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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Mali (Ratification: 2002)

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. 1. Scope of application. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the information provided by the Government that children under the age of 15 years working on their own account could be informed by the labour inspector covering their area of the risks involved in their work and the social security measures to be envisaged in the event of employment accidents. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a training seminar for labour inspectors was held on 18, 19 and 20 May 2009 in Bamako, during which labour inspectors were able to identify all the specific features of child labour and were informed of the means by which they can exercise supervision over child labour. The Committee however notes the Government’s indication that no specific measures have been adopted in Mali to allow labour inspectors to target more specifically children under 15 years of age engaged in an economic activity on their own account. It reminds the Government that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity and that it covers all types of employment or work, whether or not it is based on an employment relationship and whether or not it is paid. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take measures to ensure that children who are not bound by an employment relationship, such as those working on their own account or in the informal economy, benefit from the protection afforded by the Convention. In this respect, it requests the Government to envisage the possibility of taking measures to adapt and strengthen the labour inspection services with a view to ensuring such protection.

2. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under section 20(b) of the Child Protection Code, all children have the right to be employed as from 15 years of age, in accordance with the minimum age specified when ratifying the Convention. It noted, however, that pursuant to section L.187 of the Labour Code, the minimum age for the admission of children to employment in enterprises, even as apprentices, is 14 years, except with a written waiver issued by the Minister of Labour. The Committee also noted that section D.189-23 of Decree No. 96‑179/P‑RM of 13 June 1996 issuing the Labour Code lists the loads that children between the ages of 14 and 17 years may not carry, drag or push, depending on the type of transport equipment, the weight of the load and the sex of the child. In this respect, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that it undertook to take the necessary measures to amend section L.187 of the Labour Code, which will “lead to the raising of the minimum age for admission to employment”. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has not yet adopted any measure to raise the minimum age for admission to employment, as established in the Labour Code, to 15 years. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to harmonize the relevant provisions of the Labour Code and of Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 13 June 1996 with the Convention and to prohibit work by children under 15 years of age as soon as possible. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this respect.

Article 2, paragraph 3. Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee noted previously that Decree No. 314/PGRM of 26 November 1981 regulates school attendance and that the age of completion of compulsory schooling in Mali is 15 years. It noted the information provided by the Government according to which the implementation of phase II of the Sectoral Investment Programme for the Education Sector (PISE) would increase the number of classes and teachers in the poorest regions and improve the access to schooling for thousands of children, particularly in rural areas. The Committee also noted that, according to the national survey report on child labour prepared in 2005, 41 per cent of children aged between 5 and 14 years were engaged in full‑time economic activity, 25 per cent combined work and studies and 17 per cent only attended school. The net school attendance rate for primary education (7–12 years) in 2004–05 was 56.7 per cent, or 48.9 per cent for girls and 64.8 per cent for boys, while the rate for secondary education (13–15 years) was 20.6 per cent, or 15.4 per cent for girls and 26 per cent for boys. The Committee noted the Government’s indication that it is aware that the performance of child labour is prejudicial to schooling and that it will continue its efforts to ensure the schooling of a larger number of children.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the National Educational Statistical Yearbook indicates that, during the 2007–08 school year, the gross school attendance rate in primary school (7–12 years) was 80 per cent, or 70.7 per cent for girls and 89.5 per cent for boys, while for secondary education (13–15 years) the rate was 46.8 per cent, or 36.6 per cent for girls and 57.3 per cent for boys. The Committee notes that Mali is one of the 11 countries involved in the implementation of the ILO–IPEC project “Tackle child labour through education in 11 countries” (ILO–IPEC TACKLE project), the overall objective of which is to contribute to the reduction of poverty in the least developed countries by providing equitable access to primary education and the development of knowledge amongst the most underprivileged members of society. According to the activity report of the ILO–IPEC TACKLE project in Mali of October 2009, several measures and programmes of action have been implemented to support school attendance by children engaged in work at an early age. Furthermore, an integrated framework to cover the educational needs of the most vulnerable categories of children is currently being formulated with a view to the integration of these needs into phase III of PISE.

The Committee takes due note of the measures adopted by the Government in relation to education. However, it notes that, according to the Education for all global monitoring report of 2008, published by UNESCO under the title “Education for all by 2015: Will we make it?”, although there has been substantial progress in the field of education, Mali is still far from achieving the objective of universal primary education by 2015, and will probably not achieve gender parity by 2015, or 2025.

The Committee further notes that the low school enrolment rate of children between 13 and 15 years of age shows that a number of children drop out of school before reaching the minimum age for admission to employment and that they enter the labour market. Considering that education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to redouble its efforts to increase school attendance rates and reduce school drop-out rates, particularly for children between 13 and 15 years of age, and especially for girls. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress achieved in this respect. Furthermore, noting that Decree No. 314/PGRM of 26 November 1981 is not attached to the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests it to provide a copy of it with its next report.

Article 3, paragraph 2. Determination of hazardous types of work. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that Order No. 09‑0151/MTFPRE-SG, completing the list of hazardous types of work prohibited for young persons under 18 years of age in the agricultural, stock‑raising, fishing, forestry, mining, quarries and traditional gold panning, tourism and informal sectors, was adopted on 4 February 2009.

Article 3, paragraph 3. Admission to hazardous types of work from the age of 16 years. The Committee noted previously that certain provisions of Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 13 June 1996 allow children to be employed in hazardous types of work from the age of 16 years: section D.189-24 (boys over 16 years of age in underground galleries, mines and quarries); section D.189-26(4) (children over 15 or 16 years of age in the operation of bandsaws and circular saws, subject to prior written authorization from the labour inspector); section D.189-29 (children of 16 years and over to perform work involving vertical wheels, winches or pulleys; steam valves; doublers in workshops where wire rods are laminated and drawn; work involving the use of suspended scaffolds); and section D.189‑31(2) (children over 16 years of age under specific conditions in a certain number of establishments). The Committee noted the Government’s indication that the authorization of the labour inspector, which is required to employ young persons between 16 and 18 years of age, is a guarantee that these types of hazardous work are performed under healthy, safe and moral conditions. Indeed, the labour inspector is obliged to secure full guarantees before issuing the authorization. The Government indicates in its report that section D.189-33 of Decree No. 96-178/P-RM establishes the requirement to ascertain that young persons between the ages of 16 and 18 years engaged in hazardous types of work have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity, in accordance with Article 3(3) of the Convention. However, the Committee notes that section D.189-99, which refers to the declaration that the employer has to make to the Employment Office for the recruitment of a child, does not make any reference to the instruction or vocational training that has to be followed by a young person over 16 years of age to be able to perform hazardous types of work. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take measures to ensure compliance with the conditions set out in Article 3(3) of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect.

Article 7. Light work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 189-35 of Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 13 June 1996 allows exceptions from the minimum age for admission to employment in the case of boys and girls of at least 12 years of age for domestic work and light work of a seasonal nature, such as harvesting and sorting in plantations. It noted the Government’s indication that it undertook to raise the minimum age for domestic work and light work of a seasonal nature from 12 to 13 years. It also noted that a draft order was being prepared to determine light-work activities and the conditions for their performance. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no new measure has yet been taken to establish the list determining light-work activities and the conditions for their performance. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to harmonize the national legislation with the Convention and to authorize the employment of children on light work from the age of 13 years, and to indicate the light-work activities in which the employment or work of children could be permitted. For this purpose, it hopes that the order respecting light work will be formulated and adopted in the near future.

Article 1 and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the national survey report on child labour prepared in 2005 by the National Directorate for Statistics and Information, in collaboration with the National Labour Directorate and ILO–IPEC–SIMPOC. According to this report, around two children out of three aged between 5 and 17 years are economically active, or just over 3 million girls and boys throughout the country. Of these, almost 2.4 million children between 5 and 14 years of age, or 65.4 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 years, are engaged in work, a phenomenon which affects both boys and girls, and both the rural areas and the towns of Mali. The Committee noted that the phenomenon is more widespread in rural areas (68 per cent of 5–14 year olds) than in urban areas (59 per cent of 5–14 year olds). Some 93 per cent of 5–14 year olds who are economically active are engaged in harmful or hazardous types of work, corresponding to 60 per cent of children in that age group. The Committee also noted that, according to the survey, the main sector for child employment is agriculture, in which one child out of six works. The Committee noted, among other information, that in 2006 Mali launched a Time-bound Programme (TBP) on the worst forms of child labour, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC. It noted that the areas of intervention covered by the TBP include mines and quarries, agriculture and cottage industries, the urban informal economy and domestic work. The Committee also noted that a Poverty Reduction Strategy Framework (PRSF) had been adopted which takes into account the problem of child labour in the context of the cross-cutting issues and integrates it into the global context of the improvement of the situation of children and the role of the family.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that 10,000 children have been removed from child labour and its worst forms, or have been prevented from becoming engaged therein. The Government adds that the awareness-raising activities that have been carried out cover 35,000 people concerning the trafficking of children in the agricultural and mining sectors, in the informal economy and concerning girls involved in the urban economy. The Committee also notes with interest that, according to the technical progress report of 1 September 2009 on the ILO–IPEC support project for the TBP, 6,499 children have benefited from the measures taken in the context of the TBP since its implementation and 2,450 children have been removed from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee also notes that, in the context of the TBP, a programme of action was launched in 2009 for the preparation and design of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Mali (PANETEM). The PANETEM will reinforce the progress achieved over more than a decade of combating child labour and will address the difficulties encountered. It will be implemented by the National Cell to Combat Child Labour (CNLTE), established in 2007 with the support of ILO–IPEC with a view, among other objectives, to eliminating child labour in the country and compiling information on the activities carried out by children. The Committee notes that, with a view to monitoring the follow-up of the activities carried out in the context of the PANETEM, a National Commission to Follow-up the Preparation (CNSE) of the PANETEM was established by Decision No. 09-1338/MTFPRE-SG, of 27 July 2009.

The Committee once again expresses its appreciation of all the measures taken by the Government for the abolition of child labour, measures which it views as an affirmation of the political will to develop strategies to combat this problem. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to redouble its efforts to combat child labour and requests it to provide information on the implementation of the projects referred to above, the formulation of the PANETEM, the activities of the CNLTE and the CNSE, and the results achieved in terms of the progressive abolition of child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice including, for instance, statistics disaggregated by sex and age group on the nature, extent and trends of work by children and young persons under the minimum age specified by the Government when ratifying the Convention, and extracts from the reports of the inspection services.