Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1996, published 85th ILC session (1997)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Spain (Ratification: 1977)

1. Article 2 of the Convention. With reference to the previous comments concerning the minimum age of own-account or self-employed workers, the Committee notes the Government's repeated reference to section 7.1(b) of the General Social Security Act, under which own-account or self-employed workers over 18 years of age, whether they own individual or family undertakings or not, are included in the social security system. The Government considers that this provision serves for preventing the access to own-account employment or self-employment of young people up to 18 years of age.

The Committee recalls, however, that the term "employment or work" in this Convention covers all economic activity regardless of the formal employment status of the person concerned (General Survey of 1981, paragraph 61), whether or not it is declared or registered, for instance, for the purposes of social security. It considered that the social security provisions cited by the Government in its report are not intended to limit access to any employment or work, of persons under 15 years of age as the Convention requires, but provided that, beyond an age fixed at 18 years, all own-account or self-employed workers must be covered by social security schemes. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to ensure that no one under the specified minimum age is admitted to employment or work in any occupation including own-account or self-employed workers. It would also be grateful to the Government if it would indicate how the minimum age is applied in family undertakings, excluded from the scope of the Workers' Charter (section 1(3)(e)).

2. Article 3, paragraph 2. In its observations made in 1993, the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Committees (CC.OO.) pointed out that this provision concerning the determination of the types of hazardous work prohibited for under-18s was not complied with because there was only the decree of 26 July 1957 on the matter, which they considered obsolete. The Committee has noted that the Government referred in its reply received in March 1994 to the same decree and stated that its implementation is supervised by the Inspector of Labour and Social Security.

The Committee notes that, in its latest report, the Government states that Act No. 31/1995 of 8 November 1995 on the prevention of labour risks was adopted with the view to incorporating Directive 89/391/EEC on the matter into the Spanish judicial system, and that the EC Directive 94/33 (22 June 1994) on the protection of young persons at work has also to be incorporated. It notes that, under section 27(2) of Act No. 31/1995, the Government should establish limitations to the engagement of persons younger than 18 years old in work that represents specific risks. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether any new texts have been adopted to replace the 1957 decree, and to supply information on any development in this connection.

3. The Committee recalls that, while the minimum age of 15 years was specified at the time of ratification of the Convention in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1, both the age of completion of compulsory schooling and the minimum age for admission to employment under the Workers' Charter have since been raised to 16 years old. It would draw the Government's attention to the possibility of making a further declaration under Article 2, paragraph 2, to specify the minimum age of 16 years.

4. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the competence of executing labour legislation has been transferred to a further ten autonomous communities. It hopes that the Government will continue to supply information on the application of the Convention in practice, including the inspection results and measures taken accordingly.