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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Nicaragua (RATIFICATION: 1981)

1. Scope of application. The Committee noted that even if national legislation (the Constitution, the Code of Children and Young Persons, and the Labour Code) does not determine the minimum age for admission to employment when neither an employment relationship nor remuneration exists, it protects children from any form of economic exploitation. In this regard, the Government indicated that it was realizing a normative analysis in order to ensure the application of the Convention.

In its last report, the Government referred to the national plan of action for children and adolescents (1997-2001) with the specific purpose of promoting action to progressively diminish child labour for girls and boys under 14 years of age, respecting the Labour Code and the Code of Children and Young Persons (Chapter IV, points 5 and 10). The Committee requests the Government to continue to indicate the measures taken to reach this objective and the progress made on the issue.

Hazardous child labour (Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Convention). The Committee noted that section 133 of the Labour Code forbids young persons, girls and boys, to perform unhealthy work, morally dangerous work, as well as work in mines, underground, in rubbish tips, in brothels, work that requires the handling of toxic substances and night work in general. The Committee requested the Government to supply the legislative texts on hygiene and safety at work.

The Committee notes with interest section 78 of the ministerial resolution of 28 July 2000 on industrial hygiene in the workplace. According to this rule, young persons are forbidden to perform work that exposes them to chemical, physical and biological pollution (the Code of Children and Young Persons defines adolescents as persons between 13 and 18 years of age). The Committee requests the Government to supply the information on the practical application of section 78 mentioned above, and particularly information on reports of inspection services, contraventions reported and penalties imposed according to the legislation.

The Committee also notes the statistical data supplied by the Government on child labour, according to which the majority of working children are employed in agriculture.

The Committee notes that the following hazardous agricultural activities - use of machinery, exposure to pesticides, handling or manual transportation of weights, for example - are not included in the activities considered hazardous according to section 133 of the Labour Code. Moreover, the ministerial resolution of 27 November 2000 forbids employers from allowing children, who are less than 16 years old, to work with pesticides (article 66), while persons between 16 and 18 years old are authorized to perform this kind of activity. The Committee invites the Government to examine the possibility of establishing a list of work and employment forbidden to children under the age of 18 years, which will enhance the general interdiction of section 133 of the Labour Code and which will complete the list of work mentioned in this provision. The Committee also requests the Government to consider the possibility of including hazardous agricultural activities in the list of work forbidden to children under the age of 18 years. The Committee recalls also that Convention No. 184 on safety and health in agriculture, adopted by the ILO Conference in 2001, includes under the title, young workers and hazardous activities, a provision, according to which "the minimum age for performing an agricultural job, that by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to jeopardize the security and health of young workers, shall not be less than 18 years". The adoption of such a standard indicates the attention given to child protection when performing a hazardous activity in agriculture. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken on this point.

3. Derogation to the general minimum age (Article 7, paragraph 4, and Article 8). In its previous comments the Committee requested the Government to supply the regulations on the exceptions to the minimum age stated in section 131 of the Labour Code ("general labour inspection will emphasize the exceptions"). The Committee notes that section 134 refines working children’s rights and does not include provisions on the conditions for employment of children under 14 years of age, who, according to Article 7 of the Convention, can only be employed for light work. National legislation should determine these types of jobs and the conditions under which they can be performed. The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the measures taken to determine this work and to establish the conditions under which children who are less than 14 years old can be employed in such work.

Regarding the exceptions to the minimum age for participation in artistic performances, the Government indicates in its report that individual authorization may be accorded to the father, mother or guardian of the child. The Committee recalls that Article 8 of the Convention specifies that these authorizations will limit the working hours authorized and will rule the conditions. The Committee requests the Government to specify the conditions under which these authorizations are produced, as well as the procedures followed. The Committee also requests the Government to supply some copies of these authorizations.

4. Registers that the employer shall keep. The Committee recalls that Article 9, paragraph 3, of the Convention provides that the employer shall keep a record of any child under 18 years of age who works or is employed by him. The Government indicates in its report that, according to section 17(1) of the Labour Code of 1996, the employer has the obligation to keep registers and files such as established by the Ministry of Labour and to prepare certificates if requested by the workers. The Committee notes that section 17(1) does not include the obligation to keep a record of the age of the worker. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in order for the employer to keep a record of the age and date of birth of the children.

The Government indicates in its report that the director of inspection on child labour receives the inspection reports made in cooperation with the Labour Inspection Department, and this will be the base to elaborate data on inspection of child labour. The Committee notes that joint information on the report on child labour (January and February 2000), gives details of numbers of working children in branches of economic activities, and models of inspection that are annexed to the report. The Committee hopes that the Government will supply information on the inspections and on the progress made.

The Committee notes the agreement signed in 1999 between the Government and several enterprises, for the application of national legislation on child labour as well as the provisions of this Convention.