Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2012, publiée 102ème session CIT (2013)

Convention (n° 112) sur l'âge minimum (pêcheurs), 1959 - Mauritanie (Ratification: 1963)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to work on fishing vessels. The Committee notes that section 153(1) of the Labour Code sets the minimum age for admission to work at 14 years and that employment in the maritime fishing sector is excluded from the application of section 153(2), which provides that, under certain conditions, children aged 12 and over may work. It also notes that, under section 417 of the Merchant Shipping Code, children under 15 years of age may not work on board vessels; on board employment of children of 14 years of age may, however, be authorized in exceptional circumstances by the maritime authority. The Committee lastly notes that section 2 of Order No. 467 of 11 August 1998 on age requirements for employment as a seafarer and officer on board Mauritanian vessels sets the age for this employment at 17 years. In light of the fact that there are several texts, the Committee requests the Government to specify which of the provisions currently in force set the minimum age for admission to work on board fishing vessels, whether as seafarers, ship’s boys or novices.

Article 2(3). Employment of children of 14 years of age. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of any regulatory texts adopted under section 417 of the Merchant Shipping Code, under which the maritime authority may, in exceptional circumstances, allow the on board employment of children aged 14 years when such employment is in the child’s interest, provided that a seafarers’ doctor issues a physical fitness certificate. The Government is also requested to provide copies of the permits issued by the maritime authority under this provision, as well as information on the manner in which this authority ensures that the employment in question is in the child’s interest and takes into consideration the future as well as the immediate benefits that the envisaged employment may carry for him or her.

Article 4. School-ships. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the regulations applicable to children’s work on board school-ships (minimum age, types of work permitted, monitoring of the conditions in which such work is carried out).

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes that, in a communication received on 30 August 2012, the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM) indicates that in Mauritania industrial fishing on the high seas is considered to be fairly dangerous by young people, most of whom dedicate themselves to river or artisanal fishing. It requests the Government to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, if they are available, statistics on the number and age of children employed in the artisanal fishing sector and in the industrial fishing sector, as well as information on the activities conducted by the labour inspection services to ensure respect of the legislation on the minimum age for admission to employment in the fishing sector, the number of contraventions reported per year and the measures taken to remedy them.

Furthermore, the Committee recalls that ratification of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), by a State party to Convention No. 112 entails the immediate denunciation of the latter if the State accepts the obligations of Convention No. 138 for maritime fishing and either sets a minimum age of not less than 15 years under Article 2 of this Convention, or specifies that its Article 3 (setting a higher minimum age for hazardous work) applies to maritime fishing. It notes that Mauritania has ratified Convention No. 138 but has not declared that its Article 3 applies to maritime fishing. Furthermore it has set at 14 years of age, and not 15, the general minimum age for admission to work or employment under Convention No. 138. Therefore, Mauritania’s ratification of this Convention has not entailed the automatic denunciation of Convention No. 112. The Committee requests the Government to consider the possibility of declaring that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to maritime fishing, and/or of increasing to 15 years the general minimum age for admission to work or employment, pursuant to this Convention, and to keep the Office informed of any decision it may take in this regard.

Lastly, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188), which revises and consolidates most ILO Conventions on work in the fishing sector, including Convention No. 112. It emphasizes in this regard that ratification of Convention No. 188 would also entail the automatic denunciation of Convention No. 112. The Committee requests the Government to examine the possibility of ratifying Convention No. 188 and to keep the Office informed of any decision it may take in this regard.