Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2005, Publicación: 95ª reunión CIT (2006)

Convenio sobre la edad mínima, 1973 (núm. 138) - Mozambique (Ratificación : 2003)

The Committee notes the information sent by the Government in its first report. It notes in particular that Act No. 8198 of 20 July 1998 (the "Labour Act") is being revised. It requests the Government to provide information on progress made in the revision.

Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Convention. 1. Scope. The Committee notes that, according to sections 1 and 2 of the Labour Act, the Act applies only to a labour relationship. It reminds the Government that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity and covers all types of employment or work, whether or not performed within an employment relationship and whether or not remunerated. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which children who are not covered by an employment relationship, such as children working on their own account, are afforded the protection established in the Convention.

2. Specification of a minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee notes from the information supplied by the Government in its report that 15 years was specified as the minimum age for admission to employment or work after consultation with the social partners during the revision of the Labour Act. The consultation was held pursuant to the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144).

Article 2, paragraph 3. Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee notes that no age of completion of compulsory schooling appears to have been set in national laws or regulations. However, it notes from information available at UNESCO that the age is 12 years. The Committee also notes that in its concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.172, paragraphs 56 and 57) on the Government’s initial report of April 2002, the Committee on the Rights of the Child took note of the significant efforts made by the Government in education, including increases in primary school enrolment rates, the adoption of measures to improve girls’ access to education and to train teachers, and the fall in repetition and drop-out rates. The abovementioned Committee nonetheless remained concerned at the fact that: (a) the education system needs more financial resources; (b) despite some improvement, literacy rates among children remain low; (c) insufficient effort has been made to implement the principle of compulsory education; (d) enrolment in formal education, which stood at 81.3 per cent in 1998 according to the Government’s initial report, remains low, with particular gravity in certain regions of the country, and only a very small proportion of children enrol in, and complete, secondary education. Among other actions the abovementioned Committee recommended that the Government: (a) raise the education budget to the maximum of available resources, including through the additional international cooperation; (b) raise the proportion of child enrolment in primary school and completion of compulsory education, making every effort to provide free compulsory education to all children, including free text books, uniforms and transport between school and home for disadvantaged children and families; and (c) take steps to significantly increase the numbers of children completing secondary education.

In view of the foregoing, the Committee observes that children under 15 years of age - which is lower than the minimum age for admission to employment or work - are able not to attend school. In the Committee’s view, compulsory education is one of the most effective ways of combating child labour. If the school-leaving age and the age for admission to employment do not coincide, a number of problems can arise. The Committee considers it desirable for the age of completion of compulsory schooling to coincide with the minimum age for admission to employment or work, as suggested in Paragraph 4 of Recommendation No. 146, in order to avoid a period of forced idleness. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures it has taken or envisaged, with the prevention of child labour in mind, to increase school attendance and reduce the school drop-out rate. It also asks the Government to indicate how compulsory school attendance is monitored in practice and to provide information on school enrolment and attendance rates.

Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2. Determination of hazardous types of employment or work. The Committee notes that under section 80(2) of the Labour Act, activities that are dangerous or unhealthy, or that require great physical strength, as determined by the competent authority, in consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations, should not be entrusted to children under 18 years of age. The Committee notes that the definition of types of employment or work that are dangerous does not refer to activities liable to harm the morals of minors under 18 years of age. It also notes that the competent authority does not appear to have determined the activities which are dangerous or unhealthy or that demand great physical strength. The Committee reminds the Government that under Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the prohibition on the performance of hazardous work includes work which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons under the age of 18. It also reminds the Government that under Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention, the types of employment or work which are hazardous shall be determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority after consultation with the organizations of employers’ and workers’ concerned. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to determine the types of employment or work that are hazardous, in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention. It hopes that in so doing the Government will take account of work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is liable to jeopardize the morals of young persons under the age of 18.

Article 6. Vocational training and apprenticeship. The Committee notes that the national legislation appears to contain no provisions regulating vocational training and apprenticeship. It draws the Government’s attention in this connection to Article 6 of the Convention, under which the Convention need not apply to work done by children and young persons in schools for general, vocational or technical education or in other training institutions, or work done by persons of at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority after consultation with the organizations of employers’ and workers’ concerned, where such exist, and is an integral part of: (a) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (b) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (c) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training.

Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 3. Permission for employment in light work. The Committee notes that under section 79(1) of the Labour Act, employers are prohibited from hiring minors under 15 years of age unless they obtain a waiver issued jointly by the Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, with the consent of the minors’ legal representatives. It also notes that under section 79(2), the nature of the work and the terms and conditions of employment for children 12 to 15 years old shall be set by authorization of the Ministries of Labour, Health and Education. The Committee reminds the Government that under Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention, national laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of persons of 13 to 15 years of age on light work, provided that such work is not likely to harm 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. The Committee requests the Government to take steps to determine the activities in which children aged 13 to 15 may be authorized to undertake light work. It also requests the Government to indicate whether any such permits have been granted and to provide information on the nature of the work and the conditions of employment.

Article 8. Artistic performances. The Committee observes that the national legislation appears to contain no provisions regulating artistic performances. It notes that under Article 8 of the Convention, exceptions to the minimum age of admission to employment or work (15 years in Mozambique) may be allowed after consultation with the organizations of employers’ and workers’ concerned, for activities such as public performances subject to individual authorization being obtained. Authorization so granted must limit the number of hours during which and prescribe the conditions in which employment or work is allowed. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether, in practice, children under the age of 15 participate in such activities.

Article 9, paragraph 3. Employers’ registers. The Committee notes that the national laws and regulations appear not to prescribe the registers to be kept by employers. It reminds the Government that under Article 9, paragraph 3, of the Convention, national laws or regulations or the competent authority must prescribe the registers or other documents which shall be kept and made available by the employer. Such registers or documents must contain the names and ages or dates of birth, duly certified wherever possible, of persons whom he employs or who work for him and who are less than 18 years of age. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken or envisaged to bring the national laws and regulations into line with the Convention on this point.

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report concerning the child labour situation in Mozambique. It notes in particular that, according to the Government, the factors that encourage children to work include growing poverty, high unemployment, the failure of family assistance, changes in the economy, migration, dwindling school attendance and HIV/AIDS. The Government also indicates that children work to make an economic contribution to the family. The Committee also notes that the activities in which children are employed in Mozambique are: housework and subsistence farming, the sale of agricultural goods and selling for others, and domestic work. According to the Government, this work adversely affects the children’s physical, mental and social development.

The Committee notes that in 1999, the Ministry of Labour, together with UNICEF, published a rapid assessment of work done by children under the age of 18 in Mozambique. According to the assessment, most child workers are from 12 to 15 years of age. The majority of them began working before age 12. It also indicates that many of these children work more than eight hours a day and sometimes for as long as 12 or even 14 hours, seven days a week. The Committee also notes from statistics available at the Office that 32.1 per cent of children aged from 10 to 14 years work. The Committee is concerned at the situation of young children in Mozambique who have to work out of personal need. It therefore asks the Government to step up its efforts to improve the situation gradually, inter alia, by adopting a national policy designed to secure the effective abolition of child labour and to provide detailed information on measures taken in this regard. It also invites the Government to provide specific information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, extracts of inspection reports and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported.