Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Nigeria (Ratification: 2002)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour. The Committee previously noted the adoption of a National Policy on Child Labour, 2013, followed by a National Action Plan (NAP) for the Elimination of Child Labour 2013–17. It noted that the ultimate goal of the National Policy on Child Labour is to provide standardized guidelines for actors implementing the NAP with a view to drastically reducing the prevalence of child labour by 2015 and its total elimination by 2020. The Committee also noted the various strategies outlined in the NAP for the implementation of the national policy, including: (i) raising awareness on the harmful effects of child labour; (ii) developing the capacities of national institutions and civil society for the reduction/elimination of child labour; (iii) mobilizing the support of international stakeholders and development partners for the reduction/elimination of child labour; (iv) identifying specific activities to be implemented by various sectors and stakeholders; and (v) designing advocacy tools for use by sectors in the fight against child labour.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the National Policy on Child Labour will be implemented through cost-effective measures whereby: (i) the federal, state and local governments will make child labour a priority item for budgetary appropriation; (ii) the federal, state and local governments in collaboration with the social partners, NGOs and international agencies will mobilize resources and participate fully in the fight against child labour; (iii) funds allocated for the purpose of eliminating child labour will be released in time and utilized judiciously; and (iv) there will be facilitation of support for NGOs by coordinating bodies at the various levels of governance. The Government also indicates that this policy has resulted in specific achievements such as: (i) organizing yearly, the World Day against Child Labour sensitization programmes; (ii) formation of more state steering committees on child labour; (iii) and bimonthly meetings of the National Steering Committee on Child Labour in order to monitor the implementation of the NAP. The Committee requests that the Government provide detailed information on the implementation of the NAP and the results achieved in eliminating child labour in the country.

Article 8. Artistic performances. The Committee previously observed that according to section 12(2) of the Child Rights Act, children under 18 are entitled to participate in cultural and artistic activities of the Nigerian, African and world communities. It also noted that section 8(a)(ii) of the Labour Standards Bill provides for an exception to the minimum age provisions whereby a child may be employed following a permit issued by the Minister, after consultation with workers’ and employers’ organizations in the relevant industry.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that no regulation on artistic performance has been adopted. The Committee reminds the Government that Article 8 of the Convention provides for the possibility of granting individual work permits, as an exception to the minimum age for admission to employment or work and, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, for participating in activities such as artistic performances. Permits thus granted shall limit the number of hours and provide for the conditions of the authorized employment or work. The Committee therefore requests that the Government indicate whether children under the minimum age who participate in artistic performances are allowed to do so following permits issued by the competent authority as indicated under section 8(a)(ii) of the Labour Standards Bill. If so, it requests that the Government indicate whether such permits provide for limiting the hours during which, and prescribe the conditions in which, such employment or work is allowed.

Article 9(1). Penalties. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 9(3) of the Labour Standards Bill of 2008, establishes penalties for the offences related to the employment of children and young persons as prescribed in the First Schedule of the Bill. The Committee noted that the scale of penalties contained in this schedule only indicates Nx, N2x, N4x and N10x as administrative penalties for each contravention and Ny and N4y for the maximum fines for first and second contraventions respectively. It observed that the Bill contained no further description or clarification of these penalty measures. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report on this point, the Committee once again requests that the Government take the necessary measures to provide clarification of the penalty scale indicated in the first schedule of the Labour Standards Bill.

Labour inspectorate. In its previous comments, the Committee noted from the ILO–IPEC report of 2014 that within the framework of the project entitled “Eliminating the worst forms of child labour in West Africa and strengthening subregional cooperation through ECOWAS-II”, child labour inspection workshops for labour inspectors of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity were conducted in Lagos and Abuja in April 2014. These workshops were attended by 96 labour inspectors during which a tool for monitoring and reporting of child labour activities was developed and validated for use at the state level. It was also mandated that each state should establish its State Steering Committee (SSC) on Child Labour to implement monitoring activities. The Committee requests that the Government provide information on the establishment of the State Steering Committees in every state as well as their functioning with regard to child labour inspections carried out.