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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Mauritania (RATIFICATION: 2001)

The Committee notes the Government’s report.

Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention. Authorization to employ children as from the age of 16 years. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 1 of Order No. 239 of 17 September 1954, as amended by Order No. 10.300 of 2 June 1965 concerning child labour, provides that in establishments of any nature, including family enterprises or private homes, it is prohibited to employ children under 18 years of age in hazardous work. It also noted that certain provisions of Order No. 239 of 17 September 1954 allow the employment of young persons from the age of 16 years in hazardous work: section 15 (in the underground galleries of mines and quarries, boys under 16 years of age may be employed only for the lightest work, such as sifting and loading of ore, manoeuvring and haulage of wagons within the specified weight limits); section 21 (subject to the written permission of the labour inspector, children over 15 years of age may work with bandsaws); sections 24, 25, 26 and 27 (children under 16 years of age may not be employed in turning vertical wheels and winches or handling pulleys; servicing steam valves; as doublers in workshops involving lamination and drawing mill operations; or in work performed with the aid of suspended scaffolds); and section 32, which refers to Table B (it is permitted to employ children between 16 and 18 years of age under specific conditions in 11 establishments and to employ children of 17 years of age, again subject to certain conditions, in one establishment). Finally, it noted that section 1 of Order No. R-030 of 26 May 1992 provides that no person under 16 years of age may be put in charge of manoeuvring hoists, including scaffold hoists, or giving driver signals.

The Committee reminded the Government that under Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention, national legislation can, after consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, authorize the performance of hazardous work by young persons between 16 and 18 years of age provided that their health, safety and morals are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. The Committee therefore requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the performance of hazardous work by young persons between 16 and 18 years of age will be permitted only in conformity with the provisions of Article 3, paragraph 3. Noting the lack of information in the Government’s report, the Committee requests it once again to supply information in this respect.

Article 5. Limitation of the scope of the Convention to certain branches of economic activity. The Committee notes that, at the time of ratification of the Convention, Mauritania declared that it was initially limiting the scope of the Convention to the branches of economic activity or types of enterprise covered by Article 5, paragraph 3, of the Convention, namely: mining and quarrying; manufacturing; construction and public works; 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. Under Article 5, paragraph 4(a), of the Convention, any government which has limited the scope of application of the Convention under this Article must provide information in its subsequent reports on the general situation concerning the employment or work of children and young persons in the branches of activity which are excluded from the scope of the Convention, and also all progress made towards a wider application of the provisions of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee notes that, according to a study undertaken by the Government in 2004 in collaboration with UNICEF, children work in the informal sector on a self-employed basis as carters, hawkers or in the street, and girls work especially as domestic workers. Reminding the Government that, under Article 5, paragraph 4(b), it may at any time formally extend the scope of application of the Convention by a declaration addressed to the Director-General of the International Labour Office, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate whether it intends to extend the scope of application of the Convention to the branches of activity, especially in the informal sector, which it excluded at the time of ratification.

Article 7, paragraph 3. Determination of light work. The Committee previously noted that, under section 154 of the Labour Code regulating the employment of children between 12 and 14 years of age in light work, no child over 12 but under 14 years of age may be employed without the express permission of the Minister of Labour. Children over 12 years of age may be employed in work outside the hours of compulsory schooling provided that such work is not harmful to their health and normal development and does not exceed two hours per day on both school days and holidays, the total number of hours per day devoted to both school and light work not exceeding seven hours. The Committee reminded the Government that Article 7, paragraph 3, stipulates that the competent authority shall determine, apart from the hours and conditions of work, the activities in which employment or light work may be permitted for children between 12 and 14 years of age. Noting the lack of information in the Government’s report, the Committee requests the Government once again to adopt the necessary measures to determine the activities in which employment or light work for children between 12 and 14 years of age may be permitted.