Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2025, Publicación: 114ª reunión CIT (2026)

Convenio sobre la edad mínima, 1973 (núm. 138) - Ghana (Ratificación : 2011)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes, from the Government’s report under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that notable progress was achieved during the implementation of the National Plan of Action on the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour (NPA2, 2017-2021). The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Ghana Accelerated Action Plan against Child Labour (NPA3, 2023-2027), which was developed to incorporate lessons learned from the implementation of the previous National Plans of Action (NPA1, 2009–2015, and NPA2, 2017–2021) and to accelerate national efforts towards the elimination of child labour. According to the NPA3 document, stakeholders emphasized the importance of establishing a coherent national strategy under clear leadership and coordination, and underscored the need for capacity-building and adequate resourcing to ensure effective implementation.

In this regard, the Committee observes that the objectives of the NPA3 include: (1) strengthening institutional capacity of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) and other relevant agencies to oversee the elimination of child labour; (2) effective coordination of multi-stakeholder efforts on child labour (including through the Child Labour Unit (CLU), which serves as the Secretariat of the National Steering Committee on the Elimination of Child Labour (NSCCL)); (3) improved financing, resource mobilization and allocation; (4) improved quality and delivery of integrated social services, including child and social protection and education; (5) strengthening communities through increased awareness-raising and behavioural change; and (6) improved research, documentation and knowledge-sharing of best practices and innovations. The Committee also observes that the priorities of the NPA3 have been based on Ghana’s Hazardous Child Labour Activity Framework (HAF), which has prioritized critical sectors that need immediate interventions and coordinated efforts to eliminate child labour, particularly in agriculture where the large majority of child labour is found.

In this regard, the Committee recalls, as noted in the document of the NPA3, that 13 per cent (927,591) of children aged 5-14 are working in Ghana. Out of this number, 79.2 per cent are in agriculture, 5 per cent are in industry and 15.8 per cent are in services; 89.9 per cent of them attend school and 13.3 per cent combine work with school. The Committee further notes, from a press release dated 14 May 2025 available on the ILO website, that child labour in Ghana is prevalent in key sectors such as agriculture, fishing and mining, where children are often subjected to hazardous working conditions. Socio-economic factors such as poverty, lack of access to quality education, and cultural practices contribute to the persistence of child labour, particularly in rural areas, where 37.1 per cent of children are engaged in labour. According to the press release, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has launched a data collection initiative to better identify children who are vulnerable to child labour and formulate effective and targeted interventions, which involves designing and integrating a child labour module into the forthcoming Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS8). The Committee requests the Government to pursue and strengthen its efforts to ensure the effective elimination of child labour, including in hazardous work, by continuing to take measures to implement the NPA3. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the activities undertaken and results obtained, including on the impact of the measures taken on the elimination of child labour. Finally, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to support the integration of the child labour module in the upcoming GLSS8 and to communicate the statistics collected as a result.

Article 3(1) and (2). Minimum age for admission to hazardous work and determination of hazardous work. With regard to the determination and adoption of the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years, the Committee refers to its comments under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

Article 7(1) and (3). Minimum age for light work and determination of light work activities. The Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that it is currently discussing the possibility of including the HAF, which includes the list of light work activities permitted to young persons between the ages of 13 and 15, as a schedule to the Labour Act currently under review. The Government indicates that a copy of the list will be submitted to the Committee once passed into law.

The Committee observes, from the document of the HAF submitted with the Government’s report, that the HAF will feature the characteristics of light work (e.g. number of hours, undertaken with parental consent) and details, for each sector of occupation listed (e.g. in agriculture, foundry work, soap making), the prohibited activities considered hazardous, those that constitute permissible (non-hazardous) work, and those that are considered light work, if any. The Committee observes, however, that a recommendation is made in the document to lower the minimum age for light work from 13 to 12 years. The Committee recalls that, as the minimum age for employment or work specified by Ghana at the time of ratification is 15 years, the minimum age for light work must be set at 13 years, in accordance with Article 7(1) of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the HAF, which sets out the list of types of light work activities and the conditions under which young persons between the ages of 13 and 15 may engage in such work, is adopted into law in the near future, while maintaining the minimum age for light work at 13 years. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard, along with a copy of the finalized HAF once it has been adopted.

Article 9(1). Enforcement and labour inspection. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, through the Child Labour Unit (CLU), the Government continues to build the capacity of labour inspectors as regards child labour through workshops and trainings. The Committee also notes that, as indicated by the Government, efforts are being made in collaboration with the Trade for Decent Work (T4DW) project of the European Union to train labour inspectors to conduct inspections in the informal sector, including through the development of guidelines and templates for labour inspectors in this respect.

The Committee takes note of the data provided by the Government, according to which 28,864 children aged 5 to 17 years were found in child labour in 2022 (2,536 aged 5–12 years and 9,538 aged 13–14 years); 27,139 children in 2023 (11,027 aged 5–12 years and 6,793 aged 13–14 years); and 21,942 children in 2024. These children were found working in the cocoa, mining and fishing sectors. The Government also indicates that 11 child labour cases were prosecuted in 2022, 41 in 2023 and 6 in 2024, with the perpetrators punished with various fines and imprisonment by the competent courts. In light of the number of children found in child labour, the Committee requests the Government to strengthen its measures to enhance the capacity of the relevant law enforcement bodies to ensure that all perpetrators of child labour violations are effectively sanctioned. It also strongly encourages the Government to continue strengthening the capacity and functioning of the Labour Inspectorate, with a view to expanding the reach of the labour inspection services to the informal economy. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and the results achieved. In particular, it requests more detailed information on the number of inspections carried out, as well as the number and nature of violations detected, prosecutions undertaken, and sentences imposed in cases of child labour.