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

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to continue providing information on the implementation of the strategy to combat child labour in the informal economy. The Committee notes in the Government’s report that various kinds of measures exist with regard to policies implemented to combat child labour: specific legislation designed to protect minors, activities to prevent truancy and measures to raise awareness among families.

The Committee notes in the Government’s report that the coordinating group of the Government and the social partners to combat exploitation of child labour, established in 1998 by the signing of the “Letter of Intent to promote the rights of the child and adolescents and eliminate exploitation of minors”, includes representatives of the regions and of the provinces, local authorities and NGOs concerned with children and adolescents. Some of the priorities identified include: (a) consideration of the phenomenon of exploitation of child labour with particular attention to the situation of foreign children; (b) family support policies as an area of intervention to combat the worst cases of hardship, and (c) promotion of activities by prefectures, with provision for networking between them in collaboration with local authorities. Representatives from the trade unions and employers’ organizations, together with the National Council for Economics and Labour, UNICEF, the Italian National Institute of Statistics and the ILO, designated a joint approach to combating child labour which included the following actions: (a) investigating the forms of exploitation present in the hidden economy and clandestine immigration; (b) ensuring valid monitoring of child labour by linking data of different administrations and sharing instruments of research and; (c) strengthening the fundamental role of labour inspectors.

The Committee further notes the Government’s indication of the establishment in 2002 of the Inter-institutional Table for the Preparation of a Protocol of Intent to Combat Child Labour and Avoidance of School (the Inter-institutional Table). The Inter-institutional Table was instituted with the purpose of drafting the protocol giving rise to the name of the said Inter-institutional Table. The Inter-institutional Table’s members are composed of representatives from the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (now jointly the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Policies), the Ministry of Education, Universities and Scientific Research, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, the National Association of Italian Municipalities, the Union of Italian Provinces and the interregional technical group. The Inter-institutional Table, among other initiatives, published in 2006 the translation of the ILO Handbook Combating Child Labour: A Handbook for Labour Inspection and distributed it in the national territory with particular attention to regional and provincial labour departments in which labour inspectors operate and at whom the guidelines are aimed. Moreover, the Committee notes that in the Government’s report, the National Centre for Documentation and Analysis for Childhood and Adolescence (the Centre), has continued its work. In 2007, following the result of research in various areas including child labour, the Centre published Questions and documents booklet No. 45 entitled “Experience and good practice pursuant to Act 295/1991”. This work assisted in both identifying the level of awareness in local administrations concerning child labour and also identifying experience supporting the entry into work of adolescents suffering from social and family disadvantages. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the implementation of the strategy to combat child labour in the informal economy.

Article 2, paragraphs 2 and 3. Raising the initially specified age for admission to work and age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee previously noted that section 5 of Legislative Decree No. 345/99, which amends section 3 of Law No. 977 of 1967, states that the minimum age to be admitted to work is fixed at the moment in which the minor has completed the cycle of compulsory education and, in any case, may not be less than 15 years. The Committee notes that section 1, paragraph 622, of Act No. 296 of 27 December 2006 raised the period of compulsory schooling to ten years as of the 2007–08 school year, thereby raising the age of entry to employment from 15 years to 16 years. The Committee takes this opportunity to draw the Government’s attention to Article 2(2) of the Convention, according to which each Member which has ratified the Convention may subsequently notify the Director-General of the ILO, by further declarations, that it specifies a minimum age higher than that previously specified. The Committee requests the Government to consider the possibility of sending such a declaration to the Office.

Article 6. Vocational training and hazardous work. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to take the necessary measures to amend the relevant provisions of Law No. 977 of 17 October 1967, as amended in 1999, in order to ensure that no person under 16 years of age may be authorized to perform types of hazardous work during vocational training.

The Committee notes in the Government’s report that section 7 of Legislative Decree No. 262/2000 modifies section 6 of Act No. 977/1967 as amended by Legislative Decree 345/1999. Thus, the legislation provides that adolescents
(15–18 years of age) may not be assigned to production, processes or work indicated in Annex 1 of Act No. 977/1967, which contains a lengthy listing of types of hazardous work. An exception is made for essential educational or training reasons, other than in the classroom or laboratory, and for the time required for the training itself under the supervision of competent trainers in work environments directly belonging to the trainee’s employer (and thus also in the company’s workplaces). Furthermore, in order to rely on this derogation, the opinion of the competent Local Health Authority (ASL), which must check that the requesting employer is in compliance with occupational safety and health legislation, must be requested prior to the authorization being granted by the provincial labour department.

The Committee further notes that section 1, paragraph 622, of Act No. 296/2006, which raised the age of compulsory education and, by implication, the entry to employment, repeals de facto Act No. 977/1967, as amended by Legislative Decrees 262/2000 and 345/1999. The Committee notes, however, that there appears to be no provision in Act No. 296/2006 which expressly repeals or amends the relevant provisions of Act No. 977/1967, as amended. Hence the Committee observes that Act No. 977/1967, which provides that adolescents
(15–18 years of age) may not be assigned to hazardous work, is still in force. In order to avoid any ambiguity between Act No. 977/1967, as amended, and Act No. 206/2006, which set out different minimum ages at which hazardous work may be undertaken by adolescents during vocational training, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it intends to harmonize the national legislation so as to bring it into conformity with the Convention on this point. It asks the Government to provide information in its next report on any developments in this regard.

Parts III and V of the report form. Labour inspection and practical application of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s report that, in 2006, 1,601 illegally employed minors out of a total of 3,195 minors employed in the businesses visited were detected; in 2007, the number of illegally employed minors was 1,251 out of 2,958, representing 50.1 per cent and 42.3 per cent for the years 2006 and 2007, respectively. The number of violations of child labour laws in 2006 was 2,390 compared with 2,245 in 2007. The ratio of legally to illegally employed minors was 45.1 per cent, 48.67 per cent and 33.77 per cent for the North, the Centre and the South, respectively.

The Committee also notes that in the Government’s report, in the specific area of inspection and supervision, particular attention was paid to child labour in the 2008 strategic objectives identified by the Ministry of Labour, General Inspectorate of Labour, the National Social Security Institute (INPS), the National Occupational Accident Insurance Institute (INAIL) and the National Theatre and Professional Sports Workers Social Security Agency (ENPALS). The inspection measures, carried out by the provincial labour departments and social security institutes, are aimed at areas where child labour is more widespread.

In the Government’s report, the Committee notes that, with respect to special surveillance programmes aimed at controlling and preventing black labour, in particular child labour, the most significant operations are detailed as follows: (1) Operation “Blue Waters”, carried out from June to August 2006, monitored violations and evasions of legislative and contractual provisions in the hotel and tourism industry. The surveillance operation was coordinated by the directors of the regional departments and carried out by inspectors from 21 local offices, the carabinieri units serving in the provincial departments concerned, the INPS, the INAIL and the ENPALS. In the course of the operation, which covered 2,258 companies, 3,081 cases of illegal workers, including 308 children, were found; (2) Operation “Ladybird”, was carried out from June to December 2007 by the INPS, the State Forestry Service and the carabinieri units of the local offices involved. Over the whole national territory, 5,160 farms were inspected, with particular attention to the agricultural areas, and 65 illegally employed minors were found; (3) Operation “Dolphins” ’ objective was to carry out inspections in the hotel and tourism industry in 14 regions in collaboration with the provincial labour departments, their respective carabinieri units, the INPS, the INAIL and the ENPALS in July and August 2007. It was coordinated by the directors of the regional labour departments and involved 27 provincial departments, 3,104 businesses were investigated and 274 illegally employed minors were found; (4) Operation “Italian Food” was aimed at the service sector in historical centres of nine metropolitan cities. It was carried out by the general inspectorate with the regional labour departments and coordinated by the directors of the new provincial bodies concerned, using their own inspection staff and the respective carabinieri units. Aiming to detect violations of legislation on recruitment and legalization of the social security and insurance situation of employees, inspections were carried out in 594 businesses and 16 minors were found employed illegally; (5) Operation “Great Wall” was carried out in November 2007 with the aim of monitoring the significant illegal employment of citizens from China. The operation involved 11 regions and 19 provincial labour departments with the support of respective carabinieri units.  The inspections concerned artisanal workers, primarily in the textiles, leather and hides sectors, as well as firms in public commerce and trade, 566 businesses were inspected and nine illegally employed minors were found. The Committee takes due note of this information and requests the Government to continue providing information on the application of the Convention in practice, including statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, extracts from the reports of inspection services and information on the number and nature of violations detected involving children.