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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Nicaragua (RATIFICATION: 1981)

The Committee notes the comments of 30 August 2011 by the Trade Union Unification Confederation (CUS) and the Government’s report.

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments the Committee noted that according to a 2005 national study on child labour (ENTIA 2005), 239,220 children between 5 and 17 years of age were engaged in work in Nicaragua. Furthermore, the Committee noted with interest that according to the final evaluation report (October 2006) of the National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers, child labour has fallen by around 6 per cent since 2000. It noted that a second National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Young Workers (PEPETI 2007–16) was in preparation.

The Committee takes due note of the detailed information in the Government’s report regarding the measures taken and results obtained in the implementation of PEPETI 2007–16. It notes with interest that numerous activities to raise awareness about the problems of child labour were carried out in 2009–10: an advertising spot was produced; leaflets on the rights of young workers were disseminated; information workshops on the worst forms of child labour were held and visits to schools and homes were organized in order to alert parents and children to the importance of education; and a literacy and school enrolment campaign was launched, targeting out-of-school children and young people. The Committee also takes due note of the results obtained under this programme, and notes that according to the Government’s report, 11,128 at-risk children and young people, street children or children engaged in child labour, were integrated in to the education system in 2010. The Committee further notes that in December 2010 Nicaragua adopted a “roadmap” to make Nicaragua a country free of child labour and its worst forms, providing a national strategic framework for attaining the objectives laid down in “Decent work in the Americas: An agenda for the Hemisphere”, namely the elimination of the worst forms of child labour by 2015 and the eradication of all forms of child labour by 2020, which was prepared with the support of ILO–IPEC. It notes that the strategic framework proposed by the “roadmap” covers six themes: poverty reduction, education, health, legal and institutional frameworks, awareness raising and social mobilization, and generation of knowledge and follow-up measures. The Committee observes, however, that according to UNICEF statistics for the years 2000–09, many children under 14 years of age are still involved in child labour (15 per cent). The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to combat child labour and requests it to continue to provide information on the results obtained under PEPETI 2007–16 and under the “roadmap” to abolish child labour in all its forms by 2020. It also requests the Government to provide statistical information on the nature, extent and trends of the labour of children and young people under 14 years of age, in its next report. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and by age.

Article 2(1). Scope of application of the Convention. The Committee noted previously that Ministerial Agreement JCHG-008-05-07 on the implementation of Act No. 474 provides that the General Directorate of Labour Inspection shall be responsible for the implementation of Act No. 474 and the organization of a system of inspection for the prevention of child labour and its supervision in the formal and informal sectors. It also noted the Government’s statement that in order to reinforce the labour inspectorate’s work in the informal sector, and in particular to eliminate child labour, it had strengthened the inspection system through links with various governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The Committee notes that according to the CUS, the Ministry of Labour does not take adequate measures to ensure that effect is given to the provisions of the Convention in practice. The CUS also reports that children work in quarrying limestone at San Rafael del Sur, in coffee harvesting in the north of the country and in itinerant trading in the streets of Managua.

The Committee takes due note of the awareness-raising activities conducted by the Ministry of Labour to combat child labour. It also notes the statistics supplied in the Government’s report on the inspection services’ work supervising child labour legislation. It observes that in 2010, 624 inspection visits were carried out for this purpose, the number of such inspections having increased every year since 2007. The Government further indicates that 1,350 children and young people benefited in 2010–11 from an informal education strategy known as “educational bridges” under the programme “Coffee harvesting without child labour”. The Committee further notes that following the adoption of Act No. 666 of 4 September 2008 on domestic work, which amends Title VIII, Chapter I, of the Labour Code, labour inspectors have the authority to visit homes that employ children and young persons as domestic workers. Thus, between 2009 and 2010, 577 children and young people were registered as domestic workers by the labour inspection services. Awareness-raising activities were also conducted to inform children and young persons working as domestic workers of their rights. While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government to strengthen and adapt the inspection services’ capacities in the area of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure that children working in limestone quarrying, coffee harvesting and itinerant trading likewise enjoy the protection established in the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to this end.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. Following its previous comments, the Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government on the measures taken to improve the functioning of the education system. It observes in particular that primary and secondary education has been free since 2007 and that the Government has adopted a National Education Strategy (2010–15) and that it launched a national school enrolment campaign in 2010 which aims to make primary education accessible to all children. The Government’s report also indicates that fast-track primary education (three years instead of six) is offered to children over 9 years of age in rural areas to facilitate their access to basic education. The Committee also notes the information in the Education for All: Global Monitoring Report 2010, “Reaching the marginalized”, published by UNESCO the net primary enrolment ratio rose by 20 per cent over eight years, reaching 96 per cent in 2007. It nonetheless notes that 56 per cent of children enrolled in primary school drop out before reaching the last grade. The rate of children dropping out of the first year of primary education is also particularly high compared to the average rate of other countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region (26 per cent in Nicaragua as compared to the regional average of 4 per cent). The Committee further notes that pursuant to the 2006 Education Act, schooling is compulsory only to the age of 12. The Committee observes that the requirement set in Article 2(3) of the Convention is met to the extent that the minimum age of admission to employment or work (14 years) is not lower than the age of the end of compulsory schooling (11 years). It nonetheless takes the view that the age of admission to employment or work needs to be linked to the age at which compulsory education ends. Where the two ages do not coincide a number of problems may arise. If compulsory schooling ends before young people may lawfully work, there may be a period of enforced inactivity. The Committee therefore considers that it is desirable to ensure compulsory education up to the minimum age of admission to employment or work, in accordance with Paragraph 4 of the Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146). Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure compulsory schooling up to the minimum age of admission to employment or work of 14 years. It also requests the Government to continue to take steps to increase school attendance rates and reduce the school drop-out rates so as to prevent children under 14 years of age from working. It requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this respect.

Article 3(2). Determining types of hazardous work. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with satisfaction the adoption of Ministerial Agreement JCHG-08-06-10 of 19 August 2010, which replaces the list of hazardous jobs approved by Ministerial Agreement VGC-AM-0020-10-06 of 14 November 2006. It notes that under section 1 of the Agreement, hazardous work is prohibited for children and young persons under 18 years of age and that section 6 gives a detailed list of the types of work so defined. It notes that section 6 defines 36 types of different tasks prohibited for persons under 18 years of age, including a working day of over six hours (section 6(F)(3)), night work (section 6(F)(4)), work that interferes with school activities (section 6(F)(8)) and various hazardous jobs in agriculture. The Committee also notes that according to the Government, a series of activities have been developed in ten or so cities in Nicaragua to promote and publicize the new list of hazardous jobs.