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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Tajikistan (RATIFICATION: 1993)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous observation on the following matters:

The Committee recalls that the minimum age of 16 years for admission to employment or work was specified under Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention as regards Tajikistan. It noted, however, that section 174 of the new Labour Code (Act of 15 May 1997) only prohibits the employment of persons under the age of 15 in contrast to the previous Code which fixed the minimum age of 16 years. The Committee recalls that the lowering of the existing minimum age is contrary to the principle of the Convention, which is to raise the minimum age as provided by Articles 1 and 2(2). It also recalls that Article 7 of the Convention allows, as an exception, the employment or work of persons 13 to 15 years of age on only light work which is not likely to be harmful to their health or development and not such as to prejudice their attendance at school. Other than such light work, work done by children under 16 years of age, must be prohibited. Therefore, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged, pursuant to its declaration under Article 2, to ensure that access to employment of children of 15 years of age may be allowed, exceptionally, only for work meeting the criteria set out in Article 7.

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