Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Samoa (Ratification: 2008)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 107th Session, May–June 2018)

The Committee notes the discussion which took place at the 107th Session of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2018, concerning the application by Samoa of the Convention.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously noted that section 82 of the Crimes Act 2013, makes it an offence to sell, deliver, exhibit, print, publish, create, produce or distribute any indecent material that depicts a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. It observed, however, that for the purposes of this section a child is defined as a person under the age of 16 years. The Committee therefore urged the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the use, procuring or offering of children between the ages of 16 and 18 for the production of indecent materials is also effectively prohibited.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL), with the technical assistance from the Samoa Technical Facility Project is carrying out a revision of the national legislation, including the Crimes Act in order to align the definition of a child with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures, during the revision of the national legislation, to ensure that the definition of a child under section 82 of the Crimes Act will refer to persons under the age of 18 years, so that the prohibition under this section on the production and distribution of indecent materials depicting children will include children between 16 and 18 years of age. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous types of work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that a draft list determining the types of hazardous work prohibited to children would be submitted to the Samoa National Tripartite Forum for endorsement. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the list of types of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age would be finalized and adopted in the near future.

The Committee notes that at the Conference Committee, the Employer members expressed their concern over the absence of a list of hazardous work in which the employment of young persons is prohibited.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that the Hazardous Work List, which contains a list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 years, has been approved by the Cabinet in May 2018 and is in the process of being incorporated into the Labour and Employment Relations Regulations. The Committee notes the Government’s information that this list was reviewed by the National Occupational Safety and Health Task Force and supported by the Samoa National Tripartite Forum. The Government further indicates that the MCIL has included this list in its first National Occupational Safety and Health Framework 2018 to ensure that all stakeholders take ownership in monitoring and reporting of any activities that are in breach of this list. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the Hazardous Work List will be enacted and enforced, without delay. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any cases of hazardous work by children under 18 years that have been identified and reported through the National Occupational Safety and Health Framework.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Reaching out to children at special risk. Children working as street vendors. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 20 of the Education Act 2009 specifically prohibits the engagement of compulsory school-aged children in street trading during school hours, and that it provides for the appointment of school attendance officers, responsible for identifying children who are out of school during school hours, and returning them to school. It also noted that the Community Sector Plan of 2016–21 (CSP) provides for a platform for the development of an intervention plan to respond to the needs of vulnerable children and their families. The Committee further noted that the majority of cases regarding child vendors in the streets were mainly dealt with by the Community Engagement Unit in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture (MESC) and the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD), whereby parents of the children involved in street vending were held responsible, after investigation, and then charged. However, the Committee noted that, according to the ILO Rapid Assessment Report on Children working on the streets in Apia, 2017, the majority of the 106 children interviewed started working on the streets due to the fact that the family needed income (page 36). Children, as young as 7 years of age, sold food, homemade juice and razor blades in dangerous environments, and worked long hours (over five to 12 hours a day), under harsh weather conditions, to sell their products. The majority of the children work for their own family and are not aware of the social support services available to them. Noting with concern that children continued to work as street vendors, often in hazardous conditions, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to identify and protect children engaged in street vending from the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee notes that at the Conference Committee, the Employer members expressed their concern about the prevalence of under 15-year olds exploited as street vendors. Moreover, the Worker members indicated that around 38 percent of child labour in Samoa was performed by under 15-year olds, which called into question the Government’s capacity and commitment to address the worst forms of child labour.

In this regard, the Committee notes the following measures taken by the Government as indicated in its report: (i) a Child Vending Task Force (CVTF), comprised of representatives from the MESC, Ministry of Police (MoP), the MCIL and the Office of the Attorney General and the Council of Churches, was established within the MWCSD to address the issues pertaining to children working as street vendors; (ii) collaborative efforts were initiated by the MWCSD along with the MoP to monitor exploitation of children in the formal and informal economy, including through regular inspections in the streets of Apia and rural areas; (iii) awareness-raising programmes on the use of children in street vending were conducted by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour for employers in Upolu and Savaii, in order to prevent them from employing children under the age of 18 to sell goods and products during school hours; (iv) the Supporting Children initiative was started by the MWCSD in March 2016 for children from vulnerable families, in order to ensure their safety through positive parenting support and providing training and financial assistance to parents for income generating projects; and (v) the Small Business Youth Incubator for Economic Development which aims to instigate programmes for small businesses and income generating projects for youth, women and vulnerable families, were initiated. The Committee notes, however, that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 12 July 2016, expressed its concern that children continue to work as vendors and that school absenteeism remains a challenge (CRC/C/WSM/CO/2-4, paragraph 52). While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee strongly encourages it to continue its efforts to identify and protect children engaged in street trading from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard as well as information on the number of child street vendors who have been removed from the worst forms of child labour, including by the CVTF and through the collaborative efforts by the MWCSD and the MoP, and provided with assistance and socially integrated.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.