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

Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No. 112) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1961)

Article 2 of the Convention. Minimum age. The Committee notes with interest resolution No. AMN-DM-DFTGM-002-2006-FBA/mpc, adopted on 7 August 2006 by the Maritime Department of the Ministry of National Defence, which refers expressly to the Convention. It provides that the authorities responsible for issuing navigation permits for fishing vessels must check in advance that no children under 14 years of age are employed on board and that those aged between 14 and 18 years are in possession of permits issued respectively by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Labour. It also requires registers to be kept of fishers of over 14 years and under 18 years of age.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government on the practical effect given to the Convention, particularly with regard to the workshops on the labour of young persons organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare to familiarize participants with the content of Conventions ratified by Guatemala. It also notes that the maritime inspectorate has recorded only one infringement of the minimum age legislation and that it involved a passenger ship and not a fishing vessel. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information in future reports on the practical application of the Convention, including extracts of reports by the inspection services.

With regard to follow-up of the decisions taken by the Governing Body following the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revisions of Standards, the Committee notes with interest that the Government has begun formalities for declaring that Article 3 of Convention No. 138, setting the minimum age for hazardous work, applies to maritime fishing, which would entail immediate denunciation of Convention No. 112. The Committee notes, however, that the Worker delegates at the Tripartite Committee on Labour-Related International Issues opposed denunciation of Convention No. 112 on the grounds that workers’ rights are enshrined in article 106 of the Constitution and are inalienable. The Committee reminds the Government that extending the application of Article 3 of Convention No. 138 to maritime fishing does not mean that Guatemala needs formally to denounce Convention No. 112, denunciation being automatic. The minimum age in the maritime fishing sector would then be governed by the provisions of Convention No. 138, and particularly Article 3 on hazardous work which sets the minimum age for admission to such employment or work at 18 years (Article 3, paragraph 1, of Convention No. 138). National laws or regulations or the competent authority may, however, authorize employment or work as from the age of 16 years but only after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned and provided that the health and safety and morals of the young persons are fully protected and that the young persons have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. The minimum age in the maritime fishing sector would thus be 18 years (exemptions being possible as from 16 years), whereas the minimum age set by Convention No. 112 is 15 years (with exemptions possible as from 14 years). The Committee wishes to impress on the Government that automatic denunciation of Convention No. 112 as a result of notification by Guatemala that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to maritime fishing, will in no way lessen the protection enjoyed by workers in this area. The Committee therefore asks the Government to keep it informed of the measures taken to declare formally that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to maritime fishing.

Lastly, the Committee notes with interest the adoption of Government Decision No. 250-2006, which came into force on 6 June 2006 and ensures the implementation of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). In particular, it lists the types of work which, by their nature and the conditions in which they are performed, are likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children under 18 years of age. It also notes that in an opinion issued on 12 June 2006 the technical and legal advisory department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare concluded that the abovementioned Government Decision ought to be amended so as to include fishing among the types of hazardous work so that the employment of minors in such activities is expressly prohibited. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken to amend Government Decision No. 250-2006 so as to include maritime fishing in the list of types of work which, by their nature or the conditions in which they are carried out, are liable to harm the health, safety or morals of persons under 18 years of age.