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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Thailand (RATIFICATION: 2004)

Articles 2(1) and 3 of the Convention. Scope of application and hazardous work. The Committee previously noted that children working in the informal economy did not benefit from the protection of the Labour Protection Act of 1998 (LPA), including provisions relating to minimum age and hazardous work. It recalled that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity or work (except those excluded pursuant to Article 5 of the Convention), whether it is carried out on the basis of an employment relationship or not, and whether it is remunerated or not.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that there has been a concrete effort to expand the legal protection of the minimum age to all groups of workers, including those in the informal economy. In 2010, the Government enacted the Home Workers Protection Act B.E. 2553. The Government indicates in its report submitted in reply to the list of issues of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, of 20 January 2012, that this Act provides protection for informal workers in the industrial sector (CRC/C/THA/Q/3–4/Add.1, paragraph 61). Section 3 of the Home Workers Protection Act defines “home work” as work assigned by a hirer of an industrial enterprise to a homeworker to be produced or assembled outside of the workplace. Section 20 of the Act prohibits assigning children under 15 years to carry out works which by their nature may be hazardous to their health and safety. In this regard, the Committee recalls that Article 3 of the Convention prohibits hazardous types of work to all children under 18 years of age, including those working in the informal economy and performing industrial work in private homes. Therefore, while taking note of the steps taken by the Government to regulate work of an industrial nature performed in private homes, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that children under 18 are prohibited from performing hazardous work of this nature. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken to ensure that children working in the informal economy benefit from the protection provided by the Convention.

Article 6. Apprenticeship and vocational training. The Committee previously noted the Government’s statement that the Department of Skills Development specified that the minimum age for admission to apprenticeship programmes is 15 years. It requested the Government to indicate if this minimum age was contained in any national legislation or regulation.

The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the Skill Development Promotion Act B.E. 2545, which states that, for the purpose of the Act, the term “employee” means an employee under the LPA. In this regard, the Committee notes that section 44 of the LPA states that it is prohibited to employ a child under the age of 15 years as an employee.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted the Government’s information concerning violations detected related to the employment of children and young persons, and requested that measures be taken to ensure that adequate penalties were imposed on those responsible.

The Committee notes the Government’s response that persons who had been found to be violating the legal provisions relating to the employment of young persons were given an appropriate penalty for these infractions. The Government also states that it has continued to implement preventive measures to address child labour. It has established a child labour network as well as a National Committee on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour chaired by the Prime Minister, aimed at eliminating child labour through efficient policies and measures. The Government indicates that according to the labour inspection report of 2010, labour inspections took place in 49,463 establishments. In addition, the Government indicates that these inspections include 460 establishments employing 3,624 workers between the ages of 15 and 18, but does not provide any information on whether any workers under the minimum age of 15 were detected in the course of these inspections.

The Committee also notes the information of December 2011 from ILO–IPEC, relating to the project entitled “Support for national action to combat child labour and its worst forms in Thailand” that provincial child labour monitoring and referral committees have been initiated in the provinces of Tak, Chiang Rai, Songkhla, Pattani, Samut Sakhon and Udon Thani. ILO–IPEC indicates that through this project, measures were taken to combat child labour in the shrimp and seafood processing industry and in the rubber supply chain, as well as to facilitate access to education for migrant children, including non-formal education.

The Committee notes the statement in the report of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), for the World Trade Organization General Council on the Trade Policies of Thailand of November 2011, entitled “Internationally recognized core labour standards in Thailand” that, in practice, child labour is a problem in the country. This report states that in rural areas, children work in sugar cane, cassava and corn plantations, as well as in rice paddies. Children are also employed in fisheries, shrimp farms and seafood processing under conditions which are often hazardous. In urban areas, children work in sectors such as restaurants, markets, street vending, construction and entertainment. The ITUC further indicates that the labour inspectorate often fails to detect cases of children involved in hazardous work, despite indications that such cases exist. Therefore, while taking due note of the measures taken, the Committee requests the Government to pursue and strengthen its efforts to combat child labour. It requests the Government to provide information, in its next report, on the measures taken to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate and the child labour monitoring system in this regard, as well as measures to ensure that persons found to be in breach of the provisions giving effect to the Convention are prosecuted and that adequate penalties are imposed. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, information on the number and nature of violations detected involving children and young persons, and the penalties applied.