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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Uruguay (RATIFICATION: 1977)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy to ensure the effective abolition of child labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the National Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour (CETI) had adopted a plan of action for the elimination of child labour in waste collection (2011–15). It asked the Government to provide information on the measures adopted and the results achieved in the context of the plan of action.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in 2012 the CETI conducted a survey, with ILO assistance, on child labour in waste sorting and collection in the territories covered by the implementation of phase No. 1 of the plan of action. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts and requests it to send a copy of the aforementioned survey in its next report. Observing that the plan of action for the elimination of child labour in waste collection ends in 2015, the Committee also requests the Government to send information on its final evaluation.

Article 9(2) and Part V of the report form. Persons responsible for enforcing the Convention and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the National Inspectorate for the Work of Children and Young Persons had only five accredited inspectors for the whole country. It asked the Government to provide information on the measures taken to strengthen the capacity of the inspectorate.

The Committee duly notes the Government’s statement that seven new labour inspectors were added to the inspectorate between 2011 and 2013 and that 4,195 inspections were conducted across the country in 2012. According to the Government’s report, the inspectorate now has a total of 11 inspectors for the country, with seven in the department of Montevideo and four in the provinces (departments of Artigas, Flores and Lavalleja).

The Committee welcomes the work done by the Government. However, it observes that according to the results of the 2010 National Survey of Child Labour conducted by the National Institute of Statistics with the support of the ILO–IPEC SIMPOC programme, children in rural areas are much more exposed to hazardous work than children in urban areas (15.9 per cent of children and young persons between 5 and 18 years of age compared with 7.9 per cent). The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to strengthen the capacity of the National Inspectorate for the Work of Children and Young Persons so that it can detect all cases of child labour in rural areas.