Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

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

Article 9(1). Penalties and labour inspection. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that several training sessions were provided to labour inspectors to improve their efficiency in dealing with child labour issues. It also notes the Government’s information that ten tablets were provided to labour inspectors to facilitate their mission and to enter information on inspection visits. The Government’s report also indicates that the number of inspection visits had increased and specialized inspection visits of sectors employing children were carried out. In this regard, the Committee notes that during the total of 3,718 inspections undertaken, legal measures in accordance with section 77 of the Labour Code were taken with regard to 1,000 infringements related to child labour, in addition to 1,650 warnings of closure of undertakings, and 1,068 advice and guidance measures.

The Committee also notes from the ILO–IPEC Report of the Rapid Assessment on Child Labour in the Informal Sector in three governorates of Jordan, 2014 (Rapid Assessment report) that a recent campaign by the Ministry of Labour (MoL) found nearly 300 children working in, among other locations, restaurants, and on street coffee stalls with the MoL providing guidance to 18 institutions, issuing warnings to 56 others and, in some cases, fining the institution. It further notes from the Rapid Assessment report that the survey on child labour conducted in the three governorates focusing mainly on Syrian and Jordanian households indicates that the incidence of child labour appeared to be increasing, not only among Syrian refugees, but also among Jordanian nationals. Moreover, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of July 2014, expressed concern that thousands of children, mainly boys, are still working in the wholesale trade and agriculture sectors while a number of girls are engaged as domestic workers (CRC/C/JOR/CO/4-5, paragraph 57). The Committee notes, however, from the Rapid Assessment report that the 150 labour inspectors currently available is too small for effective coverage in all sectors, given the size of the country. In this regard, the Committee recalls its comments of 2014 made under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that the Government adopted the Labour Inspection Strategy in 2012, aimed at strengthening and developing the labour inspection system as well as expanding the coverage of labour inspection services to reach the largest possible number of workplaces. The Committee therefore strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary measures, including within the framework of its Labour Inspection Strategy, to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate and to expand the labour inspection services to all sectors, so as to ensure that children have the protection established by the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, as well as on the number and nature of violations relating to the employment of children and young persons detected by the labour inspectorate, the number of persons prosecuted and the penalties imposed.

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