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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Eswatini (Ratification: 2002)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy. Revision of the Employment Act. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Employment Bill, 2022, was approved by the Attorney-General and that the legislative process for its adoption (via Cabinet and Parliament) is to follow. The Committee encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Employment Bill, 2022, is adopted without delay, taking into consideration the comments made by the Committee. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the adopted Employment Act with its next report.

Article 2(1). Scope of application and labour inspection. Informal economy, including family undertakings. The Committee observes that, while the current Employment Act excludes domestic employment, agricultural undertakings and family undertakings from its scope of application, and therefore from the coverage of its minimum age provisions, the Employment Bill, 2022, removes these exclusions and sets a minimum age of 15 for employment or work for all workers, including those working in the informal economy. The Committee further notes the Government’s information, in its report, regarding the capacity building workshops it is continuing to conduct for labour inspectors. In particular, the Committee notes that Eswatini has availed itself of ILO technical assistance to introduce the ILO Strategic Labour Compliance Planning on labour inspection, which seeks to address the challenges posed by the lack of resources and position labour administration systems to achieve more with less by maximizing available resources. Measures for improved labour inspection to better monitor child labour violations are also expected to be undertaken in the framework of the Action Programme on Combating Child Labour in Eswatini 2021-26 (APCCL). The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to strengthen the capacity of labour inspectors with a view to allowing them to better monitor and identify cases of child labour in the informal economy. It asks the Government to provide information on themeasures taken in this regard, within the framework of the APCCL or otherwise, and the results achieved.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory education. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that compulsory and free primary education does not necessarily end at 12 years, but that some children finish primary education later, in which case it remains free. The Committee reminds the Government that, regardless of the age when some children finish primary education in practice, the age of completion of compulsory education must, by law, be linked to the age of admission to employment or work (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 369). Currently, under the Free Primary Education Act of 2010, education is free and compulsory only in the case of primary education, which normally ends when the child is 12 years of age (unless the child in question either dropped out of school or faced other difficulties in schooling, such as repetition).

The Committee notes, in this regard, the Government’s indication that one of the goals of the Education Sector Policy of 2018 is the provision of an equitable and inclusive education system that affords all learners access to free and compulsory basic education and senior secondary education of high quality. Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary steps to make education compulsory (and not only free) for students at the primary and lower secondary levels, up until the minimum age for admission to employment, which is 15 years in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

Article 3(2). Determination of hazardous work. The Committee notes with interest that, as opposed to the Employment Act, the Employment Bill, 2022, in section 9, provides a list of types of hazardous work that are prohibited to children and young persons under 18. Moreover, the Government indicates that Regulations adopted pursuant to the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act, 2012, will soon be published which also will cover the types of hazardous work prohibited to children and young persons. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption of the Employment Bill ,2022, in the very near future. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the Regulations adopted pursuant to the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act, 2012.

Article 7. Light work. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that, under section 10 of the Employment Bill, 2022, children under the minimum age of 15 years can work in certain exceptional circumstances. According to subsections 1 and 3, a child (meaning a person under 15 years of age) may perform work in a family business carried on only by a parent or guardian of the child. This type of work may not be performed during school hours, during the night between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m., for more than six hours per day or for more than 33 hours per week.

The Committee recalls that under Article 7(1) of the Convention, the employment of children is permitted from 13 years of age, in light work which is not likely to be harmful to their health or development and is not such as to prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programmes approved by the competent authority, or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received. Pursuant to Article 7(3) of the Convention, the competent authority shall determine the light work activities and prescribe the number of hours during which and the conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken. The Committee recalls that in giving effect to Article 7(3) of the Convention, special attention should be given to several key indicators, including the strict limitation of the hours spent at work in a day and in a week, the prohibition of overtime, the granting of a minimum consecutive period of 12 hours’ night rest, and the maintenance of satisfactory standards of safety and health and appropriate instruction and supervision (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 396).

The Committee observes that there is no minimum age set for light work in family undertakings under section 10 of the Employment Bill, 2022 which allows children of any age to work for up to six hours per day or 33 hours per week. The Committee is of the view that children who work for up to 6 hours per day or 33 hours per week cannot effectively attend school, as the time needed for school work, rest and leisure could be considerably reduced, and that, therefore, this exception is not in accordance with the Convention. In this regard, the Committee observes that, in the context of the Integrated Labour Force Survey of 2021 conducted by the National Employment Statistics Office, children between the ages of 12 and 14 working for more than 14 hours per week are considered to be engaged in child labour (page 53). The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that section 10 of the Employment Bill, 2022 is modified to set a minimum age of 13 years for the performance of work in a family business carried on only by a parent or guardian of the child, and to reduce the number of hours per week that children between the ages of 13 and 15 are permitted to work in these circumstances in order to ensure that such work is not likely to be harmful to their health or development and is not such as to prejudice their attendance at school. In this regard, the Committee suggests that examples could be taken from the Labour Force Survey of 2021 and a maximum number of 14 hours per week established as a threshold. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Labour Force Survey 2021 reveals that 8.2 per cent of children of all ages are engaged in child labour in Eswatini, that most child labour occurs in rural areas (86.1 per cent) as opposed to urban areas (13.9 per cent), and that more boys than girls are engaged in child labour. According to the information reported in the document of the ACCPL, the typical kinds of work that children do in Eswatini include herding livestock, fetching water and firewood, ploughing, planting, weeding, cooking, cleaning, washing clothes and selling in kiosks. Noting that a significant number of children are engaged in child labour in Eswatini, the Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to combat child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing updated statistical information on the situation of working children in Eswatini, including for example data on the number of children and young persons below the minimum age who are engaged in economic activities, and statistics relating to the nature, scope and trends of their work.

The Committee is raising another matter in a request addressed directly to the Government.