Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Honduras (Ratification: 1980)

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 noted the measures taken to combat child labour and the results achieved, particularly in the context of the implementation of the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour (2008–15). It noted the objectives, the components and the development of indicators to evaluate the implementation of the Plan of Action, as well as the daily workshops on rights and duties at work in relation to children and young persons, the involvement of the labour inspectorate, and the integration of a “child labour” module into household surveys carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Yet, the Committee raised concerns at the results of the 2010 INE household survey according to which 14.3 per cent of children and young persons between the ages of 5 and 17 are engaged in an economic activity and the UNICEF 2009 statistics indicating that 16 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 are working. Due to the large number of children who are below the minimum age for admission to employment and who work, the Committee requested the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour and provide information in this regard.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indications as regards the measures taken to implement the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour (2008–15), which have included, inter alia, the appointment of 30 municipal child defenders in the departments of Valle, Copan and La Paz; the decentralization of activities to eliminate child labour through the establishment of four subregional technical advisory committees composed of workers’ and employers’ organizations, Government and civil society with coordinating authority on the local level in Choluteca, San Pedro Sula, Progreso and Ceiba; as well as other institutional changes.

The Committee notes that in order to achieve the objective to eliminate child labour by 2020 (set out in the Decent Work in the Americas: An agenda for the Hemisphere), the Government together with the ILO–IPEC formulated a Roadmap for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour and its Worst Forms. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the Roadmap provides the basis for strategic programming and the link between the different policies and measures that have a direct or indirect impact on the prevention and eradication of child labour. The Roadmap sets out action at the regional, subregional and local levels and contains dimensions on poverty, health, education, the protection of rights, capacity building, awareness raising and the creation of knowledge base on child labour. The Committee notes that the Government through Executive Decrees PCM-011-2011 of February 2011 and PCM-056-2011 of August 2011, approved the Roadmap as national policy instructing all secretariats and their dependencies to incorporate the eradication of child labour into their institutional and strategic planning processes. The Committee notes from the Government’s report and on the basis of the report of June 2012 on the ILO–IPEC project entitled “Eliminating Child Labour in Latin America (Phase IV)” that the Government has finalized the programming measures for 2012–14 to implement the Roadmap.

The Committee furthermore notes the Government’s information provided in its report concerning the implementation of the conditional cash transfer programme “Bono 10.000” extending financial assistance to families with minors under 18 years of age conditional on children’s school attendance and benefiting 345,000 families so far. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that in 2011 the Secretariat of Labour provided 492 daily workshops on rights and duties at work for children, young persons and their legal representatives, which were attended by 4,227 participants (compared to 2,528 participants between January 2009 and April 2010). Moreover, it notes the Government’s indications as regards the labour inspectorate and its programme for the gradual and progressive eradication of child labour. In this regard, the Committee notes that according to the 2012 Report on Child Labour prepared by the Secretary of State in the Offices of Justice and Human Rights, 122 labour inspectors are working in the area of child labour dispersed over 17 regional offices. In 2011, 3,736 child labour inspections were carried out covering 72,488 persons, yet the abovementioned report indicates that no violations were found. The Committee raises serious concern about the lack of contraventions reported, all the more so because according to the 2010 UNICEF statistics (and 2009 statistics), 16 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 years are working in Honduras, indicating a large number of children who work that are below the minimum age for admission to employment or work.

The Committee recalls that, pursuant to the Convention, the minimum age should apply not only to formal arrangements but also to the informal economy, which can be achieved through appropriate monitoring mechanisms, including labour inspections. While noting the Government’s efforts, the Committee requests the Government to take practical measures to further strengthen the labour inspectorate in its action to prevent and combat child labour, taking into account its important role for the purpose of controlling the implementation of the minimum age for employment. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, based in particular on statistics on the employment of children under 14 years of age, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and information on the number and nature of the violations reported and the sanctions imposed. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved through the implementation of the Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour (2008–15) and the measures taken and results achieved in 2012–14 on the implementation of the Roadmap for the eradication of child labour.

Article 2(1) and (4). Scope of application. The Committee previously noted that, under the terms of section 32(2) of the Labour Code, the authorities responsible for supervising work by persons under 14 years of age may permit them to work if they consider it indispensable in order to provide for their subsistence or that of their parents or brothers and sisters, and provided that it does not prevent them from following compulsory schooling. Furthermore, under the terms of section 2(1), agricultural and stock-raising undertakings that do not permanently employ more than ten workers are excluded from the scope of the Labour Code. It also noted that the Regulations on child labour of 2001, in accordance with sections 4–6, only apply to contractual labour relations. The Government indicated in this respect that a draft revision of the Labour Code had been prepared which contained provisions to bring the national labour legislation into conformity with the international Conventions ratified by Honduras, and therefore to harmonize the provisions of the Labour Code and the Regulations on child labour of 2001 with the Code for Children and Young Persons of 1996. The draft text would also allow the application of the provisions on the minimum age for admission to employment to all children, whether they are engaged under an employment contract or work on their own account. The Committee observed that the majority of children under 14 years of age work in agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report again does not contain information on the situation regarding the legislative process for the adoption of the draft revision of the Labour Code. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the most recent laws concerning child labour, that is the Code for Children and Young Persons of 1996 and Regulations on Child Labour of 2001, which expressively prohibit under all circumstances the employment of children under 14 years of age (in its sections 120(2) and 15 respectively) are strictly applied. In this regard, the Committee recalls its earlier observation that the Regulations on Child Labour of 2001, in accordance with sections 4–6, only appear to apply to contractual labour relations and therefore would not cover children carrying out economic activities without an employment agreement, including self-employed children and children working in the informal economy.

The Committee recalls that, under the terms of Article 2(1) of the Convention, no one under the age specified shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation, subject to the exemptions set out in Articles 4–8 of the Convention. It also recalls that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity and covers all types of employment or work, whether or not they are performed within the framework of an employment relationship or a labour contract, and whether or not the employment or work is paid.

The Committee again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to harmonize the provisions of the Labour Code and the Regulations on Child Labour of 2001 with the Code for Children and Young Persons of 1996 to ensure that no child under 14 years of age is permitted to work, including children who work in agricultural and stock-raising undertakings which do not permanently employ more than ten workers and those who work on their own account. It once again requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, although the net school enrolment rate at the primary level was relatively high, the net school attendance rate at secondary level remained low. The Committee also noted that a preliminary draft of the General Education Act, which is to replace the Consolidated Act of 1966, had been submitted to the Directorate of Education. The new legislation would, among other provisions, establish that school is compulsory and free of charge for ten years, namely one year of pre-school and nine years of primary education. The Committee also noted that education is one of the components of the implementation of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour 2008–15.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report again does not provide any information on progress in relation to the envisaged reform of the Consolidated Act of 1966. Neither does the Government report contain any information on the efforts undertaken by the Government to improve the operation of the education system with a view to increasing school attendance rates among children under 14 years of age in compulsory basic education, in the context of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour (2008–15).

Notwithstanding the absence of information on this point, the Committee observes that, according to UNICEF statistics for 2010, the net school attendance rate for primary education has improved and stands at 90 per cent for girls and 87 per cent for boys (compared to 80 per cent and 76 per cent respectively in 2009). The net school attendance rate for secondary education remains low with only 43 per cent of girls and 35 per cent of boys attending this level of education (compared to 36 per cent and 29 per cent respectively in 2009).

Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee once again firmly requests the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system with a view to increasing school attendance completion rates for secondary education among children under 14 years of age in compulsory basic education. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in this respect, particularly in the context of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour and the Roadmap for the Eradication of Child Labour. The Committee also once again expresses the firm hope that the preliminary draft General Education Act will be adopted in the near future and that it will contain provisions guaranteeing compulsory schooling up to the age of 14. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the Act once it has been adopted.