Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

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

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 further noted the Government’s information that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL), with the technical assistance from the Samoa Technical Facility Project, was carrying out a revision of the national legislation, including the Crimes Act 2013 in order to align the definition of a child with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the use, procuring or offering of children between the ages of 16 and 18 years for the production of indecent materials is also effectively prohibited.

The Committee notes with interest the development of the Crimes Amendment Bill 2020, which has revised section 82 of the Crimes Act 2013. The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication in its report that the Crimes Amendment Bill will be submitted to the Cabinet for its approval before consideration by the Parliament. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the Crimes Amendment Bill 2020 is adopted, without delay, so that the prohibition under section 82 of the Crimes Act 2013 on the production and distribution of indecent materials depicting children will include children between 16 and 18 years of age. It further 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 that the Hazardous Work List, which contains a list of types of hazardous work prohibited to children under 18 years, had been approved by the Cabinet in May 2018 and was in the process of being incorporated into the Labour and Employment Relations Regulations. The Committee further noted the Government’s information that the list had been reviewed by the National Occupational Safety and Health Task Force and supported by the Samoa National Tripartite Forum. The Government also indicated that the MCIL had 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 takes note of the Government’s information that the revised Hazardous Work List is currently pending vetting from the Office of the Attorney General before its submission to the Parliament. The Government also indicates that no cases of hazardous work by children under 18 years have been reported through the National Occupational Safety and Health Framework 2018. The Committee once again 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 further delay. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on any cases of hazardous work by children under 18 years that have been 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 various measures taken by the Government to identify and protect children engaged in street vending, including: (i) establishment of a Child Vending Task Force (CVTF), comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture (MESC), the Ministry of Police (MoP), the MCIL, the Office of the Attorney General and the Council of Churches, within the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD) to address the issues pertaining to children working as street vendors; (ii) initiation of collaborative efforts by the MWCSD and the MoP to monitor and identify exploitation of children in the formal and informal economy, including through regular inspections in the streets of Apia and rural areas; (iii) conducting awareness-raising programmes on the use of children in street vending by the MCIL 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) introduction of the Supporting Children Initiative 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 generation projects; and (v) the initiation of Small Business Youth Incubator for Economic Development which aims to instigate programmes for small businesses and income generation projects for youth, women and vulnerable families. The Committee, however, noted that during 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, 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 per cent 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.

The Committee takes note of the Government’s indication that various services, such as counselling, school placement, and financial assistance, are provided to vulnerable families under the Supporting Children Initiative. In particular, 68 children working as street vendors from 18 families are covered under the Supporting Children Initiative and 11 out of these 18 families have been removed from the situation of having children with high to low risk of engagement in the worst forms of child labour. The Government further indicates that in 2018-2019, labour inspectors of the MCIL carried out inspections of 171 business entities and detected no cases violating section 51 of the Labour and Employment Relations Act of 2013, which regulates the employment of children. In addition, the MESC has developed the School Governance Framework, according to which school committees will monitor children engaged in street trading. The Committee further notes from the latest Government’s report on the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) that particular protection can be provided to child street vendors by the MWCSD through its Care Plan and Child Vending Scheme. The Government further indicates that the draft Interagency Guidelines elaborated by the MWCSD address the issues of child street vending. The Committee also takes note of the information provided by the Government that under the SWEEPS Program, inspectors of the MWCSD, in collaboration with the MoP, conduct monthly inspections to prevent child vending in Apia Town Area during school hours. However, the Government indicates that there are issues regarding the implementation of this Program due to challenges of multi-agency coordination. The Committee once again strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to identify and protect children engaged in street trading from the worst forms of child labour. It further requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and the results achieved in this regard, particularly on the number of child street vendors who have been removed from the worst forms of child labour and provided with assistance.

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