Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

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

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy on the effective abolition of child labour and the application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that, according to the 2005 report of the International Trade Union Confederation entitled “Internationally recognized core labour standards in Egypt” (ITUC report), 6 per cent of children aged 5–14 are involved in labour activities, 78 per cent of whom are in the agricultural sector (in commercial as well as subsistence agriculture). Moreover, the ITUC report indicated that children often work in repair and craft shops, in heavier industries such as brick making and textiles and in leather and carpet-making factories. The ITUC report stated that there is still clear evidence of employers who abuse, overwork and many times endanger many child workers. The ITUC report concluded that child labour is employed extensively in Egypt, in both the rural and the urban sectors and, despite some measures taken to tackle this issue, it remains a serious case for concern and further improvements are needed both in law and in practice. The Committee expressed serious concern at the situation of children working in Egypt, and urged the Government to redouble its efforts in this regard. Also, noting that the Government had drafted a national strategy to combat child labour, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the progress made towards its adoption, and on the results achieved following its implementation.

The Committee takes due note that the Government adopted a national strategy to eliminate child labour (National Child Labour Strategy) in 2006, which highlights the role of NGOs, trade unions and the private sector, in partnership with state agencies, for its implementation. In March 2008, within the framework of the National Child Labour Strategy, the Ministry of Manpower and Migration (MoMM) signed protocols of cooperation with the Chamber of Construction Material, the Chamber of Engineering Industries, the Chamber of Leather Industries and the Al-Fustat Association. In cooperation with numerous other governmental ministries, the MoMM took the following measures:

–           the provision of trained personnel to deal with working children and the development of a capacity-building programme with a focus on children’s rights;

–           the creation of a central database on child labour, taking gender into account in the classification and analysis of data;

–           the implementation of a social mobilization and media awareness campaign on child rights and the importance of combating child labour;

–           the implementation of the Children at Risk Programme, by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, including the “Red Card to Child Labour” initiative;

–           the development of policies and legislation on the protection of working children and their harmonization with international standards in addition to strengthening their methods of implementation;

–           the provision of direct services to improve the economic, health and educational status of working children and their families;

–           the development of poverty-alleviation programmes to help prevent additional children from entering the labour force and to ensure that children return to school; and

–           the modernization of hazardous industries to reduce the risk to children and the provision of alternatives to children, where possible.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the implementation of the National Child Labour Strategy focuses on protection (with an emphasis on reintegrating children into basic education and preventing them from dropping out and joining the labour market), and rehabilitation (with an emphasis on withdrawing children from hazardous types of work, and providing them with training opportunities and safe jobs). The Committee also notes the information in the Government’s report that it has set up advisory committees in the Directorates of Manpower and Migration in all governorates, focused on the elimination of child labour. As a result of the work of these committees, 694 children were reintegrated into basic education, 7,852 children were enrolled in literacy classes, 4,747 children were enrolled in one-room schools and 1,997 children were enrolled in training centres. In addition, 2,911 children received social services, 1,455 children received health services and 133 children received material assistance. The Committee also notes the information in the Government’s report that, in cooperation with the US Department of Labor, a project on the worst forms of child labour is currently being implemented in the Geni Sueif, Assiut and Sohag governorates, targeting working children and their families, in addition to enterprise owners. Through this programme, 1,474 children were removed from work, 6,477 children were enrolled in state schools, 1,061 children were enrolled in community schools and 503 children received occupational safety and health equipment.

The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the Government to combat child labour and facilitate access to education, though notes the information available from UNICEF that, for the period 1999–2007, approximately 7 per cent of all children aged 5–14 (approximately 1,067,000 children) were engaged in child labour. The Committee remains concerned at the high number of working children under the minimum age and therefore urges the Government to strengthen its efforts, within the framework of the national strategy to eliminate child labour, to address this issue. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the results obtained in this regard. In addition, noting that the national strategy to eliminate child labour includes the establishment of a central database on child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the general application of the Convention from this database, as soon as this information is available.

Article 2, paragraph 2. Raising the initially specified minimum age for admission to work. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Children’s Act No. 12 of 1996 (Children’s Act) was amended by Law No. 126 of 2008, to raise the minimum age of employment to 15 years. Observing that, upon ratification the Government specified the minimum age of 14 years, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 2(2) of the Convention provides for the possibility for a State which decides to raise the initially specified minimum age for admission to employment or work to inform the Director-General of the International Labour Office by means of a new declaration. This allows the age fixed by the national legislation to be harmonized with that provided for at international level.

Part III of the report form. Labour inspection. The Committee previously noted that, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations, noted that 80 per cent of child labour is reportedly concentrated in the agricultural sector and that “many of these children work long hours in dusty environments, without masks or respirators, receiving little or no training on safety precautions for work with toxic pesticides and herbicides” (CRC/C/15/Add.145, paragraph 49, of 21 February 2000). The Committee also noted that, according to a 2007 report on findings on the worst forms of child labour in Egypt, available on the High Commissioner for Refugees web site (www.unhcr.org), a separate unit within the MoMM is responsible for child labour investigations in the agricultural sector. In this regard, it noted the Government’s indication that inspections are conducted on commercial plantations with a large agricultural production and child labour inspectors endeavour to enforce the legislation regarding children working in agriculture. As a result, the MoMM reported that its 2,000 labour inspectors issued 72,000 citation violations between 2006 and the first nine months of 2007, though the Committee noted that the inspection reports communicated to the Office did not reference these citations.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report submitted under the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), that, although the Labour Code does not apply to children and women working in small family enterprises which produce for the sake of local consumption, inspections are still carried out in the agricultural sector to ensure that the working conditions conform to those prescribed under Order No. 118 of 2003, specifying that children under the age of 18 years may not be employed in several agricultural occupations, such as cotton baling (section 1(34)) and the preparation and spraying of pesticides (section 1(39)), and Order No. 1454 of 2001 of the Ministry of Agriculture on child labour in agriculture and cotton harvesting, which prohibits persons under the legal age from performing certain agricultural tasks. The Committee further notes the Government’s statement that the MoMM, through inspections, takes an active role in providing a safe working environment for children in agriculture and that the MoMM held 50 national workshops in the field of agricultural labour inspections. These workshops included awareness-raising activities on the issue of child labour in Egypt and on Order No. 1454 of 2001, and an explanation of the underlying causes of child labour.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that inspections were carried out in 4,361 enterprises, and a total of 3,677 children were found to be working (3,271 boys and 406 girls). The Committee also notes that comprehensive inspections were carried out in 398 enterprises, and a campaign to monitor rest and work hours included 2,657 enterprises. These inspections found wage violations concerning 254 children, leave violations concerning 169 children, hours of work and rest violations concerning 29 children and the failure of employers to meet their obligations regarding 277 children.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in response to the violations, inspectors issued minutes and applied the penalties prescribed in the Labour Code. However, the Committee observes that the Government’s report does not indicate the number of these recourses taken with regard to child labour. The Committee also observes that the information in the Government’s report on labour inspections does not indicate if these inspections include the agricultural sector. The Committee therefore requests the Government to clarify if these statistics on inspections refer to inspections in both the agricultural and non‑agricultural sector. It also requests the Government to indicate the number of violations, including violations of the prohibition of hazardous work, detected by labour inspectors with regard to children working in the agricultural sector. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the number of fines issued, pursuant to the Labour Code, for violations involving persons under this minimum age. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of Order No. 1454 of 2001 of the Ministry of Agriculture on child labour in agriculture and cotton harvesting.