Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Türkiye (Ratification: 1998)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report and the supplementary information provided in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020).

Article 8 of the Convention. Artistic performances. The Committee previously noted with satisfaction the amendment of section 71 of the Labour Law, according to which children under 14 years of age may work in art, cultural and advertising activities, without harming their physical, mental, social and moral development or interfering with the continuation of education. A written agreement and a separate permit are required for each activity. Concerned children shall not work more than five hours per day and 30 hours per week; and not more than two hours per day and ten hours per week, outside school hours, for children attending preschool and school. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on any progress made regarding the adoption of the implementing regulation, relating to, among others, the work permit, working and resting hours, and working environment and conditions, which will be determined by age groups and types of activity. It also requested the Government to provide information on the progress of the establishment of a monitoring system in this regard.

The Government indicates once again, in its report, that in the framework of the elaboration of the above-mentioned regulation, a working group composed of relevant departments of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services, public institutions and Non-Governmental Organisations has been established. It also reiterates that a monitoring system is planned regarding the granting of work permits and the tracking of each child concerned. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the implementing regulation regarding the participation of children in artistic performances is adopted, pursuant to section 71 of the Labour Law. It requests the Government to provide information in this regard, as well as on the establishment of the monitoring system concerning these children.

Article 9(1). Penalties and labour inspection. The Government indicates in its report formulated under the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (No. 182), that between January 2016 and May 2019, administrative fines were imposed on 166 employers who were found, during labour inspections, to violate the provisions of section 71 of the Labour Law and the related regulation, on the employment of children. The Government further indicates, in its supplementary information, that between the beginning of June 2019 and the end of May 2020, administrative fines were imposed on employers in 54 workplaces where laws and regulations on the employment of children were not observed. In addition, the Government indicates in its report formulated under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that during scheduled inspections, children and young persons are one of the priority risk groups of labour inspections. In addition to routine inspections, risk-based inspections are planned and implemented for sectors where the number of working children is high. Unscheduled inspections can also be conducted on the basis of complaints regarding children and young persons. The Government further indicates that all assistant labour inspectors must complete a training programme, including on children, before conducting inspections. In addition, training programmes on children’s rights, child labour and the relevant legislation were organised for labour inspectors in 2017 and 2018. The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the Government to combat child labour, and encourages it to pursue its efforts in order to ensure that section 71 of the Labour Law and its related regulation on the employment of children are effectively implemented. In this regard, it requests the Government to continue to provide information on the penalties applied in practice, and where possible, to provide extracts from labour inspectors’ reports, as well as information on the training provided to labour inspectors and assistant labour inspectors regarding child labour.