Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Russian Federation (Ratification: 1979)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Scope of application. Children working in the informal economy. The Committee previously noted that section 63(1) of the Labour Code prohibits children under 16 years of age from signing an employment contract. It also noted the Government’s statement that the illegal employment of minors and the violation of their labour rights were frequent occurrences in the informal economy. This involved minors who washed cars, engaged in trading and performed auxiliary work. The Committee also noted the information from a 2009 study carried out by the ILO–IPEC, within the framework of a project on street children in the region of St. Petersburg, that children, some as young as 8 and 9 years old, were engaged in economic activities such as collecting empty bottles and recycling paper, transporting goods, cleaning workplaces, looking after property, street trading and cleaning cars. It further noted that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its concluding observations of 1 June 2011, expressed concern regarding the large number of children who live and work on the streets, in particular in the informal economy where they are vulnerable to abuse to such an extent that regular school attendance is severely restricted (E/C.12/RUS/CO/5, paragraph 24). Recalling that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity and covers all types of employment or work, the Committee urged the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate to better monitor children working in the informal economy.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the labour inspections carried out for the purpose of monitoring and supervising compliance with labour laws and on the violations detected with regard to the employment of children under the age of 18 years. However, the Committee notes with regret that, in spite of its repeated requests made since several years, the Government did not provide any information on the measures taken to address children working outside the scope of an employment contract or in the informal economy. The Committee recalls 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 employment or work is paid. In this regard, the Committee is of the view that the expansion of the relevant monitoring mechanisms to the informal economy can be an important manner in which to ensure that the Convention is applied in practice, particularly in countries where expanding the scope of the implementing legislation to address children working in this sector does not seem a practicable solution (see the 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions concerning rights at work, paragraph 345). Noting with concern that a large number of children below the minimum age are working in the informal economy, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all children under 16 years of age, including those who work on their own account or in the informal economy, benefit from the protection afforded by the Convention. In this regard, the Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate to better monitor children carrying out economic activities without an employment relationship or in the informal economy. It requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken in this regard in its next report.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Labour inspectorate and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that 2,717 inspections were carried out in 2012 to verify compliance with legislation relating to children under 18 years of age, and 498 such inspections were carried out in the first quarter of 2013. Accordingly, 2,479 violations were detected relating to persons under 18 years of age in 2012, and 288 such violations were detected during the first quarter of 2013. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that, in 2012, 1,101 notices were issued by the labour inspectors against employers for violations related to the employment of children, and nine cases were sent to the public prosecutor’s office; during the first quarter of 2013, 60 such notices were issued and eight cases were sent to the public prosecutor’s office. Most of the violations detected involved failure to conclude contracts, failure to include binding terms in the employment contracts, overtime work and failure to provide protective equipment and health and safety measures. The Committee accordingly urges the Government to pursue its efforts to effectively address and eliminate child labour, and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient updated data on the situation of working children in the Russian Federation is made available, including the number of children working under the minimum age and the nature, scope and trends of their work. The Committee finally requests the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including information from the labour inspectorate on the number and nature of contraventions reported, violations detected and penalties applied.