Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 2003)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

The Committee notes the joint observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the Confederation of Private Employers of Bolivia (CEPB) received on 1 September 2017.

Articles 3(a) and 7(2)(a) and (b) of the Convention. Debt bondage and forced and compulsory labour in the sugar cane and Brazil nut harvesting industries, and effective and time-bound measures. Preventing children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour and providing direct assistance for their removal from child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the prevalence and conditions of exploitation of children working in hazardous conditions in sugar cane and nut harvesting plantations. The Committee also noted the Government’s corporate incentives programme “Triple Sello”, under which the provision of certain benefits is conditional on the enterprise demonstrating that it does not practice any form of child labour, including in work related to the harvesting of nuts. The Committee noted that, based on the Plan of Action 2013–17 with UNICEF, a programme had been established in 17 Bolivian nut and sugar cane producing municipalities to provide education assistance to children, and that 3,400 children had been reintegrated into basic education.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that no cases of child labour have been identified in the sugar cane production sector. With regard to the nut production sector, the Government indicates that a tripartite agreement has been signed with the representatives of employers and their workers in the sector, including a clause prohibiting child labour. According to the Government, during the harvest period, labour inspectors undertake inspections to assess the conditions of work, and also keep a special record of cases of children working in the sector. The Government adds that these inspectors are empowered to impose penalties when they detect violations of labour rules. However, the Committee notes that the Government does not indicate the number of violations identified or the penalties imposed. It also notes with regret the absence of information on the effective and time-bound measures taken to prevent children becoming victims of debt bondage or forced labour. The Committee once again urges the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to prevent children from becoming victims of debt bondage or forced labour in the sugar cane and Brazil nut harvesting industries, and to remove child victims from these worst forms of child labour and ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. The Committee once again requests the Government to explain the manner in which it ensures that persons using the labour of children under 18 years of age in the sugar cane and Brazil nut harvesting industries, under conditions of debt bondage or forced labour, are prosecuted and that effective and dissuasive sanctions are applied. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how the tripartite agreement signed in the nut production sector will concretely impact on child labour, and to provide a copy of the agreement.

Articles 3(d) and 7(2)(a) and (b). Hazardous types of work. Children working in mines. Effective and time-bound measures for prevention, assistance and removal. The Committee noted previously that over 3,800 children work in the tin, zinc, silver and gold mines in the country. It also noted the awareness-raising and educational measures and the economic alternatives offered to the families of children working in mines. The Committee noted that, according to the Government’s statistical data, only 8 per cent of the inspections carried out in mines found children under the age of 12 years working there. However, the Committee also noted that around 2,000 children were identified in 2013 in labour activities in traditional artisanal mines in the municipalities of Potosí and Oruro. The Committee further noted that 145 young persons below 18 years of age were found working in mines in Cerro Rico in June and July 2014. Finally, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that it intended to formulate a national policy for the eradication of child labour within the next two years.

The Committee notes the joint observations of the IOE and the CEPB that it is necessary for the Government to adopt a national plan for the eradication of child labour after consulting the social partners.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the Ministry of Labour has taken action directed at employers in the mining sector to discourage them from using child labour. The Government also refers to the establishment by the Ministry of Labour of Integrated Mobile Offices (Oficinas Móviles Integrales) in remote areas where the presence of the worst forms of child labour is suspected, including in mining areas. However, the Committee notes with regret that the national policy for the eradication of child labour has not yet been adopted. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures for the adoption in the very near future of the national policy for the eradication of child labour and to provide information on this subject. It also requests the Government to indicate the effectiveness of the action undertaken by Integrated Mobile Offices in preventing children from being engaged in hazardous work in mines, their removal from such work and their rehabilitation.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms and application in practice. The Committee previously noted the lack of resources of labour inspectors and the difficulties encountered in gaining access to plantations in the Chaco region. It also noted that the most recent information provided by the Government merely repeated the statistics provided previously indicating that only 5 per cent of the inspections carried out had identified children under 14 years of age engaged in work.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the labour inspectorate has six inspectors specialized in the progressive elimination of child labour. It adds that inspectors supervise labour standards relating to all fundamental rights. The Government adds that in remote areas where there are no Ministry of Labour offices, it has established Integrated Mobile Offices composed of labour inspectors with competence for the exhaustive supervision of the application of labour standards. The Committee notes that 265 inspections relating to child labour were carried out in 2015, all of which were undertaken by the Mobile Offices. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication in its report on the application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that studies and analysis have been carried out of the situation of children working in domestic service, mines, on their own account, in sugar cane fields and those engaged in hazardous types of work, but it notes that the Government has not provided the findings of these studies. The Government indicates that the analyses in the studies are helping in the formulation of a plan of action which will be coordinated by municipal authorities and government departments. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing updated statistics on the results of routine and unscheduled inspections, including inspections carried out by inspectors specialized in child labour. It also requests the Government to ensure that these statistics clearly indicate the nature, scope and trends of the worst forms of child labour, particularly in the sugar cane and Brazil nut harvest, and in the mining sector. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the adoption of the plan of action referred to above.

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

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.