Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la edad mínima, 1973 (núm. 138) - Viet Nam (Ratificación : 2003)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that after five years of implementing the Programme to Prevent and Reduce Child Labour for the period 2016–20: (1) more than 8,000 seminars and conferences were organized on supporting child labour prevention, intervention and reduction; (2) 325,379 instruction documents were prepared on prevention, detection, intervention, assistance for working children, children in child labour and those at risk of child labour; (3) 2,858,693 children at risk of child labour received assistance; and (4) every year, all provinces provided training to improve the capacity of about 1,500 officials at all levels (province, district, commune) on child labour prevention and reduction.

The Committee notes the continued implementation of the ILO ENHANCE Project, which is assisting national level efforts to prevent child labour through capacity-building, awareness-raising and direct interventions. The Committee also notes with interest the Government’s indication that, in May 2021, the Prime Minister promulgated Decision No. 782/QD-TTg approving the Programme on Preventing and Reducing Child Labour for the period 2021–25 with a vision to 2030. Its goals and orientations include: (1) preventing, detecting, supporting and intervening against child labour and for children at risk of child labour; (2) reducing the rate of children involved in child labour aged 5–17 years to 4.9 per cent by 2025 and 4.5 per cent by 2030; (3) providing 100 per cent of children in child labour or at risk of child labour with timely support, intervention, management and monitoring upon notification; and (4) raising awareness about and educating on the prevention and reduction of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to prevent and reduce child labour, including within the framework of the Programme on Preventing and Reducing Child Labour for the period 2021–25, with a vision to 2030 and the ENHANCE Project, and to provide detailed information on the results achieved, including in terms of the number of children withdrawn from child labour and provided with assistance.

Article 9(1). Penalties, labour inspectorate and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government on the measures taken to reduce child labour, such as: (1) developing and implementing programmes and projects to prevent and reduce child labour at the national and international levels; (2) communicating to raise awareness of the public and social communities on preventing and minimizing child labour; (3) supporting children in difficult circumstances to access education and healthcare; (4) providing subsidies for children in particularly difficult circumstances; and (5) supporting the livelihoods of poor families. More specifically, the Government refers to the adoption of the Project “Improving inspection capacity of the Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Sector in the period 2021–25”, the objectives of which are to improve the functioning of institutions, strengthen the state apparatus and gradually build a modernized labour inspectorate. In 2022–23, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) organized three training courses for labour inspectors and officials engaged in child-related work on the implementation of legislation relating to child labour. The Government further states that MOLISA mainstreamed child labour inspections in enterprises, production and business establishments in the informal economy that employ minors. Enterprises were also instructed to self-inspect and self-examine labour policies and laws, including the employment of minor workers.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in 2021–22, no child labour violation was detected. However, the Government also indicates that 5 per cent of children aged 5 to 17 years continue to be engaged in child labour in the country. The Government also states that the final evaluation report of the Programme to Prevent and Reduce Child Labour for the period of 2016–20 highlights that the number of children identified in child labour is very small and the monitoring and supervising system for child labour in localities still has many limitations. Furthermore, the Committee notes from the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the concerns about the large number of children still involved in child labour, including in hazardous work (CRC/C/VNM/CO/5-6, 21 October 2022, paragraph 47). While it takes note of the slight decrease in child labour, which was at 5.4 per cent in 2018, the Committee notes with concern that there is still a significant number of children engaged in child labour, particularly in hazardous work and that labour inspection services continue to be ineffective in detecting and penalizing child labour. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure the effective elimination of child labour. To this end, it requests the Government: (i) to continue to take measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate in its action to detect, monitor, prevent and combat child labour; (ii) to provide detailed information on the measures taken in this regard; and on (iii) the results achieved, including extracts from the reports of the inspection services and court decisions, as well as information on the number and nature of the child labour violations reported and the sanctions imposed.

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