Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2007, publiée 97ème session CIT (2008)

Convention (n° 59) (révisée) de l'âge minimum (industrie), 1937 - Liban (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes the Government’s report. It requests the Government to provide information on the following points.

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Minimum age. The Committee notes the Government’s information that section 23 of Act No. 536 of 24 July 1996, which amends sections 21, 22 and 23 of the Labour Code, prohibits the employment of children under the age of 15 years in industrial undertakings.

Article 2, paragraph 2. Family undertakings. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that family undertakings are subject, concerning measures of protection, to the general provisions of the Legislative Decree No. 21/1932 concerning dangerous establishments harmful to the workers’ health, and the provisions of the Law of Contracts. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that Decree No. 14900 of 2 May 1949 was annulled by Decree No. 3273 of 26 June 2000 on labour inspection, which entrusts to the Labour Inspection, Protection and Safety System at the Ministry of Labour the monitoring of safety and prevention measures in family undertakings. It notes the Government’s information that in the case of family undertakings in industrial undertakings, it is extremely rare to find children under the age of 15 years and that the high rates of education in Lebanon decrease to a large extent the possibility of children under 15 years working in such undertakings. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the number of children under 15 years who do work in industrial family undertakings, and on the protection they are afforded by the abovementioned legislation.

Article 3. Technical training. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that Decree No. 11019, which allows occupational training with individual employers from the age of 12 years, has not yet been updated. It notes that section 16 of the draft Labour Code, which was prepared by the tripartite committee set up by the Ministry of Labour’s Order No. 210/1 of 2000, specifies that a training contract is a contract observed by employers in their undertakings, notably in an industrial undertaking, so as to provide full occupational vocational training to a person who is at least 14 years of age, on the condition that the safety, health and morals of the young person concerned are ensured. The Committee reminds the Government that Article 3 of the Convention provides for an exception to the application of the Convention only regarding technical schools approved and supervised by the public authority. To that effect, the Committee notes the statistics supplied by the Government concerning the number of children enrolled in vocational training undertaken by the National Centre for Vocational Training, whose board is headed by the Director General of the Ministry of Labour. According to those statistics, there were 150 trainees between the ages of 14 and 18 years in industrial specializations, such as air conditioning, refrigeration, car mechanics, electricity and electronics, from 2003 to 2007. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that exceptions to the application of the Convention are in conformity with the Convention and are, consequently, only allowed in the case of technical schools where the work is approved and supervised by the public authority, such as the National Centre for Vocational Training.

Article 5. Work dangerous to the life, health or morals. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that Decree No. 700 of 1999 prohibits the employment of young persons before they complete 17 years of age (i.e. beginning of 18 years) in dangerous activities enumerated according to their nature: work which represents a danger to the life of the children, work which represents a danger to their health, and work which represents a danger to their morals. The types of hazardous work include the manufacture or handling of explosives, demolition work, crystal and glass manufacturing, work performed in mines and quarries, and other such types of industrial undertakings. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the National Committee to Combat Child Labour is currently formulating a statute on the worst forms of child labour which prohibits the employment of children under 18 years in work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of children. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any new developments towards the adoption of the statute which would prohibit the employment of children under 18 years of age in hazardous work and, more specifically, in industrial undertakings which, by their nature or the circumstances in which they are carried out, are dangerous to the life, health or morals of the persons employed therein.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes that, according to the labour inspection report No. 3001/10cl prepared on 18 August 2007, labour inspectors did not detect any children under the age of 18 years working in the regions within their competence and did not receive any complaints from persons under the age of 18 years. The Committee reminds the Government that the Convention applies to all children, whether in the formal or informal sectors. Consequently, it asks the Government to continue providing information on the practical application of the legislation giving effect to the Convention in all sectors, including, for instance, school attendance rates and information concerning the number and nature of the contraventions reported.