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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Indonesia (Ratification: 2000)

Article 5 of the Convention. Monitoring mechanisms. Labour inspectorate. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that according to the Indonesia Child Labour Survey (2009), approximately 20.7 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 years worked for more than 40 hours a week, and approximately 8 per cent of them worked at places such as streets or market stalls and traffic lights, which were identified in the Survey as unsafe places to work. It noted that the labour inspectors work with the Child Labour Monitoring (CLM) programme within the labour inspection system, which is partly based on the school inspection system and which also helps broaden the scope of inspection to sectors and fields that are traditionally difficult to reach such as the informal economy in agriculture. However, the Committee noted that, according to the ILO–IPEC Global Action Programme report, labour inspectors in Indonesia need serious assistance in developing their knowledge on child labour, skills in doing assessment and coordination with other stakeholders. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to pursue its efforts to strengthen the capacity of the child labour monitoring mechanisms, including through the allocation of additional resources and the organization of capacity-building activities for the labour inspectorate. It also requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of any measures taken in this regard, particularly on measures taken to ensure the effective monitoring of children engaged in hazardous work, including in the informal economy.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the information on the outcomes achieved through the implementation of the National Action Plan on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2002–22 (NAP on WFCL), such as the withdrawal of around 7,000 children and the establishment of provincial committees against child labour. It further noted that the Roadmap towards a Child Labour-free Indonesia in 2022 (the Roadmap) which was adopted in 2014, supported the acceleration of the implementation of the NAP on WFCL.

The Committee notes that the Government’s information on this point is limited to awareness-raising of the Roadmap in 12 regions and no other information on the implementation and the results of the NAP on WFCL has been provided. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved through the implementation of the various initiatives, including the Roadmap and the NAP on WFCL, particularly in terms of the number of children prevented from engaging in, or removed from, the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice, including any information available on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by gender and age.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that the Government had taken several measures to facilitate access to education to out-of-school children and vulnerable children, including through the inclusive education programme that aims at helping vulnerable groups and child labourers to return to school; provisions for free education by providing scholarships to poor students, through the Family Hope Programme (PPA–PKH); and the implementation of a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme entitled Keluarga Harapan since 2007. It also noted that through the Withdrawal Programme within the PPA–PKH, 64,055 child labourers were withdrawn from 2008 to 2015. The Committee, however, observed that, according to UNESCO estimates, there were more than 3 million out-of-school children and adolescents in the country in 2012.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that it has enacted Circular Letter No. 463.1/277/SJ/2016 concerning the Child Labour Reduction Programme through ensuring the return of children to school and has directed the regional leaders in the country to facilitate the implementation of this programme. The Committee notes that the according to UNESCO statistics, the number of out-of-school children still remains at more than 2 million. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to facilitate access to free basic education for children from poorer families and vulnerable groups, including through the effective implementation of the Circular Letter No. 463.1/277/SJ/2016. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, and to provide statistical information on the results obtained, particularly with regard to reducing the number of out-of-school children.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. Child labour in the footwear industry. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that it appeared that a significant number of children continued to work in the footwear industry, particularly in West Java. It noted the Government’s statement that the regional government of the Bogor Regency (in West Java), along with community leaders and teachers, had been taking measures to convey information to craftsmen on the dangers for children of working in footwear workshops. It also noted the information from ILO–IPEC that, through the International Garment Training Centre in Bogor, a programme of vocational training for former child labourers had been set up. Moreover, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that programmes and policies to protect children in the footwear industry were included in the Roadmap and the PPA–PKH.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Ministry of Manpower continues to supervise, assist and inspect the foot wear industry, in an integrated manner in order to ensure that no children are involved in labour in this sector. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to prevent children from engaging in hazardous work in the footwear industry as well as to provide for their removal and social integration. It requests the Government to provide information on measures taken in this regard, and on the results achieved, including the number of children removed and reintegrated by the Ministry of Manpower.