Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Malaysia (Ratification: 1997)

Labour inspection. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s indication in its report submitted under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that labour departments had been engaged in consultations with the police and the Immigration Department in respect of the employment of child workers, including on raising awareness among employers on child labour and the related legislation. The Government also indicated that it was in the midst of recruiting more labour officers in order to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate, as well as introducing training programmes for labour inspectors so as to enable them to better monitor children carrying out economic activities in the agricultural sector. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate to monitor children carrying out economic activities in the agricultural sector.

The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report on this point. However, in its comments of 2014 under Convention No. 81, it noted the Government’s statement that the newly recruited labour inspectors were required to undergo a compulsory induction course of between one and three months. Following this training period, inspectors may be given further exposure to specific relevant subjects, and may be sent to participate in training organized by other governmental agencies. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any specific training received by the labour inspectors concerning the monitoring of child labour, including in the agricultural sector, as well as on the number of inspections carried out, the number and nature of violations detected relating to the employment of children and young persons, the number of persons prosecuted and the penalties imposed.