Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Honduras (Ratification: 1980)

The Committee notes the Government’s report, and the additional information provided by the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP), dated 4 October 2010.

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the National Commission for the Gradual and Progressive Elimination of Child Labour (CNEGPTE) developed a second National Plan of Action for 2008–2015 in Honduras (Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour). The Committee also noted that, according to the 2006 statistics contained in a CNEGPTE document on the second Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour, 299,916 girls, boys and young persons aged between 5 and 17 years were economically active. Of these, 21.51 per cent were girls and 78.49 per cent were boys. Furthermore, 72 per cent of children engaged in work lived in rural areas, and 28 per cent in urban areas. Children worked principally in agriculture, forestry, fishing and domestic work (56.2 per cent); businesses, hotels and restaurants (24.4 per cent); manufacturing (8.2 per cent); construction (3 per cent); and transport, shops and distribution (1 per cent).

The Committee notes with interest the information provided in the Government’s report on the measures taken to combat child labour. It observes that the Secretariat of Labour and Social Security launched an initiative in 2010 with a view to the establishment of a platform of indicators on the basis of which the implementation of the objectives of the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Honduras could be evaluated. It notes that this Plan of Action has three objectives: (i) preventing school drop-outs; (ii) removing children from hazardous work and the worst forms of child labour; and (iii) ensuring the implementation of the provisions of the national legislation on child labour. For this purpose, the Committee notes that the Plan of Action is articulated around seven components, including: (i) family income, with the aim of promoting access to social protection services and improving the income of the families of children who are at risk; (ii) education, with the objective of promoting access to and retention in the education system or in non-formal education services; and (iii) research with the aim of broadening the necessary knowledge base to address the problem of child labour.

The Committee takes due note of the information provided in the Government’s report on the measures adopted and the results achieved in the context of the implementation of the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour. It observes that the Secretariat of Labour organizes training daily on rights and duties at work in relation to children and young persons and their legal representatives, and that, between January 2009 and April 2010, these workshops were attended by 2,528 participants. The Committee also notes that the labour inspectorate carries out regular inspections of enterprises which employ children at the average rate of eight inspections a month. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that Honduras has made significant progress towards the formulation of a roadmap to ensure that it is a country free of child labour and its worst forms, the strategic national framework based on the achievement of the objectives set out Decent Work in the Americas: An agenda for the Hemisphere, namely the elimination of the worst forms of child labour by 2015 and the eradication of child labour in all its forms by 2020.

The Committee notes the indication in the Government’s report that a “child labour” module has now been integrated into household surveys. It notes the results of the 2010 household survey carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), which are accessible on its website. According to the survey, 14.3 per cent of children and young persons between the ages of 5 and 17 years are engaged in an economic activity in the country, the great majority of whom live in rural areas (75.3 per cent). The Committee also notes that, according to UNICEF 2009 statistics, 16 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 years work in the country. While noting the Government’s efforts, the Committee must express its concern at the large number of children who work and who are below the minimum age for admission to employment or work, and it urges the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour. In this respect, it requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved through the implementation of the National Plan of Action for the Gradual and Progressive Elimination of Child Labour in Honduras (2008–15) and to provide information on the measures that are adopted following the formulation of the roadmap for the abolition of child labour by 2020. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, based in particular on statistics on the employment of children under 14 years of age, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and information on the number and nature of the violations reported and the sanctions imposed.

Article 2(1) and (4). Scope of application. The Committee previously noted that, under the terms of section 32(2) of the Labour Code, the authorities responsible for supervising work by persons under 14 years of age may permit them to work if they consider it indispensable in order to provide for their subsistence or that of their parents or brothers and sisters, and provided that it does not prevent them from following compulsory schooling. Furthermore, under the terms of section 2(1), agricultural and stock-raising undertakings that do not permanently employ more than ten workers are excluded from the scope of the Labour Code. It also noted that the Regulations on child labour of 2001, in accordance with sections 4–6, only apply to contractual labour relations. The Government indicated in this respect that a draft revision of the Labour Code had been prepared which contained provisions to bring the national labour legislation into conformity with the international Conventions ratified by Honduras, and therefore to harmonize the provisions of the Labour Code and the Regulations on child labour of 2001 with the Code for Children and Young Persons of 1996. The draft text would also allow the application of the provisions on the minimum age for admission to employment to all children, whether they are engaged under an employment contract or work on their own account. The Committee observed that the majority of children under 14 years of age work in agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report does not contain information on the situation regarding the legislative process for the adoption of the draft revision of the Labour Code. The Committee recalls that, under the terms of Article 2(1) of the Convention, no one under the age specified shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation, subject to the exemptions set out Articles 4–8 of the Convention. It also recalls that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity and covers all types of employment or work, whether or not they are performed within the framework of an employment relationship or a labour contract, and whether or not the employment or work is paid. Observing that Honduras ratified the Convention over 30 years ago and that the question of the revision of the Labour Code has been raised for a number of years, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that no young person under 14 years of age is permitted to work and to ensure that the protection afforded by the Convention also applies to children who work in agricultural and stock-raising undertakings which do not permanently employ more than ten workers and to those who work on their own account. It once again requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, although the net school enrolment rate at the primary level was relatively good, the net school attendance rate at secondary school remained low. It noted that, according to the information contained in the report of January 2008 on the ILO–IPEC project entitled “Eliminating Child Labour in Latin America (Phase III)”, the objectives of the Education for All Plan in 2015 will not be achieved. It nevertheless noted that a preliminary draft of the General Education Act, which is to replace the Consolidated Act of 1966, has been submitted to the Directorate of Education. The new legislation would, among other provisions, establish that school is compulsory and free of charge for ten years, namely one year of pre-school and nine years of primary education. The Committee also noted that education is one of the components of the implementation of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Honduras through the specific objective of promoting access to education and ensuring school attendance.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide any information on progress in relation to the envisaged reform of the Consolidated Act of 1966. The Committee observes that, according to UNICEF statistics for 2009, the net school attendance rate for primary education is relatively good, at 80 per cent for girls and 76 per cent for boys, but remains fairly low at the secondary level with only 36 per cent of girls and 29 per cent of boys attending this level of education. It also notes that, according to the UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011, entitled “The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education”, although the school enrolment rate in secondary education has increased generally in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean over recent years, the school enrolment rate at the secondary level in Honduras remains relatively low. Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee once again firmly requests the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the operation of the education system with a view to increasing school attendance rates among children under 14 years of age in compulsory basic education, and requests it to provide information on the measures adopted in this respect, particularly in the context of the National Plan of Action for the Gradual and Progressive Elimination of Child Labour in Honduras (2008–15). The Committee also expresses the firm hope that the preliminary draft General Education Act will be adopted in the near future and that it will contain provisions guaranteeing compulsory schooling up to the age of 14. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the Act once it has been adopted.

Article 3(3). Hazardous work from the age of 16 years. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that, under the terms of section 122(3) of the Code for Children and Young Persons of 1996, young persons may be authorized to perform hazardous types of work from the age of 16 years provided that certain conditions are respected, namely that the young person has completed her or his technical education at the Technical Vocational Training Institute or a specialized technical institute covered by the Secretariat for Public Education. The Secretariat for Labour is also under the obligation to ascertain that the work assigned can be performed without prejudicing the health of the young person.