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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Republic of Moldova (Ratification: 1999)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. 1. Scope of application and labour inspection. Children working in the informal economy and self-employed children.  In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that neither the Labour Code nor Law No. 140-XV of 2001 on State Labour Inspectorate exclude from their application enterprises from the informal economy, or persons employed in the informal economy. The Government however indicated that due to the hidden character of the work in the informal economy, the control and monitoring of the activities of persons employed in this sector presented certain difficulties. The Committee further noted the measures taken by the Government to bring workers from the informal economy, including minors, into the legal framework. In particular, the Law No. 169 of 2012 on amending certain provisions of the Labour Code and the Contravention Code introduced administrative sanctions for the use of undeclared work, including by children. In addition, according to Government Decision No. 788 of 2013, the staff of the labour inspectorate had been increased by 12 units in order to effectively conduct the monitoring of child labour. The Committee further noted that according to the data provided by the Child Labour Monitoring Unit (CLMU) of the labour inspectorate, in 2014, 142 children and young persons under the age of 18 years had been identified as performing activities such as cooks and waiters; tailors; taking care of animals, washing cars and in agricultural works.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that labour inspections with respect to 29 employees under the age of 18 were carried out in 2019. In particular, labour inspectors detected violations of the legislation on employment of minors such as undeclared work, the absence of a written individual employment contract, and work in dangerous conditions. The Government further indicates that six acts of labour inspection control concerning violations of sections 55(2) (violation of labour legislation in relation to a minor), 55-1 (use of undeclared work), and 58 (admission of a minor to work in dangerous conditions) of the Contravention Code have been submitted to the court. In addition, labour inspectors issued prescriptions for the withdrawal of children under 18 years of age from work performed in violation of the law. The Committee also takes note of the information provided by the Government that in 2019, 2 122 students from 69 pre-university education institutions attended seminars conducted by labour inspectors on the provisions of the national legislation concerning employment of children under the age of 18.

The Committee, however, has noted in its comments of 2019, under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) a significant decrease in the number of inspectors, restrictions on the undertaking of labour inspections, and a decrease in the number of inspections carried out in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The Committee further notes that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in its 2017 concluding observations recommended strengthening the labour inspectorate and the CLMU (CRC/C/MDA/CO/4-5, paragraph 38). The Committee requests the Government to continue to pursue its efforts to ensure that children under the minimum age who are working without an employment relationship, such as children working on a self-employed basis or in the informal economy, benefit from the protection afforded by the Convention. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate so that it can effectively monitor and detect cases of child labour, and prevent and remedy conditions that inspectors have reasonable cause to believe constitute a threat to the health or safety of children, including in agriculture and the informal economy. It further requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed in this regard.

2. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee previously noted that, according to section 46(2) of the Labour Code, a person attains working capacity at the age of 16. It noted, however, that section 46(3) of the Labour Code allows children of over 15 years of age to conclude work contracts with the written permission of their parents, or legal representatives, provided that this does not impair their health, education, development or vocational training.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Convention sets out the minimum age for admission to employment, which may not be less than 15 years or 18 years for hazardous work. The Committee however once again reminds the Government that, on ratifying the Convention, it declared 16 years to be the minimum age for admission to employment and that, consequently, pursuant to Article 2(1) of the Convention, children under that age may not be admitted to work except for light work, which may be undertaken in the conditions set out in Article 7 of the Convention. The Committee therefore reiterates its requests to the Government to take the necessary measures, without delay, to ensure that no person under the minimum age specified by the Government (16 years) shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation, except for light work. It further requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.

Article 7(3). Determination of light work.  The Committee previously noted the Government’s information that, in the context of the revision of the list of types of hazardous work prohibited for children under the age of 18 years, discussions would be undertaken with regard to adopting a list of light work activities that may be carried out by children of 14 years of age, pursuant to section 11(2) and (3) of the Child Rights Act. Noting an absence of information in the Government’s report on this point, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the progress made with regard to the adoption of a list of light work activities that may be carried out by children of 14 to 16 years of age.