Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

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

Article 2 of the Convention. Scope. In its previous comments concerning the minimum age for admission to employment of young persons working on their own account, the Committee emphasized that section 7.1(b) of the General Social Security Act and section 3 of Decree No. 2530/1970 of 20 August 1970 are not intended to limit access to employment or work by persons under 16 years of age, including own-account work, as required by the Convention, but provide that over the age of 18 all self-employed workers have to be affiliated to the social security system. It noted the Government’s information that, even though there are no provisions in Spanish legislation explicitly prohibiting work on their own account by young persons under 16 years of age, the age for end of compulsory education established at 16 years by section 17(a) of the 1990 Education Act is a firm, although indirect, measure for effectively controlling work by young persons. In this regard, the Committee expressed the view that it was important for the leaving age for compulsory schooling to coincide with a minimum age for admission to employment or work, as is the case in Spain, in order to restrict the access of young persons to employment or work. The Committee also stated, however that these measures are not sufficient to guarantee the protection intended by the Convention and requested the Government to indicate the measures it envisaged taking to ensure that national legislation provided that no person under the specified age, namely 16 years, would be admitted to employment or work in any branch of activity or occupation, especially where such persons are working on their own account.

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government to the effect that, although it considers that current national legislation allows effective control of work by young people, it envisages regulating own-account workers. Hence, on the basis of a report drawn up by a group of experts which considered the matter, a draft law concerning the status of persons working on their own account will be submitted to Congress during 2006. The issue of minimum age for admission to employment of young people working on their own account will be taken into consideration in order to settle any doubts on the matter. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on future developments regarding the draft law on the status of persons working on their own account.

Article 3. Determination of hazardous types of work. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government that no regulations regarding section 27.2 of Act No. 31/1995 on the prevention of risks at work has been adopted and that the list of types of work prohibited for young persons under of the age of 18 years which is contained in the Decree of 26 July 1957 is still in force.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the activities of the inspectorate of labour and social security. It notes that, in regard to control of the admission of under 16-year olds to work and the protection of the safety and health of under 18-year olds, a total of 751,672 inspections were conducted in the years 2003-04.