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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Chile (Ratification: 1999)

Articles 1 and 2(1) of the Convention. National policy for the effective abolition of child labour and scope of application. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the National Strategy for the Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers (2015–2025), which is based on a rights, social protection, inter-culturality and shared responsibility approach, and it requested the Government to continue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the National Strategy is currently being implemented and that it has contributed to institutional strengthening through the establishment in 2019 of the Department for the Elimination of Child Labour in the Subsecretariat of Labour. In this regard, the Committee also notes that, by Decree No. 173 of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, published on 13 August 2021, the Advisory Ministerial Commission for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour and Protection of Young Workers was created within the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, and includes among its members representatives of various ministers and of the Intersectoral Forum on Trafficking in Persons, the National Youth Service, the Investigatory Police, the Confederation of Production and Commerce and the Single Central Organization of Workers. The role of the Advisory Commission is to work on proposals for the design of public policies with the objective of the sustainable elimination of child labour and the protection of young workers, and to collaborate with the Child Labour Observatory and other institutions engaged in the compilation of data (empirical, both quantitative and qualitative) to keep updating the national assessment of child labour and protected work for young persons. The Committee also notes that, within the framework of the National Strategy, in 2018 and 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare took action to strengthen parental capacities in families with children and young persons engaged in child labour or at risk of entering the labour market early. Finally, the Committee notes with interest the adoption, in September 2020, of Act No. 21.271 amending the Labour Code in relation to the protection of boys, girls and young persons in the world of work, which replaces Book I, Title I, Chapter II of the Labour Code. It notes that the Act regulates in detail the conditions under which persons who have reached the minimum age for admission to work can undertake a work activity, including in relation to hours of work, rest periods and occupational safety and health conditions. The Committee welcomes the measures adopted by the Government to reinforce the national legal and institutional framework for the progressive elimination of child labour and requests it to continue its efforts to ensure that no boy or girl under the age of 15 is engaged in child labour, including in the informal economy. The Committee encourages the Government to continue providing information on the activities and programmes undertaken within the framework of the National Strategy for the Elimination of Child Labour, including in the informal economy, and on the results achieved.

Article 2(1). Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee notes that section 13 of the Labour Code (as amended by Act No. 21.271) prohibits the recruitment of boys, girls and young persons under the age of admission to work, defined as persons under 15 years of age.

Article 3(1) and (2). Age of admission to hazardous work and determination of hazardous types of work. The Committee notes that, in accordance with section 15, as amended, by the Labour Code, no person under the age of 18 years shall be admitted to arduous work or activities that may be hazardous to their health, safety or morals, including work in establishments where alcoholic drinks are sold or where shows of a sexual nature are performed or exhibited. The Committee notes that, in August 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare adopted Decree No. 1 issuing regulations under section 15 of the Labour Code, Title II of which sets out the activities considered to be hazardous in view of their nature (work at high temperatures, work involving chemicals or heavy machinery, work involving exposure to radiation, work undertaken on board passenger or goods transport vehicles, work in construction, work in mines and night work, among others); and activities considered to be hazardous due to the conditions in which they are performed (work under conditions of isolation, work performed without protective equipment, work involving a risk to mental health, among others). In accordance with section 15(5) of the Labour Code, the above regulations will be evaluated every four years.

Article 7. Light work. The Committee notes that section 14, as amended, by the Labour Code provides that young persons between the ages of 15 and 18 years may undertake protected work for young persons, defined as work that is not considered to be hazardous and which by its nature is not prejudicial to regular attendance at school and/or participation in vocational guidance or training programmes. In this respect, the hiring of young persons must be for the purpose of the performance of work that can be classified as protected work for young persons and must be subject to the written authorization of the person responsible for the personal care and legal representation of the young person (or in the absence of such a person, of the respective labour inspector). Moreover, the young person must demonstrate that they have completed middle school or is currently engaged in middle school or basic education, and working time may not be more than 30 hours a week, distributed in a maximum of six hours a day during the school year, and up to eight hours a day during breaks in the school year and the holiday period. The employer is required to inform the Local Children’s Office of the hiring of the young person. The Committee, while noting the provisions regulating the performance of work by young persons who have reached the age of 15, requests the Government to indicate the types of work which, under the terms of section 14, as amended, by the Labour Code, may be considered to be protected work for young persons.

Article 8. Artistic performances. The Committee notes that section 16, as amended, of the Labour Code permits the participation of boys, girls and young persons under 15 years of age in theatrical, cinema, radio, television and circus performances and other similar activities subject to the authorization of the Family Court and in accordance with the same requirements as for protected work by young persons (section 14, as amended, of the Labour Code). In this regard, the employer is required to pay for or provide transport and food under adequate conditions of hygiene and safety. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of boys, girls and young persons whose participation in artistic performances has been authorized under the terms of section 16, as amended, by the Labour Code.

Article 9(1). Penalties. The Committee notes with interest that Act No. 21.271 includes new provisions in sections 18bis, 18ter, 18quater and 18quinquies of the Labour Code establishing fines for employers who hire boys, girls and young persons in violation of the provisions of the Labour Code. It notes in particular that, in accordance with section 18quinquies, in the event that an employer commits more than three infringements in relation to the hiring of persons under the age of admission to work or of young persons to perform hazardous types of work within a period of five years, the employer shall be prohibited from hiring young persons who are of the age for admission to work. The Committee welcomes the measures adopted by the Government and requests it to provide information on the application in practice of the penalties established by the Labour Code for violations of the provisions respecting the employment of boys, girls and young persons, including information on the number and nature of the violations committed, and the penalties imposed. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to indicate how often section 18quinquies of the Labour Code has been applied in practice, and how long the ban on hiring lawful-aged young persons lasts in such cases.

Labour inspection and application in practice. The Committee notes that, according to the Child Labour Vulnerability Index in Chile, developed by the Subsecretariat of Labour in collaboration with the ILO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and published in 2020, between 2015 and 2017 a total of 1247 violations in the field of child labour were identified by the Labour Directorate throughout the country. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that a new national child labour survey is planned, which will be regional in scope, and that it will take into account the recommendations of the ILO International Conference of Labour Statisticians. The Committee encourages the Government to continue providing information on the inspections undertaken and the number and nature of the infringements identified by the Labour Directorate and other services in relation to work by boys and girls under the age of 15 in all sectors in the country, as well as the penalties imposed. The Committee also invites the Government to provide information on the findings of the next national child labour survey, when it has been completed, including updated statistics on the nature, extent and trends of child labour.