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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Niger (RATIFICATION: 1978)

The Committee notes the communication of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), of 31 August 2011, and the Government’s reply to the ITUC’s allegations, received on 14 November 2011.

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee noted previously that the Labour Code does not apply to types of employment or work performed by children outside an enterprise, such as work performed by children on their own account. It noted the Government’s indication that the broadening of the scope of application of the labour legislation to children engaged in an economic activity on their own account would require formal collaboration between the Ministries of the Civil Service, Labour, Mines, the Interior, Justice and Child Protection. In that respect, it reminded the Government that the Convention applies to all sectors of economic activity and that it covers all types of employment or work, whether or not a contractual employment relationship exists.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a national survey of the informal economy will be organized by the National Statistical Institute (INS) in 2012 which will make it possible to measure the extent of the phenomenon of children working on their own account and will enable the labour administration to intervene more effectively in this field. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the INS survey of the informal economy is completed effectively in the very near future and that discussions on this matter are held between the Ministries concerned. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this respect.

Article 2(3). Compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Ten-year Educational Development Programme (PDDE), drawn up in 2002, aimed at achieving an 80 per cent enrolment rate in primary school by 2012 and 84 per cent by 2015, with special emphasis on narrowing the gap between boys and girls.

However, the Committee noted that, in its concluding observations of 18 June 2009 (CRC/C/NER/CO/2, paragraph 66), the Committee on the Rights of the Child, while commending the major efforts made by Niger to expand access to primary education, as well as the increase in the access of girls to education, the building of new educational infrastructures in rural areas and the training programmes for teachers, expressed concern at the poor quality of the education system, the high drop-out rate and weak gender equity in education. The Committee also observed that the low rate of school attendance of children between 7 and 12 years of age shows that a significant number of children drop out of school well before attaining the minimum age for admission to employment and are on the labour market.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is continuing its ceaseless efforts in the field of education and that encouraging results have already been obtained in that respect. As a result, according to the Government, the growth in the gross school attendance rate in primary school, which was 57.1 per cent (47.7 per cent for girls and 66.7 per cent for boys) in 2006–07, rose to 67.8 per cent (58.6 per cent for girls and 77 per cent for boys) in 2008–09. However, the Committee notes that, according to the National Survey on Child Labour in Niger (ENTE) of 2009, 43.2 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 years and 62.5 per cent of children between the ages of 12 and 13 years in Niger are engaged in types of child labour to be abolished, at an age when they are supposed to be at school, as school attendance is compulsory up to 14 years. According to the ENTE, 22.8 per cent of children between the ages of 7 and 11 years and 23 per cent of children aged 12 and 13 years do not attend school because they consider that education is not useful, while 18.7 per cent of children between the ages of 7 and 11 years and 15 per cent of children aged 12 and 13 do not attend school because they assist with household work. Despite the efforts made by the Government, the Committee expresses its concern at the persistence of the low rates of school attendance. It observes that poverty is one of the primary causes of child labour and, when combined with a defective education system, prevents the development of the child. Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee urges the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system and to take measures to enable children to attend compulsory basic education. It also requests the Government to continue taking measures to increase the school attendance rate and reduce the school drop-out rate, particularly for girls, with a view to preventing children under 14 years of age from working. The Committee further requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved.

Article 3(3). Authorization to employ young persons in hazardous work from the age of 16 years. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that Decree No. 67-126/MFP/T of 7 September 1967 authorizes the employment of young persons over 16 years of age in certain types of hazardous work. It also noted that health and safety committees have been established in enterprises and that they are responsible for training and awareness raising on safety. The Committee observed that these committees do not appear to provide adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. In this respect, the Government indicated that a distinction needs to be made between three categories of young persons: those whose activities are performed in the context of a formal school curriculum, namely students in technical and vocational training schools; those who work in the context of an apprenticeship contract, supervised by one or more professional adults with many years of experience in the trade; and those who are trained under the traditional system for learning a trade and whose superior/trainer has also been trained under this system of transmission of practical knowledge. With regard to the latter category, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the manner in which the health and safety committees ensure that the work performed by young persons does not jeopardize their health or safety.

Once again noting the absence of information in the Government’s report, the Committee once again recalls that, in addition to the requirement of training, Article 3(3) of the Convention allows employment or work by young persons as from the age of 16 years in hazardous types of work only on the condition that their health, safety and morals are fully protected. Observing that this matter has been raised on many occasions, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that enterprise safety and health committees ascertain that the conditions of work of young persons aged between 16 and 18 years do not jeopardize their health and safety. It once again requests the Government to provide information on this subject in its next report.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that studies were being conducted in the country, including the ENTE undertaken by the INS in collaboration with ILO–IPEC and in partnership with a consortium of NGOs, and that the Government would provide the findings of the ENTE when they were published.

The Committee notes the allegations by the ITUC that 46 per cent of children of school age are engaged in work under arduous conditions and perform types of work which exceed their physical capacities. Children also frequently work with their families in rural areas and participate in work in fields, crushing cereals, tending animals, seeking firewood and water.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its reply to the ITUC’s allegations that the rate of 46 per cent alleged by the ITUC is only an approximate figure.

However the Committee notes that, according to the findings of the ENTE, children who were economically active in 2009 represented 50.4 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 years and that the phenomenon of child labour is more significant in rural than in urban areas. It also shows that in Niger girls are much more engaged in work than boys. Furthermore, 83.4 per cent of the children aged between 5 and 17 years who are economically active, that is 1,604,236 children, are engaged in types of work to be abolished (i.e. all types of work that are prohibited by the Convention). Of these, 1,187,840 children are involved in hazardous types of work. In other words, nearly two out of three children (61.8 per cent) between the ages of 5 and 17 who are economically active perform their work under hazardous conditions, with the rate being 63.6 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 years and 57.9 per cent of children aged 12 and 13. The findings of the ENTE also indicate that children engaged in the types of work to be abolished mostly work in domestic service (65.5 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 years and 44.5 per cent of children aged 12 and 13), trade (16.7 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 years and 21.7 of children aged 12 and 13), agriculture (12.8 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 years and 18.3 per cent of children aged 12 and 13) and industry (3.8 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 years and 6.2 per cent of children aged 12 and 13). The Committee expresses its deep concern at the high number of children engaged in work in Niger who are below the minimum age for admission to employment and work, and that the significant proportion of these children who work under hazardous conditions. It strongly encourages the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the situation with regard to child labour in the country and requests it to continue providing information in its next report on the application of the Convention in practice, including extracts from the reports of the labour inspection services indicating the number and nature of the contraventions reported and the penalties applied. It requests the Government to provide statistical data in its next report disaggregated by sex and age group, on the nature, extent and trends of child labour and work by young persons under the minimum age specified by the Government when ratifying the Convention.