Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Mozambique (Ratification: 2003)

The Committee notes the adoption of Law No. 23/2007, of 1 August 2007, which promulgates the Labour Law. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. 1. Scope of application. (i) Children working on their own account and in the informal sector. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that, according to sections 1 and 2 of the Labour Act, the Act only applies to a labour relationship. It had requested the Government to provide information on the manner in which children who are not covered by an employment relationship, such as children working on their own account, are afforded the protection established in the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s information that, in Mozambique, there is no specific regulation governing children who are not covered by an employment relationship. It reminds the Government that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity and covers all types of employment or work, whether or not there is a contractual employment relationship and whether or not the work is remunerated. It therefore requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that children who are not bound by an employment relationship, those who work on their own account, are covered by the protection provided by the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to adapt and strengthen the labour inspection services in order to ensure that the protection established by the Convention is ensured for children working on their own account and those working in the informal sector.

(ii) Special regimes. The Committee notes that section 3 of the Labour Law provides for special regimes governing employment relationships in domestic work, work in the home, mining work, and rural work. It requests the Government to provide copies of the regulations governing these types of work.

2. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee notes that section 29(1) of the new Labour Law provides that “student employees” are employees who work under the authority and direction of an employer, and have permission from their employer to attend a course at an educational establishment to develop and improve their skills, particularly their technical and occupational skills. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the definition of the expression “student employees”, the types of employment or work in which they could be engaged and the minimum age for admission to that work.

Article 2, paragraph 3. Age of compulsory schooling. The Committee previously noted that no age of completion of compulsory schooling appears to have been set in national laws or regulations but that, according to information available at UNESCO, that age is 12 years. The Committee also noted that, in its concluding observations of April 2002 (CRC/C/15/Add.172, paragraphs 56 and 57), the Committee on the Rights of the Child, while taking note of the significant efforts made by the Government in education, remained concerned, in particular, at the fact that insufficient effort had been made to implement the principle of compulsory education. Enrolment in formal education, which stood at 81.3 per cent in 1998, remained low, with particular gravity in certain regions of the country, and only a very small proportion of children enrolled in, and completed, secondary education.

The Committee takes due note of the detailed information provided by the Government in its report regarding activities which were carried out from 2000 to 2006 in order to increase the school attendance rate. It particularly notes that new teachers have been appointed and trained; and the internal efficiency of the school system has been improved. Other measures have also been taken, such as the allocation of grants to the most deprived students and the exemption from fees and taxes for students without any financial means, particularly in areas with an acute incidence of poverty. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s statistical information for 2006 and 2007 regarding the first-level primary education (EP1), there was a notable increase in the gross schooling rate, from 135.3 per cent to 142.1 per cent, and the net enrolment rate, from 88.3 per cent to 95.1 per cent. The number of students enrolled in the EP1, passed from 2.3 million in 2000 to 3.6 million in 2006. Furthermore, since 2004, the new basic education curriculum has been implemented which notably consists of the integration of seven basic education classes. The Committee notes that Mozambique is implementing the UNESCO Literacy Initiative for Employment, a ten-year initiative aimed at achieving the goals of the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003–12). It also notes that the Government has established an Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (2006–09), one of whose objectives is to expand access to education and improve its efficiency, paying particular attention to girls, children with special educational needs, orphans, and children from rural areas.

The Committee greatly appreciates the steps taken by the Government to improve the education system in the country, steps that it considers as an affirmation of a political will to develop strategies to combat this problem. However, the Committee notes that, according to data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics of 2005, the school enrolment rate at the primary school level is 73 per cent of girls and 80 per cent of boys, and at the secondary level is 6 per cent of girls and 8 per cent of boys. In this regard, the Committee observes that poverty is one of the prime causes of child labour and when it combines with a deficient education system, it hampers children’s development. Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective ways of combating child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to renew its efforts to improve the working of the education system. It requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the above measures in terms of increasing the school attendance rate, particularly at the secondary level which is extremely low, and reducing the school drop-out rate, with special attention to the situation of girls. Finally, the Committee once again asks the Government to indicate the age of completion of compulsory schooling and the provisions of the national legislation which determine this age.

Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2. Determination of hazardous types of employment or work. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes that section 23(2) of the Labour Law provides that employers shall not give minors under the age of 18 work that is unhealthy, dangerous or which requires great physical strength, as defined by the competent authorities, after consultation with trade union and employers’ organizations. It also notes that, by virtue of subsection (3) of section 23 of this Law, the normal working hours of minors between the ages of 15 and 18 shall not exceed 38 hours per week, up to a maximum of seven hours a day. The Committee notes the Government’s information that work is in progress to draw up specific legislation concerning the determination of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years in the framework of the legal reform under way in the country. The Committee hopes that the specific legislation determining the types of hazardous work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years will be elaborated and adopted soon and requests the Government to provide information on any progress made to this end.

Article 6. Vocational training and apprenticeship. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the national legislation appears to contain no provisions regulating vocational training and apprenticeship. The Committee notes that Section IV of the Labour Law regulates vocational training and apprenticeship. More particularly, it notes that under section 248(3) of this Law, enterprises or establishments may not admit minors under 12 years of age for apprenticeships. The Committee reminds the Government that Article 6 of the Convention authorizes work to be carried out by young persons aged at least 14 years within the context of an apprenticeship programme. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that no minor under 14 years of age will enter an apprenticeship programme, in conformity with Article 6 of the Convention.

Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 3. Light work. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that, by virtue of section 21(1) of the new Labour Law, an employment contract entered into directly with a minor between 12 and 15 years of age shall only be valid with the written authorization from the minor’s legal representative. It also notes that under section 26(2) of the Labour Law, the Council of Ministers shall issue a legal diploma establishing the nature and the conditions of work that may be performed, in exceptional circumstances, by minors of between 12 and 15 years of age. The Committee reminds the Government that under Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention, national laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of persons of 13 to 15 years of age on light work, provided that such work is not likely to harm their health or development and is not such as to prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programmes approved by the competent authority or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to bring section 21(1) of the Labour Law into conformity with the Convention by permitting employment in light work only by young persons who have reached the age of 13 years. It also requests the Government to indicate whether light work activities, which children aged 13 to 15 may be authorized to undertake, have been determined pursuant to section 26(2) of the Labour Law.

Article 9, paragraph 3. Employers’ registers. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Labour Act, 2007, does not prescribe the registers to be kept by employers. It reminds the Government that under Article 9, paragraph 3, of the Convention, national laws or regulations or the competent authority must prescribe the registers or other documents which shall be kept and made available by the employer. Such registers or documents must contain the names and ages or dates of birth, duly certified wherever possible, of persons whom he or she employs or who work for him or her and who are less than 18 years of age. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to bring the national laws and regulations into line with the Convention on this point.

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the information supplied by the Government concerning the child labour situation in Mozambique. It had also noted from statistics available at the Office that 32.1 per cent of children aged from 10 to 14 years work. The Committee had noted in particular that, according to the Government, the factors that encourage children to work include growing poverty, high unemployment, the failure of family assistance, changes in the economy, migration, dwindling school attendance and HIV/AIDS.

The Committee notes from the Technical Progress Report on the ILO/IPEC project (hereafter Technical Progress Report), entitled “Combating the worst forms of child labour in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa” of 2006, that a study on child labour in Mozambique will be produced, and 200 girls and boys will be directly prevented from becoming child labourers and 800 members in communities of origin, including children’s families, will be trained/sensitized on the issue of child labour to monitor the situation in their localities and to detect girls and boys at risk. The Committee also notes that the Government has established an Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty (2006–09) which, amongst others, take into account the protection of children. The Committee expresses its concern at the situation of young children in Mozambique who have to work out of personal need and therefore strongly encourages the Government to redouble its efforts to combat child labour and improve the situation gradually. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the ILO/IPEC project to combat the worst forms of child labour and the Action Plan for the Reduction of Absolute Poverty, and the results achieved in terms of the progressive abolition of child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the study on child labour in Mozambique and to supply specific information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, extracts of inspection reports and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported.