Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Niger (Ratification: 1978)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy. The Committee previously noted, in its comments made under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that a National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour had been developed and was being finalized. It notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that the National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour was validated at a workshop held in Niamey on 9 and 10 January 2018. The Government also indicates that a project entitled “Reducing child labour for sustainable agriculture in Niger”, created under the tutelage of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, was launched in June 2016 and will come to an end in October 2018. The general objective of this project is to reduce the number of children working in agriculture in order to contribute to the emergence of decent rural jobs and to combat rural poverty in the selected regions, with two specific objectives, which are: (i) to reduce the proportion of children engaged in hazardous work in agriculture; and (ii) to increase stakeholders’ awareness and skills regarding the risks linked to hazardous work in agriculture, as well as their effects on children’s physical and psychological development. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour. It requests the Government to indicate whether the National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour has been formally adopted. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved under the National Plan of Action and the “Reducing child labour for sustainable agriculture in Niger” project.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee notes that, in its replies to the Committee’s comments, the Ministry of Primary Education, Literacy, the Promotion of National Languages and Civic Education (Ministry of Primary Education) indicates that the President of the Republic has committed to guaranteeing free and compulsory education for children up to 16 years of age. It also notes that, according to the “PASEC 2014 Performance of the Education System of Niger” and the educational policy letter for the period 2013–20, education is compulsory and free for children up to 16 years of age. While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government to improve the country’s education system, the Committee notes that the minimum age for admission to employment, 14 years, is now less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling, which is 16 years. In its General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 370, the Committee points out that education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour and that if the minimum age for admission to work or employment is lower than the school-leaving age, children may be encouraged to leave school as children required to attend school may also be legally authorized to work. It emphasizes that Article 2(3) of the Convention provides that the minimum age for admission to employment shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee requests the Government to indicate under which legislative or regulatory provisions education is compulsory and free for children up to 16 years of age and to provide a copy of the text. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to raise the general minimum age for admission to employment or work in order to link it with the age of completion of compulsory schooling in conformity with the Convention.