Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1999)

Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 4, of the Convention and Part V of the report form. Minimum age for admission to employment or work and application in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the ICFTU’s indications that child labour is a major problem in the Dominican Republic. Owing to high unemployment and poverty, particularly among the Haitian community, children enter the labour market at a young age and work in the informal economy or in agriculture. Moreover, the number of Haitian children working on sugar plantations alongside their parents is increasing.

In reply to the ICFTU’s observations, the Government indicated that the Dominican Republic is a very poor country and that it could not deny that children enter the labour market at a very young age. However, with the technical assistance of ILO/IPEC, it was continuing to take measures to eliminate child labour. For example, children working in the agricultural sector had been removed from their work and awareness-raising campaigns for the population concerning the problem of child labour had been organized. The Committee noted that, according to the statistics contained in the “Report on the results of the national study on child labour in the Dominican Republic”, published in 2004 by ILO/IPEC, SIMPOC and the Secretariat of State for Labour, around 436,000 children aged between 5 and 17 years were working in the Dominican Republic in 2000. Of these, 21 per cent were aged between 5 and 9 years and 44 per cent were between the ages of 10 and 14. The sectors of economic activity most affected by child labour were services in urban areas and agriculture in rural areas. Furthermore, there were also many children working in the commercial and industrial sectors. The Committee noted that, according to the above statistics, the legislation on child labour appeared difficult to apply and child labour constitutes a problem in practice in the Dominican Republic. It expressed its deep concern at the situation of children under the age of 14 years who are compelled to work in the Dominican Republic, and strongly encouraged the Government to step up its efforts to gradually improve the situation.

In its report, the Government indicates that all children, irrespective of their nationality and including children of Haitian nationality, have to attend school. It adds that the Secretariat of State for Labour, in collaboration with the Secretariat of State for Education (SEE), has formulated a plan of action under which labour inspectors who identify children not attending school have to inform the SEE, irrespective of their nationality. Furthermore, according to the Government, inspections carried out by the General Directorate of Labour and the National Labour Inspection Department have not revealed the presence of Haitian children or children under 14 years of age who work.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report under Convention No. 182. It notes the adoption of the National Strategic Plan for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (2005-15), which is the country’s response to resolving the problem of child labour and its worst forms. The Committee notes with interest that the Government, in the context of the ILO/IPEC Time-bound Programme (TBP) on the worst forms of child labour, is carrying out several programmes of action, particularly in the agricultural sector regions of Constanza (vegetables), San José de Ocoa (coffee), Azua (tomatoes) and the Provinces of Duarte and Maria Trinidad Sánchez (rice); domestic work by children in Santiago and urban child labour in San Domingo. According to the information available to the Office, these programmes will benefit, directly or indirectly, around 25,200 boys and girls under 18 years of age who are engaged in work or at risk of exploitation, and over 2,850 families. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s efforts to eliminate child labour and its worst forms, and requests it to provide information on the implementation of these projects and on the results achieved in terms of the progressive abolition of child labour.

The Committee is also raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.