Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2009, Publicación: 99ª reunión CIT (2010)

Convenio sobre la edad mínima, 1973 (núm. 138) - Serbia (Ratificación : 2000)

Article 8 of the Convention. Artistic performances. The Committee previously noted the Government’s statement that the possibility of recruiting children under 15 years of age for artistic performances is an important issue which calls for additional consideration of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Youth and Sport. The Committee requested the Government to indicate any developments in this regard. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the labour law does not contain exceptions to the rule on prohibiting persons below the age of 15 to enter labour relations. The Committee reminds the Government that Article 8 of the Convention provides for the possibility of establishing a system of individual permits for children under the general minimum age who work in activities such as artistic performances. Permits thus granted shall limit the number of hours during which, and prescribe the conditions in which, such employment or work is allowed. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether in practice children under the age of 15 years participate in artistic performances.

Parts III and V of the report form. Labour inspection and practical application of the Convention. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the labour inspectorate does not have access to statistical data pertaining to labour relations entered into by children and youth, or other forms of work performed by persons under the age of 18. Nonetheless, the Committee notes the information in the Government’s written reply to the list of issues raised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 20 June 2008, that according to the data from the labour inspectorate, in 2006 there were 709 employed minors between the ages of 15 and 18, and in 2007, 316 employed minors. In all of these cases, the employer respected all the obligations prescribed by law (CRC/C/SRB/Q/1/Add.1, paragraph 97). The Committee also notes the Government’s indication in this report that two representative syndicates in the Republic of Serbia (the Association of Free and Independent Syndicates and the Nezavisnost United Branch Syndicate), had not received any requests from minor employees or their parents or custodians for help in the protection of their rights (CRC/C/SRB/Q/1/Add.1, paragraph 99). The Government further indicated in this report that the labour inspectorate had not found any cases in the last few years of children under 15 years of age at work (CRC/C/SRB/Q/1/Add.1, paragraph 97).

However, the Committee notes the information in the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey 2005 (MIC Survey), conducted by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia and the Strategic Marketing Research Agency, in collaboration with UNICEF (released in 2007), that 6 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 were engaged in economic activity. The Committee also notes that approximately 51,000 children combined schoolwork and economic activity (5.7 per cent of all children aged 5 to 14), and that only a small fraction of these working children, (approximately 2,700 children between the ages of 5 and 14), did not attend school. The Committee further notes that the number of children engaged in economic activity was higher in rural areas, and among boys, with 8.6 per cent of boys in rural areas engaged in economic activity. In addition, the Committee notes that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 20 June 2008, expressed concern at the continued existence of child labour in Serbia, in particular in rural areas and in the informal sector (CRC/C/SRB/CO/1, paragraph 67). The Committee therefore encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that in practice, children under the minimum age of 15 do not engage in child labour, including through the allocation of additional resources to the labour inspectorate. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the implementation of any measures taken in this regard, particularly on measures taken to ensure the effective monitoring of children working in rural areas and in the informal sector. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for example, statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, as well as extracts from the reports of inspection services and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported.