Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - United Republic of Tanzania (Ratification: 1998)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments on the significant number of children engaged in child labour despite the measures taken by the Government, the Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that it continues its efforts to eliminate child labour. In this regard the Government indicates that : (1) it has established 651 child welfare councils from the village to the national level; (2) it reviewed the curricula for all levels of education and introduced a fee-free education from primary to upper secondary level; (3) it improved and increased the infrastructure thereby enabling children from remote areas to access schools; (4) it reviewed the National Action Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children (NAP-VAWC) and the National Strategy on Elimination of Child Labour up to 2023–27; and (5) it established a programme, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to identify and assess the needs of children living in vulnerable situations and to provide them with food, education and accommodation. The Government indicates that from 2021 to 2023, a total of 1,028,872 children living in vulnerable situations were identified and provided with assistance. The Government states that the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) Conditional Cash Transfer programme to vulnerable families, as well as collaboration with stakeholders and development partners in the fight against child labour and strengthened labour inspection has led to a decline in the magnitude of child labour in the country.

The Committee also notes from the Elimination of Child Labour in Tobacco (ECLT) Foundation Factsheet that with the support of the Government, the ECLT has launched the exit phase of the project on Promoting Sustainable Practices to Eradicate Child Labour in Tobacco (PROSPER) namely the PROSPER/RESET project in 2024 with the aim to strengthen the child labour referral, response and reporting system at the district, regional and national levels. It further notes information from the ILO that the Cotton with Decent Work Project to break the cycle of child labour and violence against children, developed under the Brazil–ILO Partnership Programme for the Promotion of South–South Cooperation, was launched by the ILO and the Government in October 2023. It aims to establish a comprehensive and sustainable national action plan on child labour.

The Committee, however, notes that according to the Integrated Labour Force Survey (ILFS) 2020–21 Analytical report, 5.02 million children aged between 5–17 years (equivalent to 24.9 per cent of total child population) are engaged in child labour with the largest proportion of children working in agriculture, forestry and fishing industries. Findings also indicate that of all children in child labour, 24.1 per cent (about 4.85 million children) are in hazardous child labour. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee must express its deep concern at the significant number of children engaged in child labour, including in hazardous work. The Committee therefore urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour, including by ensuring the adoption and effective implementation of the National Action Plan on Child Labour as well as through collaborating with PROSPER/RESET and the Brazil–ILO Partnership Programme for the Promotion of South–South Cooperation. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and the results achieved in terms of progressively eliminating child labour.

Article 3(2). Determination of types of hazardous work. Zanzibar. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 100 of the Children’s Act, 2011, prohibits hazardous work for children under 18 years of age and defines work as hazardous if it poses a danger to the health, safety or morals of a person in its subsection (2). It also noted that section 100(5)(b) requires the Minister to make regulations to determine the forms of work related to subsection (2), and therefore requested the Government to indicate the measures taken to adopt such regulations.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the Government of Zanzibar is in the initial stages of developing the regulations to determine hazardous work and is currently identifying key stakeholders and mobilizing resources in this regard. Recalling that, pursuant to Article 3(2) of the Convention, the types of hazardous employment or work prohibited to children under 18 years of age shall be determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, the Committee requests the Government of Zanzibar to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption of the regulation determining the types of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 years, pursuant to section 100(5)(b)of the Children’s Act, and in consultation with the social partners. It requests the Government to provide information on any developments made in this respect.

Labour inspection. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Child Labour Monitoring System (CLMS) that comprises child labour elimination committees at the national, district and village levels had contributed to withdrawing children from child labour through the ILO Red Card Anti-child labour campaign.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that over the years the CLMS has been developed stage by stage in different phases and that it has been collaborating with other stakeholders and projects in identifying child labour and providing educational services to victims of child labour. It also notes the information provided by the Government in its report on the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that about 35 labour officers were provided with training on inspection techniques to combat child labour, and that awareness-raising and sensitization events resulted in rescuing 119 children involved in child labour in various sectors, including mining.

The Committee further notes information from the ILO that the Cotton with Decent Work Project aims at strengthening institutional capacities and labour inspection system with a specific emphasis on eradicating child labour in the cotton-growing regions. The Committee finally notes that according to the ILFS 2020/21 Analytical report,76.2 per cent of children involved in child labour are working in the agricultural sector. The Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts to effectively monitor and combat child labour in the country, particularly in the agricultural sector, including through strengthening the capacity and reach of the labour inspectors in the informal economy. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard as well as on the number of inspections carried out, the number and nature of violations relating to the employment of children and young persons detected by the labour inspectors, and the penalties imposed. The Committee finally requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the CLMS in monitoring and eliminating child labour and the results achieved.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.