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

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

The Committee notes the Government’s report. It also notes the communication of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 31 August 2006. It requests the Government to supply further information on the following points.

Article 2, paragraph 3, of the Convention. 1. Compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee had expressed its concern at the large numbers of children who, in practice, do not attend or who drop out of school before the age of completion of compulsory schooling. It had requested the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to increase school attendance and to reduce school dropout rates, so as to prevent the engagement of children in child labour.

The Committee notes the ICFTU’s allegation that educational opportunities for many of China’s children remain poor especially in the rural areas and with regard to female students and minorities, and in some cases continue to decline, leading to continued or increased motives for child employment. Statistics from the China Education and Research Network reveal that the number of primary schools has decreased and enrolment of both primary and secondary schools has decreased as well. Most crucially, the law fails to guarantee the funding for compulsory education, thus forcing or allowing many schools, particularly those in the impoverished rural regions, to go on collecting tuition fees or charge various miscellaneous fees to their students in the name of voluntary donations. The ICFTU also indicates that You county, from which many child flower sellers (“flower children”) come, was found to have a school dropout rate of 40 per cent among children over ten years old. Increasing school fees were found to be the primary reason for the increase in dropouts and corresponding increase in child workers. Girls, in particular, have high dropout rates.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in the latter half of 2005, the State Council decided to deepen reforms of the mechanisms for rural compulsory education funds. In particular, from 2006 to 2010 various levels of government will further allocate 218 billion yuan as fiscal funds for compulsory education in rural areas. In addition, there is an ongoing project to construct boarding schools in the rural areas, which will enable the construction of over 7,700 boarding schools in the western regions of China and guarantee access to education for young children living in the mountainous areas, border areas and minority ethnic groups’ areas. According to the Government, the State puts in huge amounts of funds, practicing the policy of “two exemptions and one subsidy” (exemption from tuition and miscellaneous fees, exemption from textbook costs, and providing boarding and subsistence subsidy) towards school-age children in the phase of compulsory education whose families are in financial difficulties. This policy effectively guarantees that school-age children receive a nine-year compulsory education. In 2005, all students in the stage of compulsory education from poor families in 592 primary counties chosen for the state project of “poverty-relieving for development” were all given exemption from miscellaneous fees, and 3.95 million students from poor families obtained boarding and subsistence subsidies. In 2006, tuition and miscellaneous fees for those in the stage of compulsory education in the rural areas of the west were all exempted (48.8 million pupils benefited from the exemption). Finally, by 2007, tuition and fees for compulsory education will be waived for all of the 148 million pupils living in the rural areas of China. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, as of the end of 2005, the rate of population coverage in areas where the nine-year compulsory education is being universalized has risen from 85 per cent to 95 per cent. The attendance of children of school age in primary schools reached 99.15 per cent; that of junior middle schools exceeded 95 per cent. The dropout rates at primary and junior middle schools were kept below 0.45 per cent and 2.62 per cent respectively.

The Committee is of the view that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour and welcomes the important measures that are being taken by the Government to this end. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the abovementioned measures, in particular the waiver of tuition and miscellaneous fees for children living in the rural areas, on increasing school attendance and reducing school dropout rates for children living in these areas. Moreover, it asks the Government to continue providing statistical information on school attendance and school dropout rates, in particular in rural schools.

2. Education for migrant children. The Committee notes the ICFTU’s allegations that, according to the hukou system, or household registration, local governments only allocate their resources, such as education, to permanent residents. In other words, migrant workers’ children, who travel with their parents to a city where they have no rights to register as permanent residents, even if they were born in that city, are not allowed to schooling provided by the local governments. It is estimated that some 20 million rural children stay in the cities with their parents and 9.3 per cent of these children officially do not go to school at their mandatory schooling age, which means that at least 2 million migrant children between the ages of 6 to 14 are not receiving education at all. In 1998, the State Education Committee and the Ministry of Public Security addressed the issue by releasing the “Temporary Methods for Migrant Children and Teenagers’ Education”, which allow migrant children to register at local schools by paying temporary enrolment taxes. However, such a method is proving to be unrealistic as most migrant workers are paid at best the minimum wage. This is why, since the mid-1990s, migrants have started to organize and run their own schools. However, there is no guarantee of the quality of teaching in these schools which sometimes are composed of a single class where children from 7 to 14 years of age share the same room and receive the same knowledge. Furthermore, these schools are generally not legitimate educational institutions and cannot issue certificates or send graduates to higher levels of education. The ICFTU points out that only a few cities, like Xiamen, have granted legal status to migrant schools. It also indicates that the report of the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education condemned China’s record on education, asserting that the central authorities had failed to provide education for children of migrant workers, and complaining of arbitrary school fees that many families cannot afford and a budget which does not provide adequate funding for education. The ICFTU concludes that, as of now, what directly addresses the problem, is a draft amendment of the Compulsory Education Law which is currently being revised by China’s lawmakers. A special provision has been mooted which will add that children of migrant workers are entitled to receive education at the places where their parents and legal guardians work and dwell and requests local governments to ensure that children of migrant workers enjoy equal conditions in obtaining compulsory education.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that it guarantees the right to compulsory education of children of peasant workers and endeavours are being made to support private makeshift schools for children of peasant workers by integrating them into the local educational system and local planning for educational development and including them in the overall school supervision system. It also notes the Government’s statement that it intends to gradually bring these schools into normality rather than simply shut them, leaving the children of peasant workers without schools. The Committee expresses its concern at the situation of migrant workers’ children who do not obtain compulsory education and encourages the Government to take all the necessary measures to ensure that migrant workers’ children receive compulsory education, including through the provision of adequate funds for this purpose. It also requests the Government to provide information on any developments with regard to the adoption of the amendment to the Compulsory Education Law providing for equal conditions for migrant workers’ children in obtaining compulsory education. 

Article 3, paragraph 1. Hazardous work. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the situation of school children performing manual work at schools, including having to produce firecrackers to compensate for the shortage of funds for their schooling. The Committee had expressed its concern at the situation of children engaged in hazardous work in schools. The Committee notes the ICFTU’s allegations that the fireworks industry in China is a long established industry, employing tens of thousands of people, many from the poorest provinces. Production generally takes place in small factories or village-based workshops. Children have long been used in firework production because of their small and nimble fingers and because of the informal setting of production. It is both the nature of the work – explosives used – and the nature of production – unsafe buildings, clusters of workshops and low fire safety measures – that make firework production an extremely dangerous occupation. The ICFTU adds that, in a survey conducted by the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, inspecting 120 fireworks’ manufacturing workshops in seven provinces, 36.7 per cent were found defective and creating a high risk of premature explosion. The most recent incident involving child labour and firework production took place on 10 July 2006 when an explosion at an illegal fireworks workshop killed seven workers and injured three others, including a 14‑year-old girl. Before that, on 19 October 2003, following an explosion in a fireworks factory in Dapingling village in Hunan province, a 14-year-old child worker was killed and 11 other workers, of which nine were under the age of 15, were badly injured. The ICFTU points out that the Government has pledged to phase out the use of these small fireworks workshops, but their use remains much in evidence.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, on 30 June 2006, several ministries, including the Ministry of Education, issued the “Regulations on the Management of Safety in Middle Schools, Primary Schools and Kindergartens” (MEO23), effective as of 1 September 2006. Section 33 of the Regulations stipulates that schools are not allowed to organize pupils to take part in: activities such as emergency operations that should be the duty of professionals or adults; hazardous activities such as fabricating fireworks or toxic chemicals; and commercial activities. Section 34 states that schools are not allowed to rent school premises or hire other persons for the fabrication and dealings of inflammable, explosive, toxic, harmful or other hazardous substances. Section 62 states that schools that do not fulfil their duties and do not correct their violation within a time limit, are liable to administrative sanctions. Moreover, those whose acts constitute a crime shall be prosecuted.

While taking note of this information, the Committee expresses its deep concern at the situation of children under 18 years of age who, in practice, continue to be employed in work which exposes them to injuries and sometimes even death. The Committee accordingly urges the Government to ensure that the prohibition of hazardous work contained in the recently issued Regulations (MEO23) of 1 September 2006 is strictly enforced in order to protect children under 18 from engaging in hazardous work inside schools. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of contraventions reported by the safety inspections for the violation of the prohibition of hazardous work contained in the Regulations (MEO23) of 1 September 2006, and the application of penalties in practice.

Parts III and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the ICFTU’s allegations that the vast majority of Chinese factories and enterprises do not employ children. However, the recent focus on competitive production combined with a poorly regulated labour market and rampant corruption has meant that some employers have sought child labour as the solution to reducing production overheads. The extent of child labour remains difficult to assess, due to a lack of official reporting on cases and the lack of transparency in statistics. In part, this is because most child labour takes place in small private factories which are harder to monitor. In part, however, the lack of reporting is because of a lack of monitoring in general. In fact, the chances of discovery are slim, given the shortage of labour inspectors and the extensive collusion between private business and local officials. The ICFTU indicates that, according to some records, child workers can make up some 20 per cent of the workforce in certain industries. Child labour is found predominantly in local and township level factories, and examples of industries employing children are: the firework industry; brick kilns and glass-making factories; the toy production industry; the textile industry; the construction industry; the footwear industry; the food production industry and light medical work. Children have also been found working in piecework at home and selling flowers in the streets. Geographically, child labour is found in the coastal and richer southern provinces with a higher proportion of private industry and migrants, such as the special export zones. The ICFTU points out that undisclosed information and statistical data on the handling of child labour cases nationwide is considered highly secret, and there is no officially published national data on the extent of child labour and the number of cases prosecuted. The ICFTU also indicates that the fines for child-employing factories remain low in practice. It concludes that statistics concerning child labour should be made available in a transparent manner and be made gender specific in order to be able to effectively address the employment of girls.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Labour Security Administrative Departments, at various levels, conducted compliance supervision in accordance with state laws. In 2005, on the basis of an extensive promotion of “Provisions on Labour Security Inspection”, various localities strengthened the work of labour security inspection and enforcement in a comprehensive way. Moreover, in the third quarter of the year, efforts were focused on combating the illegal use of child labour and specific examinations on the implementation of the Regulations Banning Child Labour of 2002 were conducted. Severe administrative sanctions were taken against the illegal use of child labour and those suspected of being involved in a crime were transferred to judicial organs for prosecution. According to the Government, these actions basically kept the illegal practices of using child labour within limits and the legal rights and benefits of minors were safeguarded. The Committee notes the commentary of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions contained in the Government’s report, according to which in recent years there has been some illegal use of child labour among some non-public enterprises and self-employed entrepreneurs who want to lower costs for profit. Most of the enterprises which illegally use child labour are family workshops, many of which are unregistered enterprises, using their own house or renting a one-household courtyard as a worksite with very poor equipment and living conditions, high work intensity and very long working hours. Most of these enterprises take a “sealed-off” management of the child labourers, who are ordinarily unable to go outside and cannot establish contact with their family members.

While taking note of the Government’s information, the Committee expresses its concern at the lack of child labour monitoring and at the low fines imposed on persons who violate the Regulations Banning Child Labour. It also expresses its concern at the lack of accurate statistical data with regard to the extent of child labour. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to renew its efforts to improve this situation including by undertaking more numerous and efficient inspections in order to reduce the number of children working. It requests the Government to supply, in its next report, statistical data along with supporting documentation on the employment of children and young persons and extracts from the reports of inspection services. It also asks the Government to provide information on the number and nature of the contraventions reported and penalties imposed.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government concerning other points.