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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Nigeria (RATIFICATION: 2002)

Article 8 of the Convention. Artistic performances. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that section 8(a)(ii) of the Labour Standards Bill provides for an exception to the minimum age provisions whereby a child may be employed following a permit issued by the Minister. It also noted that according to section 8(2), young persons under the age of 18 years may not be employed for more than four hours a day or more than 28 hours per week, whether on school days or on holidays.

With regard to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that no permits have been issued pursuant to section 8(a)(ii) of the Labour Standards Bill and no consultations with the employers’ and workers’ organizations have been conducted on the need to issue individual permits for participation in artistic performances. The Committee recalls that, by virtue of Article 8 of the Convention, children below the minimum age of admission to employment or work of 15 years, who are employed in artistic activities, shall do so on the basis of individual permits granted by the competent authority. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to establish, in practice, a system of issuing individual permits for children under 15 years of age who are engaged in artistic and sports activities, pursuant to section 8(a)(ii) of the Labour Standards Bill, after consultations with employers’ and workers’ organizations. It also expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the revised Labour Standards Bill which contains provisions regulating the participation of children in artistic performances, is adopted in the near future. Lastly the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of children under 15 who are involved in artistic performances.

Article 9(1). Penalties. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that section 9(3) of the revised Labour Standards Bill establishes penalties for the offences related to the employment of children and young persons as prescribed in the First Schedule. The Government report also states that the revised Labour Standards Bill provides clarification of the penalty scale indicated in the First Schedule. The Committee once again expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that the revised Labour Standards Bill will provide for sufficiently dissuasive penalties for the offences related to the employment of children and young persons. It also requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of such penalties following the adoption of the Labour Standards Bill.

Labour inspectorate. With regard to the labour inspection services, the Committee notes the Government’s information that the Ministry of Labour has embarked on specific child labour inspections and that the inspection tools and forms have been reviewed and revised accordingly. The Government states that the labour inspectorate has carried out a number of inspections through the 36 State Labour Offices and the Federal Capital Territory Labour Offices while the State Steering Committee, in collaboration with other stakeholders, have made concerted efforts in the fight against child labour in the country. The Government also indicates that budgetary provisions have been made in the 2022 Appropriation Act for the extension of Labour Inspection Services to workplaces in the informal Sector. The process of characterization, categorization and the development of effective guidelines to labour inspection in the informal sector will soon be developed by the Ministry. The Committee further notes the information provided by the Government on the data collected concerning the employment of children and young persons in the informal sector which indicated a total of 5,404 children in 2018; 6,933 in 2019; and 2,996 in 2020. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the labour inspection services carried out by the labour inspectorate as well as by the State Steering Committees for Child Labour to monitor the work performed by children and young persons, including in the informal economy and the results achieved. It further requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to extend the labour inspection services to the informal economy and their impact in eliminating child labour in the informal sector.