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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Zambia (Ratification: 1976)

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 106th Session, June 2017)

The Committee notes the in-depth discussion on the application of the Convention by Zambia in the Committee on the Application of Standards at the 106th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2017. The Committee notes that, while taking into account the legislative evolution of this case, the Conference Committee noted with concern that the national legislation does not define schoolgoing age and the age of completion of compulsory education. The Conference Committee called upon the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure the elimination of child labour both in the formal and informal sectors of the economy, including under hazardous conditions; to take the necessary measures to ensure that the amended Education Act sets the age of completion of compulsory education at 15 years of age and is effectively implemented in practice; to provide detailed information on the implementation of Statutory Instrument No. 121 of 2013 on the prohibition of employment of children and young persons (hazardous labour); to strengthen the capacity of the district child labour committee and the labour inspectorate; and to pay special attention to the needs of girls and other vulnerable persons. Finally, the Conference Committee requested the Government to avail itself of ILO technical assistance to ensure the full and effective application of the Convention, including the adoption of a time-bound action plan, and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard for examination by the Committee of Experts in 2017.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments initially made in 2016.

Article 2(3) of the Convention. Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee had previously noted that the Education Act of 2011 neither defined the school going age nor indicated the age of completion of compulsory schooling. It had further noted that according to section 34 of the Education Act of 2011, the Minister may, by statutory instrument, make regulations to provide for the basic school going age and age for compulsory attendance at educational institutions.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the Education Act and Education Policy are undergoing revision. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the revision of the Education Act will define the basic school going age and the age of completion of compulsory schooling of 15 years, so as to link it with the minimum age for employment for Zambia. It expresses the hope that the revised Education Act will be adopted in the near future. The Committee requests that the Government provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 3(2). Determination of hazardous work. The Committee previously noted that the draft statutory instrument on the list of hazardous work was in the process of being approved by the Minister of Justice.

The Committee notes that the Statutory Instrument No. 121 of 2013 on the prohibition of employment of young persons and children (hazardous labour) has been adopted and that it prohibits the employment of children and young persons under the age of 18 years in hazardous work. Section 3(2) of the Statutory Instrument contains a list of 31 types of hazardous work prohibited to children and young persons, including: animal herding; block or brick making; charcoal burning; explosives; exposure to dust, high levels of noise, asbestos and silica dust, high voltage, lead, toxic chemicals and gases; spraying of pesticides or herbicides; exposure to waterborne diseases and infections; exposure to physical or sexual abuse; excavation/drilling; welding; stone crushing; work underground and underwater; work at heights; fishing; handling tobacco and cotton; lifting heavy loads; operating dangerous machinery or tools; long working hours; night work; and selling or serving in bars. The Committee requests that the Government provide information on the application in practice of Statutory Instrument No. 121 of 2013, including statistics on the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed.

Labour inspectorate and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that according to the joint ILO–IPEC, UNICEF and World Bank report on Understanding Children’s Work (UCW) in Zambia of 2012, although there has been a substantial reduction in the incidence of child labour, over one third of children aged 7–14 years, some 950,000 children were working, of which nearly 92 per cent worked in the agricultural sector.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that a number of provinces have active programmes against child labour, such as sensitization of parents, farmers and employers on child labour and hazardous work. The District Child Labour Committees (DCLC) in the Kaoma and Nkeyama districts in the Western Province, in collaboration with Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Winrock International, are progressively bringing an end to child labour in tobacco growing communities by focusing on education. The Government also indicates that according to the 2015 annual review of the Achieving Reduction of Child Labour in Support of Education project (ARISE), a joint initiative of the ILO, JTI and Winrock International developed with the involvement of national governments, social partners, and tobacco growing communities, about 5,322 children have been withdrawn from child labour and placed in schools; 11,570 community members and teachers were educated about child labour, while 797 households improved their income to take care of their children. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication, in its report under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) that an Inter ministerial National Steering Committee on Child Labour has been established to coordinate various interventions relating to child labour and that more labour officers have been hired in various districts to boost the inspectorate and enhance the enforcement of labour laws. Accordingly, following the inspections carried out by the labour inspectors, it has been identified that hazardous child labour exists in small-scale mining, agriculture, domestic work, and trading sectors, generally in the informal economy. The Committee further notes from the Government’s report that according to the findings of the Child Labour Report of 2012, an estimated 1,215,301 children were in child labour, registering an increase from 825,246 children in 2005. The Committee notes with concern that a large number of children are engaged in child labour, including in hazardous work in the country. While taking note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that, in practice, children under the minimum age of 15 years are not engaged in child labour. In this regard, the Committee requests that the Government strengthen the activities of the District Child Labour Committees to reduce child labour as well as to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate in monitoring the situation of child labour, especially in the informal economy. It requests that the Government continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.

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

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.