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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Samoa (Ratification: 2008)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and practical application of the Convention.  The Committee previously noted the concern of the Committee of the Rights of the Child on the growing number of working children, including children involved in domestic work and child street vendors, and the need to undertake targeted activities to address this issue. The Committee further noted a draft Child Care and Protection Bill developed by the Ministry of Women Community and Social Development (MWCSD). In particular, as per section 55(1) of the Bill, no child under the age of 14 years shall be permitted to sell any goods on the streets or in any public places, while no child who is below the age requiring compulsory attendance at school is permitted to sell goods on the streets or in any public places after 7 p.m. on any day. The Committee also noted the Government’s statement that the Division for Research Policy/Planning and Information, in collaboration with the Division for Women, had completed a draft Child Policy, which would support the roll-out of the forthcoming childcare and protection legislation.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report concerning a draft Samoa National Childcare Protection for 2019-2024 (SNCP), previously known as the National Policy for Children of Samoa. The Government specifies that the SNCP focuses on health and social protection for children from vulnerable families. The Government further indicates that the Family, Safety, and Child Protection Strategy and the Youth Employment Programs regulate issues on child labour and youth employment. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the draft Samoa National Childcare Protection (SNCP) and the Child Care and Protection Bill will be adopted in the near future. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard. It further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to progressively eliminate child labour as well as on statistical data on the number of children below the minimum age engaged in child labour, and the nature, scope and trends of their work.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. Further to its previous comments concerning the requirement to keep registers of all persons employed under the age of 18 years, the Committee observes that section 7(1)(2) of the Labour and Employment Relations Regulations of 2016 (LER Regulations of 2016) sets out the employer’s obligation to keep records of employees, including information on their sex, age, types of work performed, and wage. The Committee further notes that the form of such record is established in Schedule 1 of the LER Regulations of 2016.