Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Côte d'Ivoire (Ratification: 2003)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the report of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) for the World Trade Organization General Council Review of the Trade Policies of Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Togo (2012), around 40 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 years are engaged in work and nearly one quarter of children in Côte d’Ivoire combine work and school. Children in rural areas mainly work on family farms, in plantations, in small-scale gold mines, in commerce or in domestic service. The Committee also noted the adoption of the National Plan of Action to Combat the Trafficking and Exploitation of Children and Child Labour 2012–14 (NPA).

The Committee notes the Government’s reference in its report to the National Plan of Action to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2015–17 (PAN-PFTE 2015–17). The Committee notes that the PAN-PFTE 2015–17 refers to the most recent study on child labour in Côte d’Ivoire (ENSETE 2014). According to the study, over one-in-four children aged between 5 and 17 years is economically active, for an average of 35 hours of work, with an additional 12 hours a week of household work. Of these children, 1,424,996 are engaged in types of work that are to be abolished, or one-in-five children between the ages of 5 and 17 years (20.1 per cent), with a total of 1,082,929 children aged 5–13 years. Of these children, 539,177 are subject to hazardous types of work. The hazards are related mainly to the total working time (77 per cent), with 22 per cent of these children working at night, 18.9 per cent in hazardous occupations and 3.6 per cent in a hazardous branch of activity. Girls are most affected, both in urban and rural areas, and are principally engaged in a family context (66.5 per cent of these children are family helpers and 9 per cent are waged). According to the study, child labour is concentrated primarily in agriculture (49.1 per cent), followed by services (38.5 per cent) and finally industry (12.4 per cent). The Committee notes with concern that a high number of children are engaged in work under the minimum age for admission to work of 14 years, including under hazardous conditions. The Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts and to take the necessary measures for the progressive elimination of child labour, particularly in rural areas. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in terms of the elimination of child labour within the framework of the National Plan of Action to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2015–17. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the application of the Convention in practice, including statistical data on the nature, scope and trends of work by children and young persons under the minimum age specified by the Government when it ratified the Convention, and extracts from the reports of the inspection services.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the ITUC’s report, education is neither compulsory nor free in Côte d’Ivoire. It also noted that, according to the Government, a bill is being drawn up to make schooling compulsory until the age of 16 years.

The Committee notes the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. However, it notes that, according to the most recent analysis of the “situation of children in Côte d’Ivoire” (SITAN, 2014), nearly 1.7 million children of the age to be in primary school or the first cycle of secondary education do not attend school. Moreover, the greatest number of children aged 6–11 years outside the school system are concentrated in the northern, north-western and south-western regions, where at least 40 per cent of children of that age do not attend primary or secondary school. The Committee also notes that the PAN-PFTE 2015–17 envisages as a prevention measure the strengthening of the legislative framework to combat the worst forms of child labour through the adoption of a law on compulsory schooling for all children between the ages of 6 and 16 years. The Committee recalls once again that compulsory schooling is one of the most effective means of combating child labour and that it is necessary to link the age of admission to employment and the age at which compulsory schooling ends. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the legislation introducing compulsory schooling for children between the ages of 6 and 16 years is adopted as soon as possible and to provide a copy with its next report. It requests the Government to intensify its efforts to combat child labour by strengthening the measures intended to increase attendance at both primary and secondary school.

Articles 6 and 7. Apprenticeship and light work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, under the terms of section 23(8) of the Labour Code, children may not be employed in an enterprise, even as apprentices, under the age of 14 years, unless an exemption is provided for by regulation. In contrast, it noted that, under section 3 of Decree No. 96-204 of 7 March 1996 on night work, children under 14 years of age engaged in an apprenticeship or pre vocational training may not under any circumstances be engaged in work during the period defined as night work or, more generally, during the period of 15 consecutive hours between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the Labour Code and Decree No. 96-204 of 7 March 1996 into conformity with the Convention and to set the minimum age for entry into apprenticeship at 14 years, for example in the context of the revision of the Labour Code. The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 23(2) of the new Labour Code (Act No. 2015 532 of 2015) establishes the age of entry into apprenticeship at 14 years. The Committee also notes that, with regard to bringing section 3 of Decree No. 96-204 of 7 March 1996 on night work into conformity with Article 6 of the Convention, the Government indicates that a draft text to revise the Decree is currently under preparation for this purpose. The Committee also notes the adoption in June 2017 of Order No. 2017-016 setting out the list of light work authorized for children between the ages of 13 and 16 years. The Committee hopes that, in the context of the revision of Decree No. 96-204 of 7 March 1996 on night work, the Government will take the necessary measures to bring it into conformity with the Convention and will accordingly set the minimum age for entry into apprenticeship at 14 years. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in this regard.