Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Saint Kitts and Nevis (Ratification: 2005)

Article 3(1) and (2) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to, and determination of, hazardous work. The Committee previously noted that the draft Labour Code was expected to be enacted by December 2017, and that the National Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Hazardous Child Labour, which would determine the types of work deemed to be hazardous for young persons under the age of 18 years would be established under the draft Labour Code and become operational following its entry into force.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the Amalgamated Draft Labour Code, which went through its consultative processes in 2019, was expected to be reviewed by the National Tripartite Committee in the third quarter of 2021 to include changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government once again indicates that the National Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Hazardous Child Labour will become operational after the Labour Code has passed into Law. In light of the fact that the Committee has been raising this issue for over ten years, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the draft Labour Code will be adopted in the near future. The Committee also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure, without delay, the establishment of the National Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Hazardous Child Labour in order to ensure, in turn, the adoption of a list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 3(3). Admission to hazardous work as from 16 years. The Committee previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the authorization of the performance of hazardous types of work for persons between the ages of 16 and 18 years is subject to strict conditions respecting protection and prior training, pursuant to Article 3(3) of the Convention.

It notes once again the Government’s information that such provisions were included in phase II of the review of the draft Labour Code. The Committee trusts that the draft Labour Code will be adopted in the near future, which provides for all the appropriate provisions ensuring the protection of the young persons, as required by Article 3(3) of the Convention.

Article 7(1). Light work from the age of 13 years. The Committee previously noted that the Employment of Children (Restriction) Ordinance permits children under the age of 12 to be employed by their parents in agricultural or horticultural work on land belonging to their parents, as well as children between the ages of 12 and 16 years to work in non-hazardous daytime work outside of school hours, specifying a maximum of two hours of work on school days and Sundays (section 3(1)). The Committee trusted that the provisions in the Employment of Children (Restriction) Ordinance would be applied in conformity with Article 7(1) of the Convention, so that children below the age of 13 would not be authorized to undertake light work activities.

The Committee takes note of the Government’s specification that the Employment of Children (Restriction) Ordinance has been amended by Act No. 19 of 2002 and is now part of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, Chapter 18.10, also amended by Act No. 20 of 2002. The Committee notes that section 7(1) of this Act is a repetition of the previous section 3(1) of the Employment of Children (Restriction) Ordinance. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Tripartite Committee will review the legislation, in consultation with the Ministry of Social Development, to ensure that its provisions are in conformity with Article 7(1) of the Convention and that children below the age of 13 are not authorized to undertake light work activities.Considering that the Committee has been raising this issue for more than ten years, it urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, Chapter 18.10 is amended in a manner to prohibit children under the age of 13 to perform light work activities.

Article 9(1). Penalties. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that the fines prescribed for the violation of the child labour provisions under the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act and the Employment of Children (Restriction) Ordinance had not been updated in recent years. However, it intended to review some of the fines during the consultative process of the Labour Code.

The Committee once again notes the Government’s indication that the National Tripartite Committee, in consultation with the Ministry of Social Development, will review this issue in the hope of upgrading the fines. The Committee recalls that Article 9(1) of the Convention requires that all necessary measures, including the provision of appropriate penalties, be taken by the competent authority to ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of this Convention, and that even the best legislation only takes value when it is applied effectively (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 410). The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that either the provisions of the draft Labour Code or those of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act will prescribe appropriate and upgraded fines for the violations of child labour provisions.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. The Committee previously noted that section 12(1) of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act requires employers in an industrial undertaking to keep a register of all persons under the age of 16 years, which is the minimum age for admission to employment in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and that this provision is retained in the draft Labour Code. The Committee reminded the Government that, in accordance with Article 9(3) of the Convention, national laws or regulations or the competent authority shall prescribe the registers or other documents which shall be kept and made available by the employer of persons whom he/she employs and who are less than 18 years of age, and that this provision applies to all sectors of employment, not just in industrial workplaces. 

The Committee notes the lack of new information in the Government’s report on this issue. It therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the draft Labour Code contain provisions requiring employers in all sectors of the economy to keep registers of all persons employed under the age of 18, in conformity with Article 9(3) of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard in its next report.

The Committee reminds the Government that it may avail itself of ILO technical assistance in order to bring its legislation into conformity with the Convention.

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