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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Nicaragua (Ratification: 1981)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the implementation of the “road map” to abolish child labour in all its forms and to ensure the allocation of the necessary resources and programmatic measures for its implementation. The Committee once again requested the Government to provide statistical information on the nature, extent and trends of the employment of children under 14 years of age, disaggregated by sex and by age. It also requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to give effect to the recommendations set out in the document of the Ministry of Labour, dated September 2016 and entitled “Fundamental aspects of the migration phenomenon in Nicaragua, and particularly the migration of children and child labour”. This paper was produced by the Government in collaboration with the ILO and covers the impact of the migration of unaccompanied minors on child labour with the objective of sharing information with a view to continued action to combat child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that it is continuing to take action with the aim of eradicating child labour. It refers to its participation in the regional initiative “Latin America and the Caribbean free from child labour”. However, the Committee notes an absence of information and statistics on the nature, extent and trends of the employment of children under 14 years of age and once again reminds the Government that it is necessary to compile updated information on the child labour situation to be able to assess the application of the Convention in practice. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide statistical data in its next report on the nature, extent and trends of the employment of children under 14 years of age, disaggregated by sex and by age, as well as information and data on the results of the measures and programmes for the abolition of child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to include information on the migration of children and child labour.

Article 2(1). Scope of application of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the results achieved by the special inspection programme to remove children from hazardous types of work in limestone quarries and in coffee harvesting, with an indication of the number of inspections carried out, the number and nature of the violations reported and the penalties imposed. The Committee also requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that children working as itinerant traders on the streets of Managua benefit from the protection provided for by the Convention.

The Committee notes that Ministry of Labour inspections are undertaken in limestone quarries and coffee harvesting areas. It also notes that 5,998 commitments have been signed by the Government with producers and their employees to ensure that children are not recruited for manual work and to guarantee compliance with the rights and conditions of recruitment of young persons. The Government recalls in its report that the legal system has established special protection measures for children between 14 and 17 years of age, including a maximum of six hours of work a day, assignment to light work and compulsory parental authorization. In accordance with the provisions of Acts Nos 474 and 666, which refer to the protection of young persons at work, and Ministerial Decision No. JCHG-08-06-2010 prohibiting hazardous types of work for young persons, the Government has issued 1,948 permits for work by young persons. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved by the special inspection programme to remove children from hazardous types of work in limestone quarries and coffee harvesting, with an indication of the number of inspections carried out, the number and nature of the violations detected and the penalties imposed. Once again noting the absence of information on this subject in the Government’s report, the Committee again requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to ensure that children engaged in itinerant trading on the streets of Managua benefit from the protection provided for by the Convention.