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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (RATIFICATION: 1987)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the communication from the Independent Trade Union Alliance (ASI) of 29 August 2013. It also notes the observations from the Confederation of Workers of Venezuela (CTV) of 16 September 2013 made in relation to the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

Article 1 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments the Committee noted the statements from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to the effect that child labour was widespread in the informal sector and in non-regulated activities in the country. The ITUC stated that, according to certain estimates, some 1.2 million children were working, particularly in agriculture, domestic service and as street vendors, and more than 300,000 were working in the informal economy. The Committee noted that the Ministry of Participation and Social Protection, in conjunction with the National Committee on the Rights of Children and Young Persons (IDENA), launched the “Neighbourhood children’s mission”, a programme aimed at guaranteeing the rights of children and young persons, especially those in situations of extreme poverty, in the context of the goals of the National Economic and Social Development Plan 2007–13.

The Committee notes the concerns of the ASI regarding the increase in the number of children and young persons working in the informal economy, the majority of whom are reportedly performing hazardous work. It also notes the concern of the CTV regarding the fact that official statistics do not allow the true scale of child labour in the informal sector to be grasped.

The Committee notes the statistics supplied in the Government’s report relating to the results of the household survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in 2007. The Government refers in its report to these results and to a UNICEF study on the education and work of children in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela published in 2009, according to which work – defined as any type of gainful employment, including unpaid domestic work in the family home – performed by children showed a certain decrease throughout the country between 1999 and 2007. However, the study reveals that in 2007 some 2.2 per cent of children between 10 and 15 years of age were still involved in gainful employment without attending school.

The Committee notes the statistics supplied in the Government’s report relating to inspections conducted between 2010 and 2013. However, it again expresses concern at the lack of recent information on the number of violations reported and convictions handed down for non-compliance with the legislation on child labour, and also at the lack of recent statistics on the scope and nature of work performed by Venezuelan children and young persons. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure the elimination of child labour and requests it once again to take the necessary measures as soon as possible to ensure that up-to-date statistics on the situation of children and young persons who are working in the country, particularly in hazardous work and the informal economy, are made available. It also requests the Government to include statistics in its next report on the number and nature of violations reported by the labour inspectorate and on convictions applied.

Article 3(2). Determination of hazardous types of work. In its previous comments the Committee noted that the National Institute for Occupational Hazard Prevention, Safety and Health (INPSASEL) was considering whether to adopt a decree that would determine minimum ages higher than 14 years and that, once the list of hazardous types of work had been adopted, minimum ages would be recommended taking account of the best interests of young persons and of their health.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that INPSASEL is still in the process of drawing up a list fixing the minimum ages for types of work which are potentially hazardous for children and young persons. The Government also indicates that the current legislation, namely the 1973 Regulations on occupational safety and health conditions, already prohibits certain types of activity considered to be hazardous for persons under 18 years of age; in this regard, it supplies a list of activities that are supposedly prohibited in the national legislation. Nevertheless, the Committee observes that, even though section 80 of the Regulations prohibits the employment of women and boys under 18 years of age in activities considered to be dangerous or unhealthy, as defined in section 79, the latter refers to a table containing a list of these activities which has not been incorporated in the Regulations or attached to them. The Committee therefore requests the Government to include with its next report a copy of the legal provisions determining activities considered to be dangerous or unhealthy, as referred to by section 79 of the Regulations on occupational safety and health conditions. If such legal provisions have not yet been incorporated in the national legislation, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to rectify this as soon as possible. It requests the Government to provide information on all progress made in this regard, and also on consultations with employers’ and workers’ organizations with a view to determining these activities.

Article 3(3). Admission to hazardous work from the age of 16 years. The Committee previously noted that section 96(1) of the Act of 1998 concerning the protection of children and young persons prohibits the employment of young persons between 14 and 18 years of age in work that is expressly prohibited by law. It noted that, under the terms of section 96, the national executive authority may, by decree, determine minimum ages higher than 14 years for types of work that are dangerous or harmful to the health of young persons.

The Committee notes Decree No. 8938 of 7 May 2012 issuing the Basic Act on labour and workers, which is attached to the Government’s report. It notes that under section 32 the work of children between 14 and 18 years of age will be regulated by the Act of 1998 concerning the protection of children and young persons. It further notes that section 18(8) prohibits the employment of young persons in work that may affect their full development. However, the Committee points out that the term “young person” is not defined in this Act and that, if reference is made to the definition of the term “young person” given in section 2 of the Act of 1998 concerning the protection of children and young persons, this prohibition would only cover children over 12 years of age. Moreover, the Committee points out that Decree No. 1631 of 31 December 1973, issuing the Regulations on occupational safety and health conditions, prohibits dangerous or unhealthy activities, as defined by the national legislation or the Ministry of Labour, for women and boys under 18 years of age.

The Committee wishes to remind the Government that, under Article 3(3) of the Convention, employment or work for young persons between 16 and 18 years of age is only authorized subject to strict conditions ensuring their protection and prior training. It stresses that this provision of the Convention aims to impose clearly defined limits on exceptions to the general rule of prohibiting the employment of young persons under 18 years of age in hazardous types of work and must not be interpreted as a general authorization to employ young persons between 16 and 18 years of age in hazardous work. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures as soon as possible to bring its national legislation into conformity with the Convention, ensuring that the Basic Act concerning labour and workers and the Act concerning the protection of children also prohibit hazardous work for persons under 18 years of age, apart from in the exceptional cases laid down in Article 3(3) of the Convention for persons between 16 and 18 years of age.