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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Saint Kitts and Nevis (Ratification: 2005)

Article 4 of the Convention. Exclusion from the application of the Convention of limited categories of employment or work. The Committee previously noted the Government’s information that consultations were held with social partners and that the decision was made to exclude limited categories from the scope of the draft Labour Code, including work in family undertakings, pursuant to Article 4 of the Convention. The Government also stated that the categories excluded will be reviewed in the framework of phase II of the review of the draft Labour Code. Noting an absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once againrequests the Government to indicate which categories are excluded from the scope of application of the draft Labour Code, once it is adopted.

Article 9(1). Penalties. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee takes due not that according to section 10 of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, as amended in 2002, any violations of the provisions under Part III of the Act concerning “Restrictions on employment of children” is punishable with a fine not exceeding 500 East Caribbean dollars (approximately US$185). Furthermore, as per section 20 of the above Act, any person found guilty of an offence against the Act (or any regulations made pursuant to the Act) for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty not exceeding 150 dollars (approximately US$56), and a penalty not exceeding 300 dollars in the case of a second or subsequent offence. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that it undertakes to increase these penalties in the draft Labour Code. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 10 and 20 of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, with regard to the violation of the provisions prohibiting the employment of children and young persons. It also requests the Government to keep it informed regarding any progress achieved in increasing the penalties provided for violations of child labour provisions in the draft Labour Code.