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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - El Salvador (Ratification: 1996)

Articles 2(1) and 4 of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to employment or work and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that 70 per cent of children engaged in work lived in rural areas and that 60 per cent of them were children between the ages of 14 and 17 years, engaged in hazardous types of work, despite a decrease in child labour for children between the ages of 5 and 17 years between 2012 and 2013. The Committee also noted the development and implementation of an information system to monitor child labour, developed with ILO assistance. The Committee requested the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including statistical data on work by children and young persons, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and information on the number and nature of the violations identified involving children.

The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government in its report according to which the child labour rate fell between 2009 and 2016 and that 59,000, girls, boys and young persons were freed from child labour. However, the Committee also notes a reduction in labour inspections related to child labour between 2014 (1,711 inspections) and 2017 (596 inspections), according to the Government’s report.

The Committee notes the latest information provided by the Government on the results achieved in the context of the road map to ensure that El Salvador is a country free of child labour and its worst forms. According to the multipurpose household survey carried out in 2015 concerning the economic activity of girls, boys and young persons between the ages of 5 and 17 years, it appears that: 2.7 per cent of children engaged in work are below the legal minimum age (14 years in accordance with sections 104 and 105 of the Labour Code); 1.5 per cent of children work in employment authorized by the law and 90 per cent of children do not work. According to the same survey, the Committee notes that the sector with the highest rate of child labour remains agriculture with 50.9 per cent of child workers, even though the Government indicates that there has been a decrease in children working in the agro-food industry. The Government’s report also notes a considerable decrease in children working in the economic activities of construction and industry.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s statistics, the rate of prevalence of hazardous types of work by children is 8.9 per cent (140,700 children and young persons) and is focused among children between 14 and 18 years of age, in their majority boys. The Committee notes that children in rural areas are more exposed than those in urban areas, particularly in the following activities: the handling of dangerous tools (46.5 per cent, compared with 29.1 per cent), work involving the inhalation of smoke or dust (44.6 per cent, compared with 34.5 per cent), workplaces with high temperatures or extreme humidity (43.3 per cent, compared with 27.7 per cent) and work involving the exposure of children to heavy loads (40.4 per cent, compared with 32.9 per cent).

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the road map 2015−17 focused on child labour under the minimum age for admission to employment (14 years) and the worst forms of child labour between 14 and 17 years of age, while taking into account the context of the National Policy for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Young Persons (PNPNA) and the Five-Year Development Plan 2015–19. The Committee takes due note of the results achieved through the activities undertaken in 2016 in various areas. With regard to health, the Government established a technical standard for comprehensive care (Decision No. 1064, of 21 July 2016) which emphasizes “a health policy guaranteeing the right to and comprehensive care for girls and boys and young persons at work and contributing to prevention and rehabilitation in the case of health complications of victims of child labour”.

The Committee notes the multiple awareness-raising activities undertaken by the Government for the prevention of child labour. Among others, the Ministry of Agriculture has trained 177 producers and 392 women producers on the problem of child labour. It has also reinforced the programme for the elimination of child labour in fishing and agriculture.

Finally, the Committee takes due note of the Instruction on social responsibility of 2015 (No. 02-2015) issued by the Public Administration Procurement and Recruitment Unit setting out “standards for the incorporation of sustainable criteria of social responsibility for the prevention and eradication of child labour in public procurement”. While noting the multiple measures adopted and the activities implemented by the Government for the eradication of child labour within the framework of the road map 2015–17, the Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts in this regard, particularly with reference to children in rural areas and those engaged in hazardous types of work. The Committee once again requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of labour inspections undertaken by the Government for the elimination of child labour, including hazardous types of work, and to provide detailed information on extracts from the reports of the labour inspection services.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the programmes of action implemented by the Ministry of Education in the context of the Plan 2021, although it also noted the low attendance rate of young persons at secondary school and the high rate of school drop-outs. The Committee requested the Government to reinforce its efforts in this respect and to continue providing information on the measures adopted and the results achieved in the context of the Plan 2021.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report and according to the data of the General Directorate of Statistics and Census (DIGESTYC) the rates of work by children disaggregated by sex, age, geographical area and school attendance in 2016. The age range between 10 and 17 years accounts for the majority of child labour (69.4 per cent), and is mainly located in rural areas, with a school attendance rate of 59.8 per cent, with boys being more likely to engage in an economic activity than girls (75 per cent, compared with 25 per cent).

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s report, the planning of various social and educational activities to combat the problem of school drop-outs, such as the various flexible education models: evening school, remote learning, accelerated courses for adults wishing to complete their school programme, school with part-time attendance, as well as grants for higher education and several school food programmes throughout the country (the provision of dairy products, fruit and vegetables from the region). While noting the measures taken by the Government to reduce the school drop-out rate for children under the minimum age for admission to employment, which is 14 years, the Committee requests it to continue its efforts to increase the school attendance rate and reduce the school drop-out rate, particularly for children under 14 years of age in rural areas.