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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Uzbekistan (Ratification: 2009)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy for the effective abolition of child labour. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that the National Plan of Action on the implementation of Convention Nos 138 and 182 was approved on 12 September 2008. The Government indicates that this National Plan of Action was developed in coordination with 20 ministries as well as workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee also notes the information in the Government’s report that the National Plan of Action includes measures related to improving the legal and regulatory framework for the prevention of the illegal use of child labour, monitoring the implementation of the Convention and conducting an advocacy campaign on the issues related to implementing the Convention. The Government states that, within the framework of this advocacy campaign, it has published media materials on child labour, and disseminated these materials among parents, employers and officials of local governments.

Article 2(1). Scope of application. The Committee notes that, pursuant to section 1(3) of the Labour Code, the Code applies to labour relations of physical persons who work under a labour agreement (contract) in enterprises. Section 72 of the Labour Code states that a labour contract is an agreement between the worker and employer concerning the fulfilment of work for remuneration, and section 74 states that a labour contract is concluded in writing. Therefore, the Committee observes that the Labour Code, and its provisions relating to the minimum age of admission to employment or work, do not appear to apply to work performed outside of a labour agreement between an employer and an employee, such as self-employment or work in the informal economy. In this regard, the Committee reminds the Government that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity, and covers all types of employment or work, whether or not there is a contractual employment and whether or not the work is remunerated. In this regard, the Committee notes the information from the 2006 Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey that 70 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 who were engaged in economic activity in Uzbekistan were engaged on an unpaid basis. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that children who are not bound by an employment relationship, such as children performing unpaid work, work in the informal sector or work on a self-employed basis, benefit from the protection provided by the Convention.

Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee notes that, at the time of ratification, the Government specified 15 years as the minimum age for admission to employment or work. In this regard, the Committee notes that section 77(1) of the Labour Code states that persons who reach 15 years may be employed provided there is a written consent of one of their parents or guardians, and that other employment shall be allowed from the age of 16 years.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory education. The Committee notes that article 41 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan states that everyone shall have the right to education. The Committee also notes that section 23 of the Act on the Guarantees of the Rights of the Child provides that the State guarantees the child free of charge compulsory general secondary education as well as secondary special vocational education. The Committee further notes the information in the Government’s report, submitted under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that the Education Act provides for 12 years of free and compulsory education, for all children in the country. In this regard, the Committee notes the information from the UNESCO publication entitled “Global Monitoring Report – Education For All” of 2011 that the gross enrolment rate is 98 per cent in primary school and 86 per cent in secondary school.

Article 3(1) and (2). Minimum age for admission to, and determination of, hazardous work. The Committee notes that section 241 of the Labour Code states that it is prohibited to engage persons of less than 18 years of age in jobs with harmful working conditions, underground and other work, which may cause damage to the health, safety or morals of this category of workers. Section 241 also prohibits persons under 18 from lifting and handling weights exceeding the maximum permissible standards. According to the same provision, the list of works which is considered unfavourable and the maximum permissible standards for weights to be lifted by persons under 18 are determined by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Ministry of Health, in consultation with the social partners. In this regard, the Committee notes that the “List of works with the unfavourable working conditions, in which the use of labour of the persons under 18 years shall be prohibited” No. 1990 was approved and was registered at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan of 29 July 2009. It observes that this list contains a detailed list of 33 categories of hazardous activities prohibited to persons under the age of 18.

Article 6. Vocational training and apprenticeship. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child that a National Professional Training Programme is being implemented designed to cover all pupils completing the nine grades of the vocational education system and to give students a specific profession in addition to a general secondary education. The Government indicates in this report that networks of new vocational secondary educational institutions have been established (CRC/C/104/Add.6 paragraph 183). However, the Committee observes an absence of information on apprenticeships (i.e. vocational training carried out in an enterprise, but not an educational institution) and the applicable minimum age for these positions. Recalling that Article 6 of the Convention authorizes work to be carried out in enterprises within the context of an apprenticeship programme by persons aged at least 14 years, the Committee requests the Government to indicate what is the applicable minimum age for young persons to engage in apprenticeships in Uzbekistan.

Article 7. Light work. The Committee notes the statement in the Government’s report that students in general secondary school, vocational schools and secondary special educational institutions may be admitted to employment from the age of 15 years during non-school hours for the performance of the light duty work not causing damage to their health and moral development and undermining the process of education, with the consent of one of their parents or guardians. In this regard, the Committee notes that section 77 (2) of the Labour Code states that for the purpose of preparing youth to work, it shall be allowed to engage secondary-school students from the age of 14 years in performing light tasks which do not harm their health or impede their development and which do not disrupt their learning process (and are carried out outside of the learning process), with written consent of one of the parents or guardians. Section 20(4) of the Act on the Guarantees of the Rights of the Child also permits this type of light outside of school hours and with the consent of parents, from the age of 14. Moreover, the Committee notes that pursuant to section 242 of the Labour Code, the working time of persons aged 15–16 years (and students of 14–16 years old working during the vacation period) shall not exceed 24 hours per week.

Article 8. Artistic performances. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the competent authority does not grant permits allowing exceptions in individual cases to the prohibition of employment or work for such purposes as participation in artistic performances.

Article 9(1). Penalties. The Committee notes that, pursuant to the Code on Administrative Responsibility, a violation by an official of the labour legislation is punishable by a fine of five to ten times the minimum wages. Section 49-1 of the Code on Administrative Responsibility states that the employment of minors in jobs that could be detrimental to their health, safety or morals is punishable by a fine on citizens from one to three times the minimum wage. However, the Committee observes an absence of information in the Government’s report on the penalties applicable to an employer who violates the applicable minimum age provisions in cases not related to hazardous work. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide information on the penalties applicable to persons who violate section 77(1) and (2) of the Labour Code, in employing a minor under the minimum age of 15.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. The Committee notes that, pursuant to section 80 of the Labour Code, an applicant for a job must present his or her passport (or the document replacing it), and that all persons up to 16 years of age must also present their birth certificate. The Committee also notes that section 81 of the Labour Code requires all employers to keep a labour book, which is the principal document confirming the labour experience of the worker, for all workers that have worked in an enterprise for more than five days. Section 81 also states that the employer shall be obligated to enter information in the labour book concerning hiring for work, work transfers and work termination. Recalling that, pursuant to Article 9(3) of the Convention, documents shall be kept and made available by the employer, containing the name and ages (or dates of birth), of persons whom he/she employs or who work for him/her and who are less than 18 years of age, the Committee requests the Government to indicate if labour books contain the date of birth of all persons under the age of 18, and if these labour books are made available to labour inspectors.

Part III of the report form. Labour inspectorate. The Committee notes the statement in the Government’s report that, pursuant to section 9 of the Labour Code and the Decision No. 29 of the Government of 19 February 2010, the specially authorized state legal and technical inspectors of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection shall exercise the supervision and control over the observance of the labour legislation and the occupational safety and health regulations, including the prevention of the engagement of employees under 18 years of age in unfavourable working conditions. The Government states that the types of work with unfavourable working conditions are identified through inspections, monitoring and certification of workplaces. The Committee further notes the Government’s statement that the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection issues relevant instructions to ensure the monitoring of the enforcement of the legislation concerning the implementation of the rights of minors, and that 79 mandatory instructions have been issued in this regard. In addition, the Committee notes the information in the Government’s report concerning the application of legislation concerning minors, in 2008 to 2010, but observes that this information appears to encompass all offences related to children and not solely violations related to the employment of children. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 77 and 241 of the Labour Code, particularly with respect to the number and nature of violations detected and the subsequent penalties imposed.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Statistical information. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that since 2009, the indicators pertaining to work performed by persons under the age of 18 have been included in forms for the reporting of statistics, approved by the State Committee on Statistics. The Government also states that, within the framework of the quarterly survey of employment of the population, carried out in accordance with the Cabinet Minister Decision of 24 May 2007, No. 106, a special analysis is being undertaken to assess the number of persons under 18 years of age who are employed. It indicates that a special methodology has been elaborated to this end. The Committee requests the Government to provide, with its next report, statistical information from the survey of employment of the population, as well as any other relevant data collected, concerning the employment of children and young persons, including the number of persons under the minimum age of 15 who are engaged in economic activity and the nature, scope and trends of their work.

Work in the cotton harvest. The Committee observes that, in its comments made under Convention No. 182, it noted that a significant number of children under the minimum age of 15 years are engaged in work in the cotton harvest. Children start working in this sector generally from the age of 11, and do not attend school during the harvest period. Moreover, the Committee noted in these comments that children who are under 18 years of age are engaged in work under hazardous conditions during the cotton harvest. The Committee accordingly urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that no child under the minimum age of 15 years is engaged in work in the cotton harvest, and to ensure that no child under 18 years of age is engaged in hazardous work in this sector.