Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Argentina (Ratification: 1996)

Article 2(2) and (5) of the Convention. Raising the minimum age for admission to employment or work. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with satisfaction the Government’s indication in a statement to the Director-General dated 25 May 2010 that it is officially raising the minimum age for admission to employment or work from 15 to 16 years.

Article 1 and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the results of the 2004 study (subsequently published in 2006) entitled “Childhood and adolescence: Work and other economic activities” conducted by ILO–IPEC, the National Statistics and Census Institute of Argentina and the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security in three provinces in the north-west of the country (Jujuy, Salta and Tucumán), two in the north-east (Formosa and Chaco), the province of Mendoza and the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires. It noted with interest the measures taken as part of the implementation of the National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour. In this regard, it particularly noted the following information: (i) the signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology with a view to implementing the National Programme for Educational Integration, which provides for measures to enable working children to quit their jobs and re-enter or remain in the school system, including remedial courses and economic assistance; (ii) the establishment of the network of enterprises against child labour on 27 June 2007; (iii) the increased participation of workers’ organizations in efforts to combat child labour, which led to the signing of a memorandum of intent for the prevention and elimination of child labour in agriculture on 12 June 2007; (iv) training workshops for labour inspectors and tobacco producers in Salta and Jujuy; and (v) campaigns to raise awareness of the use of child labour, especially in tobacco plantations, among the general public, teachers and health officials. The Committee also noted that the results of a survey conducted in 2006 on the work of boys, girls and young persons between 5 and 17 years of age in the provinces of Córdoba and Misiones were being validated.

The Committee notes the results of the 2006 survey communicated in the Government’s report. According to this survey, 8.4 per cent of children between 5 and 13 years of age and 29.7 per cent of children between 14 and 17 years of age are engaged in economic activity. As regards the province of Córdoba, children between 5 and 13 years of age work particularly in the following sectors: assistance in commerce, office work or workshops, childcare, non-residential care for elderly or sick persons, and other service-related or commercial activities such as roadside vending or services rendered to third parties. The main areas of activity of young persons between 14 and 17 years of age are assistance in commerce, work in offices or workshops, assistance with construction or repair work and other activities in the tertiary sector such as non-residential care for elderly or sick persons. The vast majority of children between 5 and 13 years of age in the province of Córdoba are involved in family work (72 per cent), whereas young persons between 14 and 17 years of age generally work for an employer (44 per cent) or on a self-employed basis. In addition, the survey reveals that premature entry to the world of employment has a negative impact on children’s success in school. Accordingly, 15 per cent of children who worked during the reference week used for the survey have repeated a school year and 50 per cent of working adolescents do not attend school in the province of Córdoba. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the percentage of young people who work and do not attend school in the other provinces of the country, as shown by the 2004 study, is lower than in the province of Córdoba (25 per cent).

The Committee duly notes the various measures taken by the Government as part of the National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour. It notes in particular that, under Decree No. 1602/2009 of 29 October 2009, the provision of family benefits has been expanded and these are now awarded to children whose parents are unemployed or working in the informal or domestic sectors. It also notes that various training workshops have been established in order to strengthen the labour inspectorate in its action to prevent and combat child labour. According to the information supplied in the Government’s report, between 2007 and 2009 labour inspectors identified 43,042 children who were at risk. Finally, the Committee observes that provincial committees were set up in 23 out of 24 provinces in the country. The task of these committees is to implement locally the measures adopted in the context of the National Plan. Two national meetings of regional committees are held each year in order to formulate joint action strategies.

The Committee notes, however, that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of June 2010 on the third and fourth periodic reports of Argentina (CRC/C/ARG/CO3-4, paragraph 73) noted with concern the absence of effective coordination mechanisms, as well as insufficient structures for enforcement at the provincial level. The Committee requests the Government to step up its efforts to ensure the effective implementation of the National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour, particularly at provincial level. It requests the Government to continue to supply information on the action taken and the results achieved in the context of the National Plan, indicating the number of children who have benefited from these measures. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to supply information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including extracts from the reports of the inspection services and information on the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed.