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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - New Zealand (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the Government’s report. It also notes the comments made by Business New Zealand, as well as the comments made by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) and the Government’s reply thereto.

Article 3(d) of the Convention. Hazardous work. Minimum age for admission to hazardous work. The Committee previously noted that, by virtue of section 54(d) of the Health and Safety in Employment Regulations of 1995 (HSE Regulations), hazardous work was prohibited for children under 15 years of age, but was not prohibited for all children under 18 years of age, as required under Article 3(d) of the Convention. It also noted the reference made by the NZCTU to the number of work-related accidents and injuries, some of which were fatal, caused to young persons under 18 years. The Committee further noted the Government’s statement that while it shared the concerns raised by the NZCTU with regard to workplace injuries of children and young persons, which in some cases proved fatal, legislative protections existed to protect young persons. The Government stated that these legislative protections generally ensured that young people were not exposed to hazardous work and that employers had an obligation to ensure a healthy and safe working environment, as well as duties related to training and supervision.

However, the Committee noted that according to a report of the Department of Labour (DoL) entitled “School children in paid employment – A summary of research findings” of September 2010 (DoL report of 2010), a third of the secondary-school students surveyed indicated that their employers had not provided them with any information about workplace hazards. The DoL report of 2010 also indicated that children aged 15–16 were more likely to have had an injury than children aged 13–14 and that 20 per cent of working children of 16 years of age had an employment injury. In this regard, the Committee noted from the DoL report of 2010 that the legislative protections in place, which rely on the employer to protect children under the age of 18 from workplace hazards, did not, in practice fully and effectively protect children from hazardous work. The Committee further noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 11 April 2011, expressed concern that children between the ages of 15 and 18 were allowed to work in dangerous workplaces (CRC/C/NZL/CO/3-4, paragraph 41). The Committee expressed its concern that children between 15 and 18 years of age were allowed, in law and in practice, to perform the types of work which are clearly hazardous.

The Committee notes the statement made by Business New Zealand that the Committee’s conclusion that young persons in New Zealand are engaged in work that is clearly hazardous which is based solely on statistical evidence of accidents and injuries cannot be supported. Business New Zealand states that accidents and injuries happening in certain areas is probably not the reflection of the work but the fact that those are the areas in which most young people work.

The Committee notes the reference made by the NZCTU to the findings of the Youth 2000 National Youth Health and Wellbeing Survey (Youth’12 survey), conducted every 5–6 years and funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand in order to provide up-to-date information to policy-makers, educators, health providers and communities working to improve the opportunities for healthy development for all young people in New Zealand. The NZCTU states that it is alarming that only 50.7 per cent of the school children in the Youth’12 survey indicated that their employer provided information regarding safety at work, while 10 per cent of school children stated that they have been injured at work. The Youth’12 survey also indicates that a total of 450 work-related injuries were reported in 2012 concerning children and young persons under 18 years, including 240 injuries to young persons aged 16–17 years; 155 injuries to young persons aged 14–15 years; and 55 injuries to children below 13 years of age. Moreover, the data of workplace fatalities from 2013–15 of WorkSafe New Zealand, which was established in December 2013 to be New Zealand’s new workplace health and safety regulator with the aim of achieving a 25 per cent reduction in the incidence of workplace death and injury by 2020, indicates that of the 119 fatalities, 14 were children under the age of 18 with the majority occurring in the agricultural sector.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that although according to the existing law, the specific legal restrictions on certain types of work are only applicable to children under the age of 15, children between the ages of 16 and 18 are protected by the general requirements of workplace health and safety legislation, which provides protection to all workers, regardless of age. The Committee also notes from the Government’s report that a new Health and Safety at Work Act is being enacted and new regulations on health and safety at work are being finalized. It notes, however, that no changes from the existing regulations with regard to the health and safety of children and young persons have been proposed.

The Committee notes with deep concern that children under 18 years of age continue to be engaged in work which is clearly harmful to their health and safety, as reflected by the injuries and fatalities suffered by children and young persons while engaged in such work. It notes with regret that the Government has not taken any specific measures, either in law or in practice, to prohibit the employment of children and young persons under the age of 18 years in hazardous work as required by the Convention. Moreover, the Committee notes that the Government has not taken any measures, in law or in practice, to provide for specific workplace health and safety measures for young persons between 16 and 18 years of age as recommended under Paragraph 4 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190) The Committee therefore once again draws the Government’s attention to Article 3(d), read in conjunction with Article 2 of the Convention, which states that work which, by its nature and the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children under 18, constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour and that, by virtue of Article 1 of the Convention, member States are required to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee also recalls that Paragraph 4 of Recommendation No. 190 addresses the possibility of authorizing the employment or work of young persons as from the age of 16 under strict conditions that their health and safety be protected and that they receive adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. In this regard, the Committee must emphasize that measures should be taken to raise the minimum age for admission to hazardous work to 16 years, even if the required protective conditions are adequately provided (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions (paragraph 380)). The Committee, therefore, once again urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to comply with Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, read with Article 3(d), to prohibit children under 18 years of age from engaging in hazardous and dangerous work. However, where such work is performed by young persons between 16 and 18 years of age, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that such work is only carried out in accordance with the strict conditions set out in Paragraph 4 of Recommendation No. 190, namely that the health and safety of such young persons be protected and that they receive adequate specific instruction or vocational training in that activity. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 4(1) and (3). Periodic revision of the types of hazardous activities prohibited to persons under 18 years of age. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that children under 18 years cannot work in any restricted areas of licensed premises, such as bars, licensed restaurants or clubs. However, it also noted that, pursuant to sections 54–58 of the HSE Regulations 1995, only employees under 15 years of age are prohibited from working in a number of high-hazard workplaces, such as in construction, logging and tree-felling operations, in work where goods are being manufactured and prepared for sale, in work with any machinery, lifting heavy loads or performing other tasks likely to be injurious to the employee’s health, night work and driving or riding any tractor or heavy vehicles. The Committee also noted the information from the Government’s report that research indicated that children represent a significant proportion of farm injuries, with nearly one fifth of all injuries on farms occurring involving children aged 15 and younger. The Government indicated that the majority of child fatalities on farms, most typically with regard to children aged 10–14 years riding in vehicles to shift stock, and that this was being addressed through a safety campaign. The Committee further noted that the DoL report of 2010 identified the construction, agriculture and hospitality industries as posing the most risk to young workers, as well as some other types of work which are dangerous to young persons: by volume, working in shops (including petrol stations and supermarkets) and working in restaurants, takeaway outlets and other eateries. These types of activities were the largest contributors to workplace injuries and accounted for 60 per cent of injuries to schoolchildren in regular part-time work. The Committee, therefore, requested the Government to take the necessary measures to periodically examine and revise the existing list of types of hazardous work, in consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned.

The Committee notes the reference by the NZCTU to a report by the Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee of 2014 which focused on deaths caused to children and young persons under 18 from quad bikes and motorized agricultural vehicles and suggested that a multifaceted approach, including legislative interventions, could be helpful in reducing quad bike deaths. The NZCTU states that hazardous work on farms, including riding and using quad bikes and agricultural machinery, must be restricted in the interests of the safety and welfare of children.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has been proposed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that the new regulations on health and safety will carry over the existing Health and Safety Regulations of 1995, with an additional provision prohibiting work involving the use of hazardous substances in respect of young persons under 15 years. The Committee reminds the Government that, pursuant to Article 4(1) and (3) of the Convention, the types of work which, by their nature or the circumstances in which they are carried out, are likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children under 18, shall be determined by national laws or regulations, and that this list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary, in consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to take the necessary measures, during the finalization of the new regulations on health and safety, to review the list of types of hazardous work to be prohibited to children under 18 years, as provided for in Article 4(3) of the Convention, including measures to regulate the types of hazardous work identified by the Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee and in the DoL report of 2010, such as certain types of work in the agriculture, construction and hospitality industries.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted the Government’s statement that the Department of Labour was continuing to investigate workplace practices relating to persons between 16 and 18 years of age engaged in hazardous work.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the findings of the Youth’12 survey indicates that of the 10,000 secondary school students involved in part-time jobs who have been surveyed, one in ten students had been injured at the workplace. However, the Government indicates that there had been some serious technical issues that have affected the validity and usefulness of some of the results of this survey and hence it was not possible to correlate injury to where students were working. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the number of claims of work-related injuries by persons under 18 years of age. According to this data, in 2012 there were a total of 5,190 claims for work-related injuries, including 70 by under 14s; 150 by under 15s; 580 by under 16s; 1,500 by under 17s; and 2,900 by under 18s. Noting the significant number of work-related injury claims made by young persons under 18, the Committee requests the Government to provide information regarding subsequent investigations carried out concerning these accidents, violations detected, and penalties applied. The Committee also expresses the firm hope that the Government will undertake, in the near future, another survey on the health and well-being of students involved in part-time jobs so as to better understand their working conditions and health and safety outcomes. It requests the Government to provide information on the results of the survey which, to the extent possible, should be disaggregated by age and sex.