Country profile VCT
National Legal Framework
National Legal Framework
| Provision | Legislation date | Convention | Legislation info | sources | Value | sort_order | Provision description | Legislation description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | 2006-09-27 | C138 | Education Act - Section 2 | [{"link_name":"Education Act","source_link":"https://education.gov.vc/education/images/PDF/education_act_2006.pdf"}] | No | 4 | C138 requires that the minimum age for admission to work shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. | Section 2 of the Education Act defines the compulsory school age as between 5 and 16 years. As a result, the age at which compulsory education is completed is higher than the minimum age for admission to employment. |
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | N/A | C138 & C182 | N/A | [{"link_name":"CEACR Observation","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4365930,103333"}] | No | 7 | C138 and C182 require the national determination of a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The competent authorities should consult with workers' and employers' organizations to determine what types of employment or work are considered to be hazardous. Such a list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary. | In an Observation published in 2024, the CEACR noted that, once again there has been no progress to prohibit the employment of children under the age of 18 years in hazardous work nor to determine the types of hazardous work prohibited to children below 18 years of age. |
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 1938-07-01 | C138 & C182 | Employmeent of Women, Young person and Children Act - Section 3 (1) | [{"link_name":"-CEACR Observation","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4365930,103333"},{"link_name":"-Employmeent of Women, Young person and Children Act","source_link":"https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/lawlibrary/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/UNICEF-Database/St-Vincent/Employment-of-Women-Young-Persons-and-Children-Act-cap-209-of-2009.pdf?redirectried=1"}] | 14 | 6 | C138 and C182 set 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which is defined as work that, due to its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize children’s health, safety or morals. C138 and C182 allow countries to permit hazardous work exceptionally as from 16, provided that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or training. | In an Observation published in 2024, the CEACR notes with regret that section 3(1) of the Employmeent of Women, Young person and Children Act continues to permit the employment of children in all types of work and employment, including hazardous types of work, from the age of 14 years (except for the prohibition on night work in industrial undertakings under section 3(2)). |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 1938-07-01 | C138 | Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act - Article 2 | [{"link_name":"Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act","source_link":"https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/lawlibrary/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/UNICEF-Database/St-Vincent/Employment-of-Women-Young-Persons-and-Children-Act-cap-209-of-2009.pdf?redirectried=1"}] | 14 | 1 | C138 establishes 15 as the minimum age for work in general. Developing countries have the option of setting a minimum age of 14 as a transitional measure as they strengthen their education systems and economies. | Article 2 of the Text sets the minimum age for admission to work to 14 years. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | N/A | C182 | N/A | [{"link_name":"N/A","source_link":"N/A"}] | N/A | 9 | C182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict as a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, C182 only prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18, and does not cover the voluntary recruitment of children under 18. | The country has no standing army or conscription, implying that military service is only voluntary. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, prohibited? | N/A | C182 | N/A | [{"link_name":"N/A","source_link":"N/A"}] | No | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | Our research did not identify any legal provision within the legal framework of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines that explicitly prohibits the use of children for illicit activities, particularly in the production and trafficking of drugs. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 2012-01-10 | C182 | Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act - Sections 2 and 5 | [{"link_name":"Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act","source_link":"https://www.annaobserva.org/observatorio/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Trafficking-in-Persons-Law.pdf"}] | Yes | 10 | C182 prohibits the use of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, regardless of the child's consent. The use, procuring or offering of any person under the age of 18 for commercial sexual exploitation constitutes a worst form of child labour, even if prostitution is a legalised. In regard to the prohibition of child pornography, States need to make sure that national legislation addresses the involvement of a child in the production of pornographic materials, including non-recorded performances. | Section 2 of the Act states that child pornography and commercial sexual exploitation are considered exploitation. Section 5 of that same Text prohibits the trafficking of children for the purpose of exploitation. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 2012-02-12 | C182 | Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act - Sections 2 and 5 | [{"link_name":"Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act","source_link":"https://www.annaobserva.org/observatorio/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Trafficking-in-Persons-Law.pdf"}] | Yes | 8 | C182 defines all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour as worst forms of child labour. | While Section 2 defines a child as a person below the age of 18 years, Sections 5 prohibts the traffick of children. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | 1938-07-01 | C138 | Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act - Sections 2 and 8 | [{"link_name":"Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act","source_link":"https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/lawlibrary/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/UNICEF-Database/St-Vincent/Employment-of-Women-Young-Persons-and-Children-Act-cap-209-of-2009.pdf?redirectried=1"}] | N/A | 3 | If the country chooses to allow light work, States must determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | While Section 8 of the Act allows the employment of a child (defined as a person aged under 14 years in Section 2) to assist their parent or guardian in light agricultural or horticultural work on family land or in a family garden outside of school hours, no precise conditions for the carrying of such work is determined. |
| Minimum age for light work | N/A | C138 | Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act - Sections 2 and 8 | [{"link_name":"Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act","source_link":"https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/lawlibrary/wp-content/uploads/sites/58/UNICEF-Database/St-Vincent/Employment-of-Women-Young-Persons-and-Children-Act-cap-209-of-2009.pdf?redirectried=1"}] | N/A | 2 | C138 defines light work as work that does not interfere with children’s schooling, or their ability to benefit from it, and that is not hazardous. C138 allows countries to permit light work for children younger than the general minimum age. For countries that set the minimum age at 15, this means children aged 13-14, and for those that set it at 14, children aged 12-13 may engage in light work. | Section 8 of the Act permits the employment of a child to assist their parent or guardian in light agricultural or horticultural work on family land or in a family garden outside of school hours. Section 2 of the same Act defines a child as a person under the age of 14. However, despite these provisions, no minimum age for admission to light work is explicitly specified. |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | N/A | C138 | N/A | [{"link_name":"CEACR Observation","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4365924,103333:NO"}] | No | 5 | C138 does not apply to work done in school for general, vocational or technical education or in training institutions or work done by children at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority. Such work must be an integral part of: (i) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (ii) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (iii) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training. | In an Observation published (2024) , the Committee of Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) requests the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that work done in the context of an apprenticeship or vocational training is regulated and provides for a minimum age for entry into apprenticeships. |
International Legal Framework
International Legal Framework
| Ratification status | Convention | Convention description | Date of ratification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-force | C182 | Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) | 04-DEC-2001 | Source |
| in-force | C138 | Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) | 25-JUL-2006 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In a Direct Request published in 2024, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) took notes of the measures implemented by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit (ATIPU) within the framework of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (NAP) 2016-2020, including: (1) training of all stakeholders (educational institutions, public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, the judiciary, public servants and law enforcement); (2) creation of an inter-ministerial working group against human trafficking; (3) formulation of a new NAP 2021–25; (4) spontaneous visits by the police to places of entertainment (bars, nightclubs); and (5) targeted surveillance and observation of activities at airports and seaports to identify and address cases of human trafficking. | [{"link_name":"CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4365927,103333"}] | 2016-2020 | National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (NAP) | Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit |