Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2010, Publicación: 100ª reunión CIT (2011)

Convenio sobre la edad mínima, 1973 (núm. 138) - Belice (Ratificación : 2000)

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of March 2005, expressed its concern at the high rate of working children in Belize and the negative consequences resulting from the exploitation of child labour, such as school dropouts and the negative effects on health caused by harmful and hazardous work. The CRC expressed particular concern at the high number of rural child workers and regretted the lack of adequate data on child labour in the country (CRC/C/15/Add.252, paragraph 65). The Committee also noted the information from ILO–IPEC of January 2008 that the Belize child activity survey indicated that 8.2 per cent of boys and 4.5 per cent of girls between the ages of 5 and 14 worked. It noted that children in rural areas are more likely to work without attending school than those in urban areas, and that among working children aged between 5 and 14 years, approximately 55.3 per cent are employed in the agricultural sector. However, the Committee noted that the National Child Labour Subcommittee was in the process of developing a national child labour policy.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the National Child Labour Policy was approved by the Government in July 2009. The Policy provides for the establishment of the National Child Labour Committee (NCLC) (formerly the National Child Labour Subcommittee), which is composed of 14 members appointed from various governmental agencies, employers’ and workers’ organizations and international organizations. The NCLC shall oversee the implementation of the National Child Labour Policy, which focuses on the following priorities: legislation and enforcement; education and training; awareness raising and advocacy; employment and entrepreneurship; institutional strengthening; occupational health and safety; and the protection, withdrawal and rehabilitation of victims. The Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour has allocated US$50,000 for the activities of the NCLC, and that this body will develop a National Strategic Action Plan to combat child labour in Belize. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that there remains a dearth of information on the nature, extent and trends of child labour since the abovementioned 2008 study, and that recent information remains mainly anecdotal. However, the Government indicates that some relevant information will be collected from the National Population Census that was recently conducted by the Statistical Institute of Belize. The Committee further notes the Government’s statement that, in the course of conducting inspections, Labour Officers are expected to be vigilant with regard to child labour activities, and shall refer any cases detected to the Department of Human Services.

The Committee notes the statement in the report of the International Trade Union Confederation, for the World Trade Organization General Council on the trade policies of Belize of 3 and 5 November 2010, entitled “Internationally recognized core labour standards in Belize” that child labour occurs in Belize, particularly in family enterprises and farms, especially on banana plantations. This report also indicates that children work in informal economic activities, mostly in agriculture but also in urban areas as street vendors.

The Committee therefore requests the Government to pursue its efforts, within the framework of the National Child Labour Policy and the forthcoming National Strategic Action Plan, to combat and progressively eliminate child labour in the country, with particular attention to rural areas. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the National Strategic Action Plan, once it is developed, and the National Population Census when it becomes available.

Article 2(1). Scope of application. The Committee previously noted that, according to section 164(1) of the Labour Act, no person shall employ a child (a person under the age of 14 years, as defined in section 2) in a public or private “industrial undertaking” or in a branch thereof. Section 3 of the Shops Act provides for a minimum age of 14 years for employment in shops. The Committee reminded the Government that the scope of application of the Convention is not limited to industrial undertakings or shops but to all types of work or employment. In this regard, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that it envisaged ensuring the application of the minimum age of 14 years to types of work outside an employment relationship, such as self-employment, in the drafting of the National Child Labour Policy.

The Committee observes that the National Child Labour Policy does not appear to contain any measures to ensure that the minimum age of 14 applies to all sectors. However, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Labour Advisory Board has submitted a recommendation for revision concerning the minimum age to the NCLC. The Committee requests the Government to take measures, within the context of the revisions undertaken by the NCLC, to ensure that the minimum age specified applies to all sectors of employment or work, and not only industrial undertakings and shops.

Article 2(2). Raising the initially specified minimum age for admission to work. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Labour Advisory Board has recommended that the minimum age be raised to 16, from the initially specified minimum age of 14. The Government states that any such change requires multi-sectoral input, and that this recommendation has been submitted to the NCLC. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 2(2) of the Convention provides for the possibility for a State which decides to raise the initially specified minimum age for admission to employment or work to inform the Director-General of the International Labour Office by means of a new declaration. This allows the age fixed by the national legislation to be harmonized with that provided for at international level.

Article 3(2). Determination of types of hazardous work. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on progress made towards the adoption of the draft list of hazardous work.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that the National Child Labour Policy contains a list of hazardous occupations prohibited for young workers under 18 in its appendix. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that this list has been grouped into six types of prohibited occupations and three types of prohibited employment conditions. It further notes the information in the Government’s report submitted under Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour that this list was agreed upon following tripartite consultation. However, the Committee observes that, based on the information previously provided by the Government, the National Child Labour Policy is not a piece of legislation, but a guideline policy on which future legislation will be based. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate whether the list of types of hazardous work, contained in the appendix of the National Child Labour Policy, has been included in any legislation or regulations, and if penalties have been provided for persons who employ children in types of work prohibited in this list.

Article 7(4). Determination of light work activities. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 169 of the Labour Act provided that children from the age of 12 may work in occupations not likely to be injurious to their life, limb, health or education, provided that this work is performed for no more than two hours on school days or Sundays and is not performed before the end of school hours or at night, in conformity with Article 7(4) of the Convention. However, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that no list of types of light work had yet been developed.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that “light work” has been defined in the National Child Labour Policy as work in the home and in domestic situations or work performed in a family-run enterprise under the supervision of the child’s parents, provided that this work is neither hazardous, illegal, immoral nor unsafe. The Government indicates that the National Child Labour Policy states that this work must be appropriate for the age and development of the child and that work deemed “light work” should not prevent the child from attending, and meeting the academic requirements of, school. This light work must only be performed outside of school hours, by a child registered in school. The Committee requests the Government to indicate if this determination of types of light work contained in the National Child Labour Policy has been included in any legislation or regulations.

Article 9(3). Registers of employment. The Committee previously noted that section 163 of the Labour Act requires every employer in a public or private industrial undertaking to keep a register of the names, dates of birth and hours of work of, among others, all persons under the age of 18 years employed. Noting that section 163 of the Labour Act applies only to “industrial” undertakings, the Committee requested the Government to supply information on measures taken to extend the requirement of keeping such a register to other sectors of the economy.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that while, in practice, employers in all sectors keep a register of pertinent information on their employees, this information is kept by the individual enterprises and not submitted to a central authority. The Government indicates that the Labour Advisory Board has recommended that legislation should be enacted to require a separate register be kept by employers of all workers under 18 years, and that this information be submitted to the Ministry of Labour. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to pursue the recommendation of the Labour Advisory Board, to ensure that employers in all sectors are required to maintain a register containing the names, age (or dates of birth) of all persons under the age of 18 years whom they employ.