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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Ethiopia (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) received on 29 August 2019 and 1 September 2019, respectively. It also notes the detailed discussion which took place at the 108th Session of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS) in June 2019, concerning the application by Ethiopia of the Convention.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 108th Session, June 2019)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the various measures taken by the Government to eliminate child labour, including the Ethiopians Fighting Against Child Exploitation (E-FACE) project; the Community Care Coalition whereby in-kind and cash support is used to prevent child labour; as well as the National Action Plan (NAP 2011–17) to prevent child labour exploitation. The Committee observed that according to the 2015 Child Labour Survey results, the number of children aged 5–13 years engaged in child labour was estimated to be 13,139,991 (page 63) with 41.7 per cent aged between 5 and 11 years (page xii).

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that within the framework of the NAP 2011–17 to eliminate child labour, several public awareness-raising programmes were conducted on child labour through conversation and media forums reaching about 1,170,904 people in child labour affected areas and 441 labour inspectors were provided with capacity-building training on prevention of child labour. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that on an average, 39,000 inspections were carried out annually in different establishments with a focus on child labour. The Government also indicates that the grassroots community organizations known as Community Care Coalition have made significant contributions through mobilizing community resources to prevent vulnerable children from entering into child labour by supporting their families and providing shelter. Moreover, a comprehensive child labour policy has been issued in consultation with the social partners and relevant stakeholders to address child labour. The Committee further notes from the document on the E-FACE project that to date this project has impacted the lives of more than 18,000 children engaged in child labour allowing them to attend school and reducing the risk of dropout. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee urges the Government to continue to take the necessary measures for the progressive elimination of child labour. It requests the Government to continue to provide specific information on the concrete measures taken in this regard as well as the results achieved. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, extracts from the reports of the inspection services, and information on the number and nature of violations detected and penalties applied involving children and young persons.

Article 2(1). Scope of application. The Committee previously noted that although section 89(2) of the Labour Law Proclamation No. 42 of 1993 prohibits the employment of persons under 14 years of age, the provisions of the Labour Law did not cover work performed outside an employment relationship. It noted the Government’s indication that the Constitution provides for the right of children to be protected from any forms of exploitative labour, without any discrimination, whether employed or self-employed, working in the formal or informal sector. The Committee noted that according to the 2015 Child Labour Survey results, 89.4 per cent of the children engaged in child labour worked in the agricultural, forestry and fishing sectors and in wholesale and retail trade sector. The majority of children performing economic activities were working as unpaid family workers (95.6 per cent) (page xii). Noting with concern the high number of children working in the informal economy, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all children under 14 years of age, particularly children working on their own account or in the informal economy, benefit from the protection laid down by the Convention.

The Committee notes that the Conference Committee, in its concluding observations, urged the Government to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate and competent services, including human, material and technical resources and training, particularly in the informal economy. It also notes that the IOE, in its observations, commended the Government for taking the following steps to address the gaps in the Labour Law, such as: (i) extending the labour advisory services in the informal sector; and (ii) strengthening the labour inspectorate system in the country to make it accessible to all enterprises and workplaces.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that measures are being taken to extend labour advisory services in the informal economy with the aim of protecting the rights of all workers, including young workers working without an employment relationship such as work on their own account or in the informal economy. The Government also indicates that efforts are being made to strengthen the labour inspectorate system in the country so as to ensure that such services are effectively accessible to all enterprises and workplaces. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all children under 14 years of age, particularly children working on their own account or in the informal economy, benefit from the protection laid down by the Convention. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to strengthen the capacities and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate so that it can adequately monitor and detect cases of child labour, particularly involving children working in the informal economy, and on their own account. It requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or progress made in this regard.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that it had started the process of drafting legislation which aims at making primary education compulsory. It also noted that according to the Child Labour Survey of 2015, the school attendance rate was 61.3 per cent among children aged 5–17 years. Moreover, 2,830,842 children in the 5–17 years age group (7.6 per cent of the total number of children in the country), dropped out of school with the dropout rate higher among working children (10.9 per cent) than non-working children (4.1 per cent) and among working boys (11.6 per cent) than working girls (9.8 per cent) (pages 86 and 88). The Committee further noted that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its 2015 concluding observations, expressed concern at: (i) the lack of national legislation on free and compulsory education; (ii) the persistent regional disparities in enrolment rates and the high number of school-aged children, particularly girls, who remained out of school; as well as (iii) the high dropout rates and the significant low enrolment rates in pre-primary education and secondary education (CRC/C/ETH/CO/4-5, paragraph 61).

The Committee notes the statement made by the Government representative of Ethiopia to the Conference Committee that the School Feeding Programme supplemented by specific interventions have significantly improved inclusiveness, participation and achievements in education. The Government representative also stated that a rural–urban Productive Safety Net Programme to improve the income of targeted poor households in the rural and urban areas and the Ethiopian Education Development Roadmap, 2018–2030 to address the gap in access to quality education has been developed. Moreover, Alternative Basic Education modalities are being implemented, such as mobile schools for children of pastoral and semi-pastoral communities. It notes that the Conference Committee, in its conclusions, urged the Government to introduce legislative measures to provide free and compulsory education up to the minimum age of admission to employment of 14 years and ensure its effective implementation as well as to improve the functioning of the educational system through measures to increase the school enrolment rates and decrease dropout rates.

The Committee notes the observations made by ITUC that there is a close link between compulsory education and the abolition of child labour and hence it is essential that Ethiopia introduce compulsory schooling at least up to the minimum age for admission to employment.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that it is committed to achieving universal and quality primary education for all school-aged children. Accordingly, it is implementing the Education and Training Policy and the Education Sector Development Programme (ESD) (2016–20) which has led to the achievement of the following results: (i) the number of primary schools has increased from 33,373 in 2014–15 to 36,466 in 2017–18; (ii) the net enrolment rate has increased from 94.3 per cent in 2014–15 to nearly 100 per cent in 2017–18 with a gender parity index of 0.9 per cent; and (iii) the school dropout rates have decreased from 18 per cent in 2008–09 to 9 per cent in 2013–14. The Committee notes, from the UNICEF Annual Report 2018 that while the enrolment rate in primary education has improved (which has tripled from 2000 to 2016), the transition from primary to secondary education remains a bottleneck, with children in rural areas predisposed to dropping out of school and only 25 per cent of secondary school-aged girls attending secondary school. Furthermore, according to the UNICEF report entitled Multidimensional Child Deprivation in Ethiopia, National Estimates, 2018, 50 per cent of children aged 5–17 years were deprived of education in 2016. The proportion of children in rural areas aged 7–17 years who are not attending school is more than double that of children residing in urban areas. The Committee finally notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in its concluding observations of March 2019 remained concerned that primary education is still not compulsory and at the high dropout and low completion rates of girls at the primary level (CEDAW/C/ETH/CO/8, paragraph 33(a)). Recalling that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary steps to make education compulsory up to the minimum age of admission to employment of 14 years in accordance with Article 2(3) of the Convention. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to increase school enrolment rates, decrease dropout rates and ensure completion of compulsory education with a view to preventing children under 14 years of age from being engaged in child labour.

Article 3. Determination of hazardous work. The Committee previously noted that the Decree of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of 2 September 1997 concerning the prohibition of work for young workers which contained a detailed list of types of hazardous work was undergoing revision. The Committee observed that, according to the Child Labour Survey, the rate of hazardous work among children aged 5–17 years was 23.3 per cent (28 per cent for boys versus 18.2 per cent for girls). The average hours of work per week performed by children engaged in hazardous work in this age group was 41.4 hours with 50 per cent of them working more than 42 hours per week. The Committee also noted that among children engaged in hazardous work, 87.5 per cent work in the agricultural sector, and 66.2 per cent are involved in other hazardous working conditions such as night work, working in an unhealthy environment or using unsafe equipment at work (page xiii). The Committee urged the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that, in practice, children under 18 years of age were not engaged in hazardous work. It also requested the Government to indicate whether a new list of types of hazardous work was adopted and to supply a copy.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the list of activities prohibited to young persons has been revised in consultation with social partners and a directive has been issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in 2013 in this regard. It notes the unofficial translated copy of the directive provided by the Government which contains a list of 16 activities which are harmful to the health, safety and well-being of young workers and therefore prohibited. This list includes: work in transport of passengers and goods by road, railway, air and waterways; works related to handling of heavy material; fishing at sea; underground work at mines and quarries; works connected with electric power generation plants or transmission lines; work at elevation in construction; work on production of alcoholic drinks and drugs; work in extremely hot and cold conditions; work exposed to ionizing and non-ionizing, x-rays and ultraviolet rays; work with flammable and explosive materials; work with toxic chemicals and pesticides; and all works that will have adverse effects on the physical and psychological development of young persons. The list also provides the maximum weight limits that could be carried by young persons. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the revised list under the directive of 2013, particularly for hazardous work in agriculture, including statistics on the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed. The Committee reminds the Government that it may avail itself of technical assistance from the ILO with respect to the issues raised in its present comment.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.