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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Morocco (RATIFICATION: 2000)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to employment and application of the Convention in practice. 1. Children working in informal artisanal activities and other sectors. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the information sent by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), according to which child labour was common in informal artisanal activities. It also noted that, according to the report entitled “Understanding children’s work in Morocco” (pages 19, 20, 22 and 23), some 372,000 children between 7 and 14 years of age, representing 7 per cent of the reference group, were engaged in work, while for the 12 to 14 age group, 18 per cent of children were economically active. According to this study, 87 per cent of working children were in rural areas, where they worked in agriculture. In urban areas, children were employed in textiles, commerce and repair work. However, the Committee observed that, under section 4 of the Labour Code, employers in purely traditional sectors, namely those involving manual work, with the assistance of their partners, ascendants and descendants, and with a maximum of five assistants, at home or in another place of work, for the purpose of manufacturing traditional products for commercial sale, are excluded from the scope of application of the Code. The Committee therefore concluded that children employed in informal artisanal activities, or formal artisanal activities involving five employees or fewer, do not enjoy the protection of the Labour Code and, consequently, do not benefit from the application of the minimum age of 15 years. The Committee noted the Government’s indication that a bill to determine the conditions of work and employment in activities of a purely traditional nature had been prepared in collaboration with the Department of Artisanal Activities and was in the process of being adopted. The bill includes a section prohibiting work for children under 15 years of age, in accordance with sections 143 and 153 of the Labour Code.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s statement to the effect that the Bill concerning conditions of work and employment in activities of a purely traditional nature was examined by the Council of the Government on 25 December 2014. It further notes the statement that a survey of children’s work in small agricultural undertakings was conducted in 2013–14 in collaboration with ILO–IPEC. The Committee notes that, according to the information contained in the report on the aforementioned survey, of a total of 492 children featuring in the survey, the average age of children working in small agricultural undertakings is 14.3 years, with the over-15 age group accounting for nearly 57 per cent and the under-12 age group for 10 per cent of the total (page 90). It further notes that the average school drop-out age is 13 years (page 90). Recalling that the Convention applies to all sectors, including the informal economy, the Committee urges the Government to ensure that the Bill is adopted in the near future and to send a copy to the Office, once it has been adopted. It requests the Government to continue its efforts to combat child labour and requests it to provide information on the implementation of any relevant projects, and on the results achieved in terms of the progressive abolition of child labour, particularly in the artisanal and agricultural sectors.

2. Child domestic workers. With regard to the issue of child domestic labour, the Committee requests the Government to refer to its detailed comments on the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

Article 9(1). Penalties. The Committee previously noted that section 151 of the Labour Code provides that the employment of a child under 15 years of age, in breach of section 143 of the Labour Code, shall be punishable by a fine of 25,000–30,000 dirhams (MAD) (US$3,000–3,600), and that a repeat offence is subject to a term of imprisonment of six days to three months and/or a fine of MAD50,000–60,000 (US$6,000–7,200). It nevertheless noted that sections 150 and 183 of the Labour Code provide for a fine of MAD300–500 (between US$36 and 60) for breaches of section 147 of the Labour Code (prohibiting the employment of children under 18 years of age in hazardous work) or section 179 (prohibiting the employment of children under 18 years of age in quarries or mines, or in work likely to hamper their growth). The Committee also noted that, before resorting to penalties, labour inspectors must give advice and information to employers on the dangers to which child workers are exposed. Under the terms of sections 542 and 543 of the Labour Code, a labour inspector who detects a violation of the safety and health provisions or regulations that poses an imminent risk to the workers’ health or safety shall issue an order requiring the employer to take all the necessary measures immediately. If the employer refuses or fails to comply with the requirements of the order, the labour inspector shall immediately refer the matter to the president of the court of first instance, who may give the employer a deadline for taking all necessary steps to prevent the imminent danger and may order the closure of the establishment and determine, where appropriate, the necessary duration of the closure. The Committee observed that persons who have employed children in breach of the provisions giving effect to the Convention are not generally prosecuted if such employment is brought to an end.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that, in 2014, labour inspectors carried out 610 inspections in which they made 2,573 observations, issued 60 compliance notices and reported 42 offences. The Government indicates that these observations related to 112 children under 15 years of age who were to be removed definitively from work and 604 children between 15 and 18 years of age who were to be removed from hazardous work. Labour inspectors, who received a specific training on child labour, identified as focal points, removed 110 children under 15 years of age from work and 338 children from hazardous work. However, the Committee notes the lack of information on any penalties for persons committing such offences. The Committee also notes with regret the lack of information in the Government’s report on any legislative amendments relating to penalties for violations of the ban on employing children under 18 years of age in hazardous work. The Committee recalls that the penalties envisaged in sections 150 and 183 of the Labour Code in relation to the employment of children under 18 years of age in hazardous work are still not sufficiently adequate and dissuasive to ensure the application of the provisions of the Convention respecting hazardous work, in accordance with Article 9(1) of the Convention, particularly when compared with the penalties envisaged in section 151 of the Labour Code, which are much more severe. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that any person in breach of the provisions prohibiting the employment of children under 18 years of age in hazardous work is prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are applied. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the type of violations of the Convention detected by the labour inspection services, the number of persons prosecuted for each type of violations and the penalties imposed, particularly in relation to the provisions giving effect to the Convention.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.