Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Benin (Ratification: 2001)

Article 3(1) and (2). Minimum age for admission to hazardous work and determination of such types of work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the draft decree establishing the list of hazardous types of work prohibited for young persons under 18 years of age – including domestic work – was approved by the National Labour Council during its June 2010 session and was transmitted to the Government for adoption.

The Committee notes with satisfaction that Decree No. 2011-029 establishing the list of hazardous types of work in the Republic of Benin was adopted on 31 January 2011. The Decree contains a detailed list of types of work that are considered too dangerous for young persons under 18 years of age and are therefore prohibited. Such work includes metal construction work, sheet metal work, tinplate work, carpentry, agriculture, stockbreeding, fishing, commerce, transport, stone-crushing and stone-cutting, small-scale gold mining, hairdressing and domestic work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of Decree No. 2011-029, including the number and nature of violations regarding young persons engaged in hazardous work.

Articles 6 and 9(1) of the Convention. Apprenticeships and penalties. The Committee previously noted that any person who violates the provisions of the Labour Code or of decrees relating to the employment of children shall, according to sections 298–308 of the Labour Code, be liable to a fine and imprisonment.

The Committee notes the information sent by the Government in the reports on inspections conducted in workshops in 2013 and 2014. According to these reports, the Departmental Service for Further Training and Apprenticeships conducted inspections in the city of Porto-Novo (2013) and the department of Borgou-Alibori (2014). As a result of these inspections, cases of non-compliance with the minimum age required for apprenticeships were recorded, with children between 9 and 12 years of age discovered working as apprentices in workshops. The Committee also notes the Government’s indications that the inspections carried out by the Departmental Service for Further Training and Apprenticeships recorded precarious working conditions for children in workshops and apprenticeship centres, failure to pay apprentices and corporal punishment to which they may be subjected.

However, the Committee notes the information contained in the reports of workshop inspections conducted in 2013 and 2014, which indicate that employers in artisanal workshops are reluctant to provide the information requested by the inspection teams and that these teams rarely manage to meet these employers in order to raise their awareness. Moreover, the inspectors report that they focus on dialogue and awareness raising rather than the application of penalties. Even though dialogue and awareness raising are important resources in the prevention and elimination of child labour, the Committee recalls that Article 9(1) of the Convention requires the competent authority to take all necessary measures, including appropriate penalties, to ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that effective penalties constituting an adequate deterrent are applied in practice for violations of the provisions relating to the minimum age of 14 years for admission to an apprenticeship. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this respect and on the number and nature of penalties imposed in practice.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.