Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Kenya (Ratification: 1979)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in reply to the general direct request. It also notes the information concerning the application of Article 6 of the Convention.

Article 2. In its previous comments, the Committee recalled that the Government specified, in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Convention, a minimum age of 16 years for admission to employment or work. Section 25(1) of the Employment Act, 1976, provides that children, defined for the purposes of the Act as minors of 16 years of age, cannot be employed in the industrial enterprises as enumerated restrictively in section 24(2) of the same Act. The Committee notes that the prohibition of the work of children under the age of 16, which applies only to industrial enterprises, ought to be extended to employment and work in any occupation, in order to bring the legislation into line with the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government's statement that this question is already adequately catered for under the Employment (Children) Rules 1977. It notes that the Rules of 1977 were issued under the provisions of section 56, subsection (l)(j) of the Employment Act, 1976, which empowers the Minister of Labour to issue rules to provide for a total prohibition, subject to certain conditions, from employing children in specific activities or occupations and that the rules apply, under section 2, to all types of employment.

The Committee refers to its General Survey of 1981 on minimum age and recalls that the specification of a minimum age for admission to work or employment in an occupation covers both paid and unpaid work. The Committee considers that paid employment is covered by section 2 of the Rules of 1977, subject to the provisions of section 1(2) of the Employment Act of 1976. Consequently, it asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to ensure that no person under the age of 16 years shall be admitted to work, even in the absence of a paid employment relationship. It also requests the Government to provide the list of activities or branches of activity which, by virtue of section 1, subsection 2(d) of the Employment Act of 1976, are excluded, by order, from the Act of 1976 as a whole or from any of its provisions, along with a copy of the relevant orders.

Article 3. With reference to its previous comments concerning the absence of any laws or regulations establishing a minimum age of less than 18 years for admission to any type of employment or work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of young persons, the Committee notes that the Government intends to give effect to this Article of the Convention. The Committee once again expresses the hope that the necessary measures will be adopted to determine the types of employment or work prohibited to young persons under 18 years of age, after consultation with the employers' and workers' organisations.

Article 7. The Committee notes from the Government's report that the employment of persons below 16 years of age in the agricultural sector normally takes place during school holidays and is limited to light agricultural work (e.g. picking tea leaves, coffee berries, pyrethrum flowers, etc.). The Committee notes that section 3 of the Rules of 1977, which permits the employment of children under 16 years of age subject to the prior written permission of an authorised officer, does not specify the categories of employment or work which may be authorised, nor the reservations provided for in Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention. It hopes that the national legislation will reflect the practice described by the Government by limiting the admission to employment or work of young persons of 13 to 15 years of age to light work, which is not likely to be harmful to their health or development or to prejudice their attendance at school or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures that have been taken or are envisaged to this end.

The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt legislation in the near future that will enable all the provisions of the Convention to be applied. The Government may wish to consider requesting assistance from the International Labour Office in drafting or amending legislation to give full effect to the Convention.