Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Mexico (Ratification: 2015)

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Article 2(1) of the Convention. Scope of application. Children working in family enterprises.Recalling that under Article 2(1) of the Convention, no children under the minimum age (15 years) shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation, and in the absence of information from the Government, the Committee once again requests the Government to amend section 23 of the Federal Labour Act, which prohibits the employment or work of children under the age of 15 years for work outside the family, to also apply to all children working within family enterprises or performing domestic work within the family.

Article 3(1) and (2). Minimum age for admission to hazardous work and determination of hazardous types of work. Regarding the determination of hazardous types of work, the Committee refers to its detailed comments on the application of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

Article 7(1) and (3). Minimum age for admission to light work and determination of light work. The Committee notes, from the 2019 National Survey on Child Labour (ENTI), that 19.3 million children aged 5 to 17 years perform domestic chores in their family. It also notes the Government’s reiterated statement, in its report, that there is no exception to the minimum age for admission to work, set at 15 years. Noting the high number of children under the age of 15 years engaged in family and domestic work who are often not remunerated, the Committee encourages the Government to regulate light work, in conformity with Article 7(1) and (3) of the Convention, which provides that national laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of persons 13 to 15 years of age on light work which is not likely to be harmful to their health or development, and shall prescribe the number of hours during which and the conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken.

Labour inspection and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes, from the 2019 ENTI Survey that: (1) a total of 3.3 million children aged 5 to 17 years are engaged in child labour, representing 11.5 per cent of children; (2) 900,000 children aged 5 to 14 years are working; (3) child labour is prevalent in agricultural activities, forestry, hunting and fishing (31.6 per cent), mines, construction and industry (24.5 per cent), commercial and sale activities (14 per cent), and street selling (7.9 per cent); and (4) despite a steady decrease in the number of children aged 5 to 15 years working since 2007, it increased in 2019 (6.9 per cent of children aged 5 to 15 years were working in 2007, 4.6 per cent in 2013, 3.6 per cent in 2017 and 4.1 per cent in 2019).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, between December 2018 and June 2022, the Decent Work Unit of the Labour Inspectorate carried out 111,847 inspections relating to general working conditions, which included child labour inspections, and it detected no cases of child labour. The Committee notes with concern that despite the recent increase in the number of children working under the minimum age of 15, no cases of child labour were detected by the labour inspectorate. Noting that while the ENTI Survey indicates an increase in child labour and that the labour inspections have not detected cases of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to follow-up on the information derived from the Survey by taking the necessary measures to monitor and identify cases of child labour and to provide information on the results achieved in this regard. It also requests the Government to provide updated information on the number of children under the age of 15 years engaged in child labour and those under 18 years of age engaged in hazardous work, as well as the number and the nature of the violations detected and the investigations conducted. In so far as possible, the information provided should be disaggregated by age and gender.

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