Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Brazil (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s first and second reports. It also takes note of the comments provided by the Government, dated 19 October 2004, in reply to the questions raised by the Labour Inspectors’ Association (AGITRA) in a communication dated 4 February 2004. It requests the Government to supply further information on the following points.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour. In its comments, AGITRA indicates that the Government has not respected the provisions of Convention No. 138. This lack of commitment is characterized by the relaxation in maintaining the programmes designated to the elimination of child labour which were established a long time ago and not implemented due to the non-existence of a national policy which ensures the effective elimination of child labour.

The Committee notes with interest that the Government has taken many measures to abolish child labour. It notes, in particular, that the National Forum for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour (FNPETI) was set up in 1994 with the support of the ILO and UNICEF. The FNPETI is composed of 40 governmental organizations, as well as representatives of employers and workers and NGOs. The FNPETI constitutes a democratic space for dialogue and discussion of issues relating to child labour, initiating requests to the Government in the form of proposals for action and public policies. It was from this practice that there emerged the "Programa de Acão Integrada-PAI". This "Integrated Action Programme" was launched in 1996 in the Mato Grosso do Sul mines and plantations, covering 1,200 children. In January 1997, it was extended to 29 municipalities in the mining area of Pernambuco state. In July 1997, it was extended to the sisal-growing region of Bahia state, covering 13 municipalities. The objective of FNPETI was to combine the efforts of government at federal, state and municipal levels and society in pursuit of a single goal: the removal of children from work and their admission to school. Among its initiatives was the granting of a subsidy to families which had children involved in child labour, seeking by means of a grant to supplement family income to allow the child to stop work and return to school full time. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact of the aforementioned Integrated Action Programme with regard to the abolition of child labour in the area covered by the Programme.

The Committee notes that the National Council for Children’s and Young Persons’ Rights (CONANDA) was set up by Decree No. 8.242 of 12 October 1992. The competencies of CONANDA were established by Decree No. 5.089 of 20 May 2004. According to section 2 of Decree No. 5.089/2004, CONANDA’s role includes, among others: preparation of general principles of national policy on the protection of children’s and young persons’ rights (clause I); overseeing the implementation of the national policy on the protection of children and young persons (clause II); assessing state and municipal policies and the performance of the state and municipal councils for children’s and young persons’ rights (clause III); supporting educational campaigns on promotion of children’s and young persons’ rights (clause V); managing the National Fund for Children’s and Young Persons’ Rights (clause VIII). The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (PETI) was established under the Ministry of Social Assistance. PETI, as a government programme and activity, is the main instrument of public policy for the prevention and eradication of child labour. In 1996, PETI was introduced as a pilot scheme and is now established in all the 27 federal states. According to the Government’s information, in 2000, PETI touched a population of 394,969 children and young persons across the country. In 2001, 749,353 children and young persons benefited from PETI and in 2003, the number was 809,148. The Government also indicates that, for the current year, PETI reached more than 116,000 children and young persons than expected. PETI is a conditional income transfer programme which consists of a monthly grant (Bolsa Criança-Cidadä) to families with per capita income up to half the minimum wage and who have children aged 7-15 years who work and who undertake to remove them from work and ensure that they attend school and extra-curricular activities where children and young persons receive extra tuition and engage in sporting, cultural, artistic and leisure activities.

Moreover, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Council for the Elimination of Child Labour (CONAETI) was set up by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Order No. 365 of 12 September 2002, and reformed under Order No. 952 of 8 July 2003. The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government that the CONAETI has drawn up a National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labourwhich had been approved by the CONANDA. The Plan will be developed around ten areas of work: (i) analysis, studies and research integration and systematization of data on all forms of child labour; (ii) review of legal provisions related to all forms of child labour; (iii) monitoring, evaluation, control and inspection activities aimed at preventing and eradicating child labour; (iv) ensuring a universal and public education to all children and adolescents; (v) integrated health actions; (vi) integrated communication actions; (vii) promotion and strengthening of the family unit; (viii) equity and diversity considerations; (ix) work in specific sectors; and (x) promotion of quadripartite institutional linkages. The Plan will integrate all actions related to child labour, involving even more governmental agents and orchestrating the activities of all the different social actors involved, such as organizations of employers and workers and NGOs. It will be in the centre of the PETI’s activities. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the abovementioned Plan and the results achieved through its implementation.

Finally, according to the information available at the Office, the Government is currently developing aNational Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour with clear time-bound targets and measures. The Time-Bound Programme (TBP) which was launched in October 2003 for a period of 39 months will provide assistance to develop key programmes and activities to create the necessary conditions to make possible the elimination of child labour in Brazil. At the national level, the project will focus on the creation of an enabling environment by executing activities in the following areas: knowledge generation and communication; awareness raising; education; and capacity building. The project will also develop action programmes targeting: hazardous agricultural activities (particularly household agricultural activities); work in the informal economy; and child domestic labour. A total of 4,000 girls and boys will be targeted for withdrawal and prevention from exploitative and/or hazardous work through the provision of educational services following direct action from the project. The ILO/IPEC estimates that 2,666 boys and girls will be withdrawn from work and 1,334 will be prevented from being engaged in child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the TBP particularly as regards actions taken against child labour, and on the results achieved through its implementation.

Part V of the report form. Practical application of the Convention. In its comments, AGITRA indicates that, after a period of stabilization and even of regression in Brazil, child labour has considerably increased in the last few months. According to data provided by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the number of children from 10 to 14 years of age working in the six principal metropolitan regions (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Salvador, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte) has risen from 88,000 to 132,000 in September 2003. AGITRA further states that the number of child workers from 14 to 16 years of age has also increased.

In its previous general observation of 2003, the Committee had indicated that in order to assist the Committee in evaluating the application of the Convention in practice, it had requested governments to provide the fullest possible statistical information in their next report on the nature, extent and trends of work by children and young persons under the minimum age specified by States when ratifying the Convention, extracts of the reports of the inspection services and information on the number and nature of the violations reported and on the penalties imposed. Where possible, the information provided should be classified by sex.

In this respect, the Committee notes that, according to the information available at the Office, indications are that child labour has fallen throughout the 1990s in Brazil. For the year 2000 the ILO projected that there would be 2,450,000 economically active children, 886,000 girls and 1,563,000 boys between the ages of 10 and 14, representing 14.43 per cent of this age group. According to data provided by the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) for the period 1999-2001, the tendency is that child labour is decreasing in Brazil. Whereas, in 1999, of a total of 43.8 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 years, 6.6 million were working, in 2001, of 43.1 million children in that age bracket, 5.4 million were working. Moreover, according to the IBGE National Household Survey, for the period 1992-2001, in 1992 of a total of 16.8 million children aged 5-9 years, 516,520 were working; in 2001, of 16.2 million children in that age bracket, 296,705 were working. This illustrates that in the 5-9 years age group, the percentage reduction over the period 1992-2001 was some 50 per cent (falling from 3.67 per cent to 1.84 per cent). In the 10-14 years age group, the percentage reduction was 56.7 per cent (from 20.45 per cent to 11.61 per cent). In the 15-17 years age group, the percentage decline was 52.544 per cent (from 47.02 per cent to 24.66 per cent).

The Committee observes that, while the abovementioned statistics illustrate that child labour has been decreasing between 1992-2001, the application of the legislation on child labour appears to encounter difficulties and child labour is a problem in practice. The Committee is seriously concerned over the situation of children under 16 years of age who are compelled to work. It strongly encourages the Government to renew its efforts to progressively improve the situation. It invites the Government to indicate the precise measures taken since 2002 or envisaged to harmonize progressively the de facto situation and the law. It accordingly asks the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the practical application of the Convention, such as statistical data on the employment of children and young persons since 2002, and extracts from labour inspection reports.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government concerning other detailed points.