Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Minimum Age (Sea) Convention (Revised), 1936 (No. 58) - Peru (Ratification: 1962)

Articles 9 and 11 of the Convention. Denunciation of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, in view of its incompatibility with the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), Convention No. 58 is no longer applicable in the internal legal order. The Committee understands that, under section 1 of Decree No. 007-2006-MIMDES of 21 July 2006, work on the high seas is listed among the hazardous occupations in which no young persons below 18 years of age may be employed, which implies that Convention No. 58 has for all practical purposes become without object.

In this respect, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention once more to established practices and procedures regarding the denunciation of international labour Conventions in general, and the specific terms on which Convention No. 138 revises, among others, Convention No. 58. In fact, under Article 10(4)(d) of Convention No. 138, should the Government specify that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 (that is minimum age of 18 years for admission to employment which by its nature is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons), applies to maritime employment, this would involve the immediate denunciation of Convention No. 58. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to consider possible action in accordance with Article 10 of Convention No. 138, which would lead to the denunciation of Convention No. 58.

Moreover, the Committee takes this opportunity to recall that Convention No. 58, together with 67 other international maritime labour instruments, is revised by the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006). More concretely, the minimum age for admission to employment on board a ship is raised to 16 years (Standard A1.1(3)), while special attention is given to young persons under the age of 18, for example, prohibition of night work (Standard A1.1(2)), maximum validity of medical certificate of one year (Standard A1.2(7)), and prohibition to be employed as a ship’s cook (Standard A3.2(8)). The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged with respect to the early ratification and effective implementation of the MLC, 2006.