Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Gabon (Ratification: 2010)

Article 2(3) of the Convention. Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee previously noted that Act No. 21/2011 determining the general education, training and research policy establishes 16 years as the age of completion of compulsory schooling, which corresponds to the minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee notes that section 2 of Act No. 21/2011 provides that education and training are compulsory in Gabon. Access to education and training shall be ensured for any young person, whether Gabonese or not, between 3 and 16 years of age.

Article 7. Light work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under section 2 of Decree No. 0651/PR/MTEPS of 13 April 2011 determining individual exemptions from the minimum age for admission to employment in Gabon, individual exemptions from the minimum age for admission to employment may be granted for the performance of light work not likely to jeopardize the health, development or school attendance of the minors concerned, or their participation in vocational guidance and training programmes. Under the terms of section 3 of the Decree, the performance of light work shall be subject to the prior written agreement of a parent, as well as the opinion of a works doctor, and weekly working time shall not exceed 15 hours. However, the Committee noted that the decree determining exemptions from the minimum age for admission to employment did not appear to set a minimum age for admission to light work, and only indicated that children under 16 years of age may be authorized to perform such work when granted an individual exemption, without specifying the authority entitled to grant such individual exemptions, and making them conditional only upon the parent’s agreement and the opinion of the works doctor. The Committee also observed that the types of light work authorized for children under 16 years of age did not appear to have been determined.

The Committee notes that, according to the information in the Government’s report, the draft amendments to the Labour Code establish a list of types of light work which children under 16 years of age are allowed to perform. The Committee reminds the Government that, under Article 7(1) of the Convention, national laws or regulations may permit the employment of children aged at least 13 years in light work and that, under Article 7(3) of the Convention, the competent authority, and not the persons exercising parental authority, shall determine the activities in which light employment or work may be permitted and shall prescribe the number of hours during which and the conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures, as part of the revision of the Labour Code, to prohibit the admission of children under 13 years of age to light work, to adopt a list of types of light work in which children between 13 and 16 years of age may be engaged, and to ensure that the competent authority determines the conditions for such employment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this regard.

Article 8. Artistic performances. The Committee noted previously that, under section 2 of the Decree determining individual exemptions from the minimum age for admission to employment, individual exemptions from the minimum age may be granted for the participation of minors in artistic performances. Under section 3 of the Decree, participation in artistic performances shall be subject to prior parental agreement in writing, and the weekly duration of such activity must not exceed 15 hours. However, the Committee noted that the conditions of such employment do not appear to be set out in national laws or regulations.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, as part of the revision of the Labour Code, new provisions will provide that individual exemptions relating to the participation of children under 16 years of age in artistic performances will be granted by the competent authorities, according to the needs and age of the child, and that these exemptions will be limited in terms of time. The Government also indicates that in practice children under 16 years of age do not take part in artistic performances. The Committee trusts that the draft amendments to the Labour Code will be adopted in the very near future and requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that individual exemptions relating to the participation of children under 16 years of age in artistic performances are granted by the competent authority as well as the parent(s), and that they establish the conditions of employment for children in artistic performances, in accordance with Article 8 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this respect.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. The Committee noted previously that section 257 of the Labour Code provides that the employer must keep constantly updated, at the work premises, an employer’s register, the form of which shall be determined by order of the Minister of Labour after consultation with the Labour Advisory Commission. It also noted that General Order No. 3018 of 29 September 1953 establishes the model for the employer’s register, in which the worker’s age and date of entry into the establishment must be indicated.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in the context of the revision of the Labour Code, the provisions of General Order No. 3018 will be amended and will take account of the Committee’s comments. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures in the near future to bring General Order No. 3018 into conformity with the requirements of Article 9(3) of the Convention, by providing that the employer must keep registers and make them available.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted the lack of statistical data available on child labour. It noted that, according to UNICEF statistics, between 2002 and 2010 a total of 13.4 per cent of children were involved in child labour (15.4 per cent of boys and 11.6 per cent of girls). The Committee noted that Decree No. 0191/PR/MFAS on the establishment of a child protection indicators matrix (MIPE), adopted in 2012, creates an indicative instrument designed to help the Government to follow trends on matters related to children’s rights. This instrument, which seeks to assist the work of the National Observatory of the Rights of the Child (ONDE), is intended to ensure the ongoing availability in Gabon of a database of precise statistics on child protection. The Government indicated that ONDE activities consisted of setting up watchdog committees in all provinces of the country.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government, ONDE is a forum for cooperation and consultation between various public and private actors and associations involved in the rights of the child, even though cooperation is limited owing to the lack of an ONDE office and insufficient staff. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that statistics on child labour are still not available. In order to be in a position to assess the application of the Convention in practice, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the availability of adequate data on the situation of children who work in Gabon, and particularly on the number of working children and young persons whose age is lower than the minimum age for admission to employment or work, namely 16 years, and on the nature, scope and trends of such work. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on ONDE activities and on the statistics collected by ONDE through the MIPE on children under 16 years of age who are engaged in work.

The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to take its comments into consideration in the context of the revision of the Labour Code which is under way. The Committee reminds the Government that it may avail itself of ILO technical assistance in order to bring its law and practice into line with the Convention.