Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Oman (Ratification: 2005)

Article 2(3) of the Convention. Age of completion of compulsory education. The Committee previously noted that basic education in Oman is of a ten-year duration, and is normally completed by 16 years of age. The Committee observed that education, though it is provided free of charge, is not compulsory. The Committee also noted the Government’s statement that the subject of raising the minimum age for admission to employment from 15 years to 16 years was being examined by the competent bodies.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it will subsequently provide a reply on this subject. The Committee notes that, while the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/OMN/CO/1, paragraph 35), in its concluding observations of 4 November 2011, expresses its concern at the lack of compulsory education for all, it commends Oman for the high levels of enrolment of women and girls in all levels of education. However, the Committee once again reminds the Government that pursuant to Article 2(3) of the Convention, the minimum age specified should not be less than the age of completion of schooling. Furthermore, the Committee once again emphasizes the importance of linking the age of school completion with the minimum age for admission to work or employment. If the minimum age for admission to work (15 years of age) is lower than the age of completion of school (16 years of age), children may be encouraged to leave school as children required to attend school may also be legally authorized to work (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions concerning rights at work, paragraph 370). The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to raise the minimum age for admission to employment from 15 to 16 years of age, in order to link this age with the age of completion of schooling, in conformity with Article 2(3) of the Convention.

Article 3(2). Determination of hazardous types of work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Ministry of Manpower had prepared, in collaboration with the social partners and other competent bodies, a list of hazardous types of work prohibited for persons under the age of 18.

The Committee notes that the Government reiterates in its report that this list is being revised for submission to the competent bodies. Observing that the Government has been indicating its intention to adopt such a list since 2007, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that a list determining the types of hazardous work prohibited to persons under the age of 18 is adopted in the very near future. It requests the Government to provide a copy of this list, once adopted.

Parts III and V of the report form. Labour inspection and the application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the information in the UN joint submission (drafted by United Nations field presences at both country and regional levels) to the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council of January 2011 that, while child labour did not exist in any formal industry, concerns were raised in recent years concerning children working in the informal economy in Oman.

The Committee notes the Government’s reiteration that the participation of children in small family undertakings such as agriculture and fishing are considered to be family activities, in which children of the household help with family-related work because it is inherited from their parents. In this regard, the Committee once again recalls that the Government did not, at the time of ratification, avail itself of the possibility, under Article 4 of the Convention, of excluding family work or informal agricultural activities from the scope of the Convention. Therefore, the participation of children under the minimum age for admission to employment or work in child labour in small family undertakings must be prohibited, in conformity with the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take measures, within the framework of initiatives to improve its labour inspection system, to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate, to ensure the effective monitoring of children working in the informal economy and in small family undertakings. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice.