Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2025, publiée 114ème session CIT (2026)

Convention (n° 138) sur l'âge minimum, 1973 - Cabo Verde (Ratification: 2011)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy designed to ensure the effective elimination of child labour. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government on the various activities undertaken to implement the joint 2021–25 Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) Action Plan, namely: (1) awareness-raising and capacity-building for school principals, the private sector, trade unions, the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with a view to developing a multisectoral approach to combating child labour and incorporating this issue into national programmes, policies and legislation; and (2) resources on child labour were updated and circulated (brochures, pamphlets, video, and so on).

The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that: (1) as part of the EU-funded Trade for Decent Work (T4DW) project, which aims to improve implementation of the ILO fundamental Conventions in Cabo Verde, close cooperation has been established between the Ministry of the Family, Inclusion and Social Development and the Labour Inspection Department (DGT) and the Cabo Verdean Institute for Children and Adolescents (ICCA) to harmonize the legislative framework and strengthen national capacities for the elimination of child labour; (2) the ICCA, in partnership with the ILO, has organized a meeting with the members of the National Committee on the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour in order to bring that Committee into operation; (3) a draft amendment to the Labour Code, which envisages raising the minimum age for work from 15 to 16 years, is under review; (4) in partnership with the ILO, the Government is implementing a project on the transition from the informal to the formal economy and is expanding the social protection system in order to provide families with a guaranteed income so that children will not be used for work; and (5) a “social inclusion income benefit” is granted to poor families with dependent children under 15 years of age in order to prevent children from falling into child labour and the Government is also implementing a programme on the elimination of abject poverty and the reduction of severe poverty. According to information available to the ILO, the Committee also notes with interest that, following its adoption, the second National Action Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour (II PANPETI) was presented publicly on 2 April 2025. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken within the framework of the 2021–25 CPLP Action Plan against Child Labour, the II PANPETI and the T4DW project and on the results achieved. It also requests the Government to indicate if the National Committee on the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour is now in operation and its role, activities and impact on the elimination of child labour.