Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Burundi (Ratification: 2000)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Scope of application. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the indication by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that child labour constitutes a serious problem in Burundi, particularly in agriculture and informal activities in urban areas. The Committee also noted that section 3 of the Labour Code, in conjunction with section 14, prohibits work by young persons under 16 years of age in public and private enterprises, including agricultural undertakings, where such work is carried out on behalf of and under the supervision of an employer. The Committee further noted the Government’s indication that the question of extending the application of the labour legislation to work in the informal sector was to be the subject of tripartite discussions during the revision of the Labour Code.

The Committee notes the lack of information on this matter in the Government’s report. However, it observes that it has been raising this issue since 2005. The Committee again expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary steps to extend the scope of application of the Convention to work performed outside an employment relationship, particularly in the informal economy and in agriculture. The Committee again requests that the Government provide information in this respect.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee previously noted the ITUC’s indications that the war had undermined the education system through the destruction of many schools and the death or abduction of a large number of teachers. The Committee further noted that, according to a UNESCO report of 2004 relating to data on education, Legislative Decree No. 1/025 of 13 July 1989 reorganizing education in Burundi did not provide for free and compulsory primary education. Entry into primary education was around the age of 7 or 8 years and lasted six years. Children therefore completed primary education around the age of 13 or 14 years and then had to pass a competition to enter secondary education. The Committee also noted that, since the adoption of the Constitution of 2005, basic education was free of charge and the number of children attending school had tripled. The Committee asked the Government to indicate the age of completion of compulsory schooling and the provisions of the national legislation which determine this age.

The Committee notes the lack of information on this issue in the Government’s report. The Committee observes that the Government has adopted a sectoral plan for the development of education and training (2012–20), which recommends improvements to preschool education through support to communities and the development of occupational training through the establishment of centres for the teaching of trades. It also notes the “PASEC2014: performance of the education system in Burundi” report, according to which primary education has also seen a big increase in pupil numbers, rising from 740,850 in 2000 to 2,117,397 in 2014.

Furthermore, the Committee notes Act No. 1/19 of 10 September 2013 establishing the structure of primary and secondary education, which has strengthened core education by increasing it from six to nine years of schooling, from the age of 6 years. In this regard, the Committee notes that, according to section 35 of the Act of 2013, a child who starts school at the age of 6 years completes compulsory schooling at the age of 15 years, one year before the minimum age for admission to work, which is 16 years (sections 3 and 14 of the Labour Code). The Committee therefore recalls that it is necessary to link the age for admission to employment or work to the age of completion of compulsory schooling. If compulsory schooling comes to an end before children are legally entitled to work, there may arise a vacuum which regrettably opens the door for the economic exploitation of children (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 371). The Committee therefore considers it important to raise the age of completion of compulsory education to coincide with that of the minimum age for admission to employment or work, as provided for in Paragraph 4 of the Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146). The Committee strongly urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure free and compulsory education for all children up to the minimum age for admission to employment, which is 16 years, as a means of combating and preventing child labour. The Committee requests the Government to take steps to increase the school attendance rates of children under 16 years of age and to provide information on progress made in this respect.

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