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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Mexico (RATIFICATION: 2015)

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Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application in practice of the Convention. The Committee notes, from the Government’s report, the adoption of a new National Programme for the Protection of Children and Young Persons (PRONAPINNA) 2021–24, which continues to set out strategies and areas of work and facilitates the articulation of the public administration at the three levels of government (central, federal and municipal) and the private and social sectors. Among these strategies, the Committee notes Priority Strategy 3.4 which aims to “promote the eradication of child labour and comprehensively protect the rights of working adolescents of permitted age”, and Action point 3.4.1 “strengthen and coordinate the mechanisms implemented by the Federal Public Administration (APF) to prevent and eliminate child labour”.

The Committee also notes the adoption of the Labour and Social Welfare Sectoral Programme 2020–24, which outlines the need to address the structural causes of child labour as a priority and implement strategic actions to prevent and eradicate it. As part of the efforts established in the Sectoral Programme, the Secretariat of Labour and Social Welfare, through the Inter-ministerial Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour and the Protection of Adolescents Workers of Permitted Age in Mexico (CITI), created in June 2020 the National Network of Local Commissions for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour and the Protection of Adolescent Workers of Permitted Age. The objective of this National Network is to strengthen and improve the articulation of the institutions at the three levels of government, to carry out actions of prevention and eradication of child labour as well as restitution of their rights. The Government also indicates that, in December 2021, the CITI approved a Work Plan 2021–24 to strengthen the surveillance mechanisms to combat child labour and its worst forms, promoting effective complaint mechanisms through actions such as: (1) updating and publishing the Labour Inspection Protocol on the eradication of child labour and the protection of permitted adolescent work; (2) strengthening the coordination between relevant authorities; (3) promoting a mechanism for handling and monitoring complaints relating to child labour; and (4) integrating into inspection programmes identification criteria of child labour, in order to improve the effectiveness of investigations.

The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that, in 2022, it started the implementation phase of the project “Building a Comprehensive Government Approach towards Combating Child Labour and Forced Labour in Mexico” (ACCIONNAR), in cooperation with the Department of Labour of the United States of America (USDOL) and the ILO. The project will run until 2027, with the objective of ensuring a better coordination between all levels of government authorities for a better implementation of laws, policies and programmes to combat child labour in all its forms, forced labour and trafficking in persons. The Committee welcomes the measures taken by the Government and requests it to provide information on the implementation of the PRONAPINNA 2021–24, the Labour and Social Welfare Sectoral Programme 2020-2024 and the ACCIONNAR Project, and their impact on the elimination of child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the National Network of Local Commissions for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour with regard to the prevention of child labour and ensuring its progressive elimination.

Child domestic workers and child migrant workers in agriculture. With regard to its previous comments on the measures taken to address child domestic labour, which particularly affects girls, the Committee notes with interest the adoption of Decree of 2 July 2019 amending the Federal Labour Act, which inserts a new section 331 bis prohibiting the employment of children younger than 15 years in domestic work and allowing the employment of young persons of more than 15 years in domestic work. Such work may be carried out provided that the employer shall: (1) request a medical certificate from a public health institution at least twice a year; (2) set working hours that do not exceed six hours daily and 36 hours weekly; and (3) avoid employing young persons over 15 years of age who have not completed their compulsory education, except when the employer takes the responsibility of ensuring its completion. The Committee notes, from the 2019 National Survey on Child Labour (ENTI) of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), that in 2019, 19.3 million children aged 5 to 17 years were engaged in domestic chores in their homes, and that among these, 1.2 million were doing so during prolonged hours or in a dangerous environment or a dangerous place.

With regard to the involvement of children, especially children of migrant farmworkers, in agriculture, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in December 2021, it adopted the National Programme for the Protection of Children and Adolescents 2021–24, the main strategy of which is the implementation of actions and programmes for the educational inclusion of girls, boys and adolescents at risk of child labour, with emphasis on migrant families in agricultural work and those who perform domestic work. The Government also indicates that Specific action 2.1.9 of PRONOPINNA 2021-2024 seeks to “coordinate strategies, actions and programmes for the educational inclusion of children and adolescents at risk of child labour, with emphasis on families who are migrant agricultural workers and children engaged in paid domestic work”. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to ensure the protection of children from child labour by ensuring compliance with the minimum age for admission to employment, particularly for child migrant workers in agriculture and children engaged in domestic work.

Article 2(1). Scope of application. Informal economy. In its report under the application of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Government indicates that according to the 2019 ENTI Survey, the rate of child labour in informal activities in urban areas decreased from 4.6 per cent in 2017 to 4.3 per cent in 2019. The Government indicates that Mexico City has registered the most significant advances in the reduction of child labour in urban areas: among the 50,000 children under 18 years of age engaged in child labour, 1,553 worked in the streets, and 752 engaged in commercial activities on public roads and in the stations of the Collective Transport system, for a total of 2,305 children in informal activities. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that, through the Child Labour Attention Strategy launched in August 2020, 1,423 children were removed from the informal economy in Mexico City. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to protect children and prevent them from engaging in child labour in informal activities, with an emphasis on children in urban areas, including their impact and the results achieved.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that article 3 of the Constitution, on compulsory education, was amended by Decree published in the Diario Oficial on 15 May 2019. It notes with interest that the amendment adds a paragraph providing that compulsory education shall also be “universal, inclusive, public, free and secular”. The Government further states that, for the year 2020–21, the enrolment rate for basic education (up to 14 years) was 92 per cent, a decrease compared to previous years (94 per cent in 2019–20 and 95.2 per cent in 2017–18). The Committee notes the Government’s explanation that the decrease in the enrolment rate is partly due to the measures of confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the progressive decline in births in the country. It adds that, to ensure a wide educational coverage, it has increased the allocated budget to education in 2021 compared to 2020. Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective methods of combating child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken with a view to guaranteeing in practice that all children up to the age of 15 years have access to compulsory education.

Article 8. Artistic performances. The Committee recalls that section 175 bis of the Federal Labour Act provides that, under certain conditions, artistic production, scientific development, sport, musical talent or artistic and visual performances are not considered to be work when children under the age of 15 years are under the responsibility, supervision and care of parents or legal guardians. It notes that the Government does not provide information on the measures taken to ensure that children who participate in such activities are protected by the Convention, but merely refers to sections 60 and 61 of the General Act on the rights of boys, girls and young persons, which guarantee children’s right to rest and leisure. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether, in practice, children under the age of 15 years participate in artistic performances, within or outside the family. If so, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to establish, in practice, a system of issuing individual permits for children under 15 years of age who are engaged in artistic performances, and determine the conditions under which such authorizations are granted.

Article 9(1). Penalties. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, during the period 2020–21, 215 labour violations were noted at the local level for cases of child labour, but that the types and amounts of the penalties imposed were not registered. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on: (i) the application in practice of the penalties established in the Federal Penal Code and the Federal Labour Law, in the context of sanctions for employers who engage children under the age of 18 years in hazardous work and those who engage children under the age of 15 years for work or employment; and (ii) to ensure that this information include the number and type of offences committed, and the penalties imposed.