Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

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

Articles 3(3) and 6 of the Convention. Admission to hazardous work from the age of 16 years and vocational training and apprenticeship. The Committee had previously noted that, according to section 8 of the Industrial Training Decree of 1972, any person who: (i) has attained the apparent age of 16 years; (ii) has attained a basic standard of education prescribed in the regulations under this Decree; and (iii) has obtained the prescribed qualifications for the concerned trade; and (iv) has been certified medically fit, may bind himself as an apprentice in any designated trade. The Committee had also noted that, by virtue of section 34 of the Employment Act, the Minister would, on the recommendation of the Labour Advisory Board (LAB), make regulations governing the employment of persons for apprenticeship.

The Committee notes that section 8 of the Employment of Children Regulations provides that a child aged between 12 and 17 years engaged in educational training and apprenticeship programmes which are on the list of hazardous work shall first be approved by a Commissioner before they can take part in such work. Section 9 provides that an employer who wishes to employ a child in an apprenticeship shall apply to the Commissioner, and that the Commissioner shall issue such permits restricting the age, number of hours of work and conditions in which work in this apprenticeship is allowed. The Committee reminds the Government that, regardless of whether or not it is conducted in the framework of a vocational training or apprenticeship, children under 18 years are prohibited from engaging in hazardous work. However, under the terms of Article 3(3) of the Convention, national laws or regulations may, after consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, authorize the performance of hazardous types of work as from the age 16 years on condition that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take measures to ensure that children under 16 years of age are not permitted to perform educational trainings and apprenticeships which are on the list of hazardous work, and that young persons between 16 and 18 years of age who do perform such educational trainings or apprenticeships do so under the conditions of safety laid out in Article 3(3) of the Convention.

Article 9(1). Penalties. The Committee previously noted that, as per section 96 of the Employment Act, any violation of the provisions of this Act is punishable with a fine of 24 currency points. According to Schedule 2 of the Act, each currency point is equivalent to 20,000 Ugandan shillings. Repeated offences are punishable by a fine of up to 48 currency points or imprisonment of a maximum period of two years. Noting the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests it to provide information on the application of these penalties in practice in cases of violations of the provisions on the employment of children and young persons, including the number and nature of penalties imposed.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s statement that the requirements for registers or other documents containing the names and ages or dates of birth of persons employed under the age of 14 years shall be provided for in the regulations to the Employment Act which are yet to be formulated. The Committee had also noted that, by virtue of section 59 of the Employment Act, every employer shall prepare and keep a written document showing the name and address of the employee, the date, title and terms and conditions of the job assigned to them, the wages and allowances which the employees are entitled to receive and such other particulars as may be prescribed from time to time. The Committee requested the Government to take measures to ensure that registers be kept and made available by the employer in respect of children under the age of 18 years and not 14 years as indicated by the Government.

The Committee notes that section 15 of the Employment of Children Regulations provides that an employer engaging a child shall keep a register in the form prescribed in the Fifth Schedule. It observes, however, that this schedule only requires employers to indicate the name and date of birth of the children employed who are between 15 and 17 years of age, although the minimum age for admission to work is 14 years. The Committee reminds the Government that, according to Article 9(3) of the Convention, employers must keep registers of employment indicating the names, ages and/or dates of birth of all children under 18 years who work for them. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures so that employment registers kept by the employers apply to all workers younger than 18 years of age.

Part III of the report form. Labour inspectorate. The Committee had previously noted that the Labour Inspectorate Department has a network of 31 district offices, with each district having at least one labour officer. The Committee had noted, however, the Government’s statement that appropriate mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to the Convention were inadequate. In this respect, the Committee had referred to the comments made by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards at the International Labour Conference in June 2008, concerning the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that it had been urging the Government for many years to take measures to reverse the phenomenon of the continued deterioration of the labour inspectorate, which had aggravated following the decentralization of the inspection function to the district level. The Committee noted that there were approximately 23 labour inspectors in the agricultural sector, which is the main employer in Uganda, to monitor the application of the relevant regulations, especially in respect of the occupational safety and health component. When labour inspectors find persons working in violation of the regulations in place, warnings are issued and the licence withdrawn the following year. However, the Committee had noted that these inspections were sporadic and not institutionalized.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that it has been advocating for improved budgetary allocation to labour inspection work in the districts and that training for the existing labour staff in the country has been conducted relatively to their role in enforcing the labour laws. The Government also indicates that the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) has come up with a strategy to recentralize the existing 36 districts district labour offices, as well as create regional offices to cover a specific cluster of districts. Furthermore, the Committee observes that the MGLSD has developed and adopted guidelines to facilitate the programming, monitoring, development and implementation of public policies that would more effectively contribute to the goal of the elimination of child labour, in particular its worst forms. These guidelines are specifically designed to assist labour inspectors and other national stakeholders in their efforts to eliminate child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of these measures on strengthening the labour inspection system. It also once again requests the Government to provide information on the labour inspections carried out by the labour inspectorate and on the number and nature of violations detected involving children.