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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Lesotho (RATIFICATION: 2001)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour. The Committee previously noted the adoption of the Action Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (APEC) 2013–17/18 which aims to reduce the incidence of child labour and its worst forms to less than 1 per cent by 2016, while laying a strong policy and institutional foundation for eliminating all other forms of child labour in the longer term. The Committee requested the Government to provide detailed information on the concrete measures taken within the framework of the APEC for eliminating child labour as well as the results achieved.

The Committee notes from the Progress report on the implementation of the APEC (Progress Report) attached along with the Government report, that the APEC was endorsed by all districts and coordinated efforts to eliminate child labour were undertaken. Further achievements of the APEC as indicated in the Progress Report include: (i) revising the Labour Code to strengthen the child labour provisions, to extend its scope and labour inspection services to cover the informal economy; (ii) developing child labour awareness brochures in English and Sesotho and making it available for the public; (iii) conducting awareness raising campaigns on laws and regulations relevant to child labour covering 80 per cent of the districts between 2016 and 2018; (iv) conducting six awareness raising campaigns on the guidelines for the elimination of child labour in the agricultural sector with special attention to herd boys in the districts of Botha-Bothe and Qacha’s Nek; (v) establishing Community Child Protection Teams in at least 20 communities to monitor child labour at community level; and (vi) adopting programmes for bringing out-of-school children and school drop-outs to formal education. Moreover, within the programmes to support the needy and the vulnerable families 28,000 children were provided with scholarships for secondary education while 33,000 households benefited from the Child Grants Programme. The Committee further notes from the APEC progress report that the lack of resources, in terms of financial and human resources, in simplifying child labour laws for trainings and producing and transporting training materials are all challenges experienced by the Ministry in delivering its responsibility under the APEC. The Committee requests the Government to continue taking effective measures, including through extending the APEC or by developing and adopting other national action plans or programmes for eliminating child labour in the country. It requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged in this regard.

Article 2(1). Scope of application and labour inspectorate. Self-employment and work in the informal economy. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the provisions of the Labour Code excluded self-employment from its scope of application. It noted that a Child Labour Unit was established to assist in the protection of children working in the informal economy. The Committee further noted from the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as from the List of Issues of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families that a high number of children continued to be engaged in animal herding, street trading and domestic work. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the activities undertaken by the Child Labour Unit in protecting children working in the informal economy.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Child Labour Unit conducted trainings and held public gatherings in the districts of Matsieng and Ha-Ramabanta to sensitize the people and government officials on child labour issues. Workshops focusing on sharing knowledge on child labour were also conducted in which representatives of people operating in the informal sector participated. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the Labour Code Amendment Bill which contains provisions extending its scope as well as the labour inspection services to the informal economy is awaiting approval by the Parliament. The Committee notes however, from the Decent Work Country Programme III 2018–23 document that over 50 per cent of the labour force is employed in the informal sector. This document also indicates that regulating and preventing child labour is a major concern since the coverage of labour inspectorate does not include informal economy activities. In this regard the Committee notes that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 25 June 2018, expressed concern that children are involved in herding and domestic work and that child labour negatively affects schooling of children in rural areas (CRC/C/LSO/CO/2, para. 55(a) and (c)). The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the protection afforded by the Convention is granted to self-employed children and children working in the informal economy, including children engaged in herding and domestic work. In this regard, referring to its comments made under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No.81), the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacities and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate so that it can adequately monitor and detect cases of child labour in these sectors. It further requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken in this regard as well as the measures taken by the Child Labour Unit in addressing child labour in the informal economy. The Committee finally expresses the firm hope that the Labour Code Amendment Bill which contains provisions protecting children working in the informal economy and extending labour inspection services to the informal economy, will be adopted and enforced in the near future.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee previously noted that, according to the Education Act of 2010, the age of completion of compulsory education is 13 years in Lesotho, two years before a child is legally eligible to work (15 years). It also noted the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development, was working to make education free and compulsory at the secondary level. The Committee urged the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure compulsory education up to the minimum age of employment of 15 years.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no legal measures have been taken to extend compulsory education up to 15 years. However, a non-formal education policy for out-of-school children has been adopted under the APEC. The Committee reminds the Government that compulsory schooling is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, and underlines the need to link the age for admission to employment or work to the age of completion of compulsory schooling, as established in Paragraph 4 of the Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146). If compulsory schooling comes to an end before children are legally entitled to work, there may arise a vacuum which regrettably opens the door for the economic exploitation of children (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, para. 371). The Committee therefore strongly urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure compulsory education up to the minimum age of employment or work of 15 years. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the results of the Labour Force Survey, which includes a child labour module, are yet to be released. The Committee also notes from the APEC Progress Report that the preliminary report of the 2016 Housing and Population Census shows that 35.9 per cent of children aged 10 years and above are engaged in child labour, of which 21 per cent are engaged in agricultural activities. It further notes the Government’s information that according to the findings of the Lesotho Violence against Children survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Development in 2019, 11.4 per cent of children who are between the ages of 13–17 years are engaged in child labour. Moreover, according to the Rapid Assessment of 2019 on vulnerable populations, it was found that 19.1 per cent of children are engaged in construction projects, 14.9 per cent in farm work, 2.1 per cent in transport, 0.9 per cent in herding and 0.4 per cent in domestic work. While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government to combat child labour, notably within the framework of the APEC, the Committee observes that a high percentage of children below the minimum age are engaged in child labour in Lesotho. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the situation of working children in Lesotho, including the number of children below the minimum age engaged in child labour and the nature, scope and trends of their work. It also requests the Government to provide a copy of the results of the Labour Force Survey, once completed.