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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Portugal (Ratification: 1998)

The Committee notes the Government’s report as well as the comments made by the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers–Intersindical (CGTP–IN) and the General Union of Workers (UGT) dated 18 August 2011 and 1 October 2013.

Article 2(3) of the Convention and Part V of the report form. Compulsory schooling and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the comments made by the CGTP–IN that although the national legislation is generally in conformity with the provisions of this Convention, the austerity policies to which the country is currently subjected is creating a severe economic and social crisis and is generating widespread impoverishment among the population and that a new wave of child labour is feared to be gaining strength. The CGTP–IN states that according to the 2012 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report entitled “Measuring child poverty”, 14.7 per cent of Portuguese children below the age of 16 years live below the poverty line. The current trend towards reducing cash transfers and cutting family allowances and education support paid to the most deprived families, particularly during a time of high unemployment and job insecurity has contributed to an increased rate of school dropouts and to a fresh increase of child labour. Moreover, the Programme for Social Inclusion and Citizenship (PIEC) which included the Integrated Programme for Education and Training (PIEF) and through which 3,296 children benefitted during the year 2011–12, came to an end while its responsibilities were transferred to the Social Security Institute. Hence, in a context of crisis and increasing domestic difficulties as well as an absence of monitoring tools like the PIEC, the school drop-out rate is also rising and there is a backward trend in the fight against child labour. According to the Ministry of Education, the school drop-out rate stood at 20.8 per cent in 2012.

While the CGTP–IN acknowledges that the economic exploitation of child labour has diminished considerably in Portugal, there are still sectors in which child labour persists in a hidden form, such as in family work on farms or commercial operations, and domestic work done for third parties. In addition, the activities of the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT) has been considerably reduced due to a drastic reduction in human and material resources, a situation that is increasingly exacerbated by the effects of the crisis and the implementation of the austerity measures.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the number of minors working illegally is rather insignificant and that the child labour phenomenon in Portugal, in so far as it persists, is purely residual. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the activities carried out by the ACT includes in-depth inspection visits to enterprises in which minors are employed in contravention of the general conditions of employment and of health and safety standards. According to the data on ACT inspections of child workers, 77 visits were carried out in 2012, and one minor was detected to be working in violation of the minimum age requirements. The inspection data also indicates that in 2012, 16 notifications and five warning notices were issued, while a total fine of €28,482 was imposed for violations relating to medical examinations of minors and minimum requirements for admission to employment. Furthermore, as per the data collected from the annual reports of labour inspection, in 2011, 404 inspectors carried out inspections in 80,159 establishments where a total of 93 minors were employed and, in 2012, 391 inspectors visited 37,398 establishments where a total of 13 minors were employed. The Government further indicates that no cases of child workers were found in domestic or home-based occupations.

The Committee also notes from the Government’s report submitted under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that the elimination of the PIEC and the incorporation of its objectives into the Social Security Institute entailed the development of a new organizational model, particularly attributing specific responsibilities to all ministries concerned. Furthermore, the PIEF, in its new role also offers psychosocial care, in addition to offering education and training to students thereby responding to the specific needs of the student in integrating them into schools. The Government report also indicates that according to the PIEF diagnosis, in 2012–13, of the 3,933 problems identified relating to children of compulsory schooling age, 1,695 cases concerned early school leaving, 988 cases concerned school absenteeism and 26 cases concerned child labour.

The Committee also notes that according to the Government’s fourth periodic report to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESC) of 8 March 2013, a number of measures are in place to reduce the school drop-out rates, such as: Programa Mais Sucesso Escolar to reduce failure rates and raise student achievement; Ensino a Distância para Itinerância, a distance learning project for students whose parents often move away for work; Percursos Curriculares Alternativos an alternative curriculum for students having learning difficulties or at risk of social exclusion or school dropout; and Territorios Educativos de Intervencao prioritâria to improve the quality of education. The Committee further notes from the annexes to the fourth periodic report to the CESC that the gross enrolment ratio at compulsory education for the year 2010–11 stood at 100 per cent for primary education-1st cycle, 95.4 per cent for primary education-2nd cycle, and 92.1 per cent for lower secondary education, while the drop-out rates decreased from 10.7 per cent in 2005–06 to 7.5 per cent in 2010–11. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to reduce the school drop-out rates, particularly during this period of economic and financial crisis, by providing appropriate family benefits and educational support to deprived families.

Article 3(3). Admission to hazardous work as from 16 years of age. The Committee notes the allegations made by the CGTP–IN that while Law No. 102/2009, which approves the legal regime promoting health, safety and security at the workplace, provides a list of activities that may be performed by children from 16 years of age, there is no reference to the requirement concerning adequate specific training in the relevant branch of activity as required by Article 3(3) of the Convention.

In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to section 15(4) of Law No. 102/2009 which states that while assigning tasks to workers, consideration should be given to the workers’ knowledge in terms of health and safety at workplace, while the employer should provide the necessary information and training to his or her workers in the relevant branch of activity.