Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Germany (Ratification: 1976)

Also referring to its observation, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the following question.

Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Convention. In its previous direct request, the Committee noted that by virtue of section 7 of the Young Persons (Protection of Employment) Act, of 12 April 1976, as amended, children who are no longer liable to full-time compulsory school may be employed for the purposes of their vocational training or on light and suitable work for up to seven hours a day and 35 hours a week. It noted that this provision appears to authorize the employment of children (under 15 years of age) on light work without setting a lower age limit, on condition that they are exempted from full-time compulsory school. Furthermore, the Committee emphasizes that the hours of work and the working week referred to above are not compatible with the concept of light work within the meaning of the Convention. It notes the information on compulsory education contained in the report provided by the Government in 2000. According to this information, children do not in general appear to be able to complete their compulsory schooling before the age of 15 years. However, it appears that, in certain cases, children under 15 years of age may, as an exception, be released from full-time compulsory schooling. The Committee wishes to assure itself that the provisions of the Convention on light work are also applicable to such children. It therefore requests the Government to take measures to ensure that children under 15 years of age may only, even in exceptional cases, be employed on light work within the meaning of the Convention, that is work which is not likely to be harmful, inter alia, to their health or development, and the duration of which has to be limited, in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 3, by the competent authority.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes with interest the detailed information contained in the report on child labour submitted by the federal Government to the Bundestag. It requests the Government to continue providing information on any measures adopted to strengthen the supervision of the national legislation giving effect to the Convention, as well as on the application of the Convention in practice including, for example, statistical data on young workers and school attendance rates, extracts from official reports and information on the number and nature of the contraventions reported.