
No focused operational programmes existed among international organizations
Regarded as inevitable in much of the world.
ILO adopted series of regulations of conditions and ages - amounted to a prohibition below these ages.
UN CRC adopted in 1989, included rights of children

3. Rationale for child labour protection
Freedom from child labour/child labour protection as a human right
Intersection of child labour protection and right to education
Child labour as a development/poverty issue
Child labour as a labour market issue
Special issues concerning Human Rights of children -

4. International Principles and Rights
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
Art. 32: Provides that children be protected from economic exploitation and work that threatens their health education and development
ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
Conditions under which and ages at which children can enter the work force. (Followed long series of Conventions since 1919)
ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
Forms of child labour to be eliminated immediately.

5. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 32
1. Recognize right of child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing harmful work.
2. Take measures (‘having regard to the relevant provisions of other international instruments’):
(a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment;
(b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment;
(c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of the present article.

6. ILO Convention No. 138
Revised and consolidated 10 earlier minimum age Conventions adopted since 1919
171 ratifications (March 2018)
Basic obligations (Art 1):
to pursue a national policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and
to raise progressively the minimum age for admission to employment or work to a level consistent with the fullest physical and mental development of young persons.

7. Coverage Employment or work With or without contract Paid or unpaid
All economic sectors (see exceptions)
Does not apply (Art. 6) to work done by children and young persons in schools for general, vocational or technical education or in other training institutions, or to work done by persons at least 14 years of age in undertakings, in training programmes (e.g., apprenticeship)

8. Basic minimum age
15 years or the end of compulsory schooling, whichever is higher
Art. 2 (4): a Member whose economy and educational facilities are insufficiently developed may, after consultation with the organisations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, initially specify a minimum age of 14 years.
Higher and lower ages for particular purposes

9. Range of minimum ages Basic Minimum Age (Art. 2) 15 years 14 years
General Developing countries
Basic Minimum Age (Art. 2) 15 years 14 years
Hazardous work (Art. 3) 18 years NO EXCEPTION
(16 years
with supervision
and training)
Light work (Art. 7) years years

10. Hazardous work
Defined as by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of young persons
Minimum age 18
types of employment or work ... shall be determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority, after consultation with the organisations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist.
May be 16 if:
the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and
the young persons have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity

11. Light work
Lower age of 13 to 15 (12 to 14 if 14 is the designated minimum) if
(a) not likely to be harmful to their health or development; and
(b) not such as to prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programmes approved by the competent authority or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received.

12. Flexibility clauses
Art. 4: may exclude limited categories of employment or work in respect of which special and substantial problems of application arise.
e.g., family business (no other employees) and small scale agricultural undertakings (but note general problems of supervision in this sector)
But cannot exclude hazardous work under Art. 3

13. Art. 5: If economy and administrative facilities are insufficiently developed may, after consultation with the organisations of employers and workers concerned, initially limit the scope of application of this Convention.
But applies at a minimum to: mining and quarrying; manufacturing; construction; electricity, gas and water; sanitary services; transport, storage and communication; and plantations and other agricultural undertakings mainly producing for commercial purposes, but excluding family and small-scale holdings producing for local consumption and not regularly employing hired workers

14. Art. 8 - Artistic performances:
allow exceptions to the prohibition ... for such purposes as participation in artistic performances.
Permits so granted shall limit the number of hours and prescribe the conditions

15. Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
Does not revise C138, but supplements it.
181 ratifications (March 2018) Mostly highly ratified ILO Convention
Art. 1: immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency.
Prioritizing very unusual in international human rights
Time-bound measures required under Art. 7

16. What are worst forms? Art. 3
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.

17. Government must make a determination
Article 4:
1. Worst forms determined, after consulting E and W, taking into account Paras. 3 and 4 of accompanying Recommendation.
2. Must identify where they exist
3. Periodically revise and update

18. Who has not ratified C182? Eritria Marshall Islands Palau Somalia
Tuvalu
(India ratified in 2017)

19. Indicative comments by ILO supervision
C138, Bahamas, 2017 – Observation.
No national policy on child labour.
No legal protection against child labour outside of the formal sector under the Employment Act.
Ratification age is set at 14 but legal age for admission to work and for school completion is 16 years, therefor ratification age is out of date and should be raised.
Light work is permitted but no details on the national definition of light work.
No hazardous work list prohibited to children.
Insufficient practical information.

20. C138, South Africa, 2017: notes draft child exploitation policy and child labour programme. However notes practical information provided to and the concerns of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)re work of children in extractive industries and agriculture.
C182, Angola, 2015: (repetition) refers to info from the National Union of Angolan workers that cases of trafficking of children exist. It also notes concerns of the UN CRC and of ESCRC. Emphasis on children in the informal economy and difficulty/lack of labour inspection.

21. C182, Bahrain, 2015: A satisfaction is issued by the Committee for adoption of a new Labour Law that prohibits the employment of minors under the age of 18 years in hazardous or dangerous work. It notes with interest that an up to date specific list has been drawn up to identify 34 occupations that are prohibited to children due to hazards.
C. 182 Bangladesh, 2015: The Committee takes note of info. It finds that considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, it strongly encourages the Government to continue efforts to provide access to free basic education thereby encouraging enrollment and retention of students. It requests aggregated stats on enrollment and drop out rates.

22. C182, Indonesia, 2013: child domestic workers often suffered sexual, physical or psychological abuse. The Committee also noted the 2010 report entitled Recognizing domestic work as work, published by the ILO country office in Jakarta that approximately 35 per cent of domestic workers are under the age of 18. … 81 per cent of domestic workers work 11 hours or more a day, and that being hidden from public scrutiny made these workers particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. … 68 per cent of domestic workers had experienced mental abuse, 93 per cent had experienced physical violence, and 42 per cent had experienced some form of sexual harassment or abuse while at work.

23. C182, New Zealand, 2013: hazardous work prohibited for children under 15 years of age, but not for all children under 18 years of age … in 2006, about 300 children under 15 years visited their doctor for a work-related injury, and that accident compensation and rehabilitation assistance was provided to between 1,000–2,000 children between the ages of 15 and Department of Labour research paper of September 2010 according to which employers are not effective in raising school children’s’ awareness of hazards, nor their rights, in the workplace as expected under the Health and Safety in Employment Act.

24. And so on in all regions, every year.
Similar findings by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, though less detailed and less frequent.