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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Indonesia (RATIFICATION: 1999)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted from the 2009 Indonesia Child Labour Survey that there were approximately 1.76 million children engaged in child labour in Indonesia. It urged the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure the elimination of child labour and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.

The Committee takes note of the detailed information provided by the Government in its report concerning the various measures taken to eliminate child labour. These measures include: (i) carrying out awareness-raising activities to prevent and reduce child labour; (ii) disseminating the Child-Labour Free Indonesia Roadmap, pocket books and leaflets to 20 relevant companies, agencies and institutions; (iii) encouraging the private sector to contribute to the prevention of child labour through Corporate Social Responsibility funds; (iv) providing business assistance to parents of children vulnerable to child labour; (v) developing National Guidelines for Community Based Child Labour Elimination in Villages and Districts in collaboration with NGOs; (vi) preparing regional regulations for eliminating child labour; and (vii) reviewing the Child Labour Free Indonesia Roadmap in 2022 and conducting comprehensive collaboration with related ministries and agencies to achieve SDG 8.7 of no child labour by 2030. In addition, several measures to ensure the education of children, particularly children from underprivileged families, remote and disadvantaged areas were implemented through the Smart Indonesia Programme (to prevent children from dropping-out of school) and the National Strategy for Handling Out-of-School children as well as by introducing alternative education through building and equally distributing non-formal education units in remote and disadvantaged areas. Moreover, a Community-based Education/Development Information System was established to identify out-of-school children.

The Government also refers to certain regulations and policies adopted by the Government for the protection of children, in particular the Ministerial Regulation No. 2 of 2020 concerning the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection which, amongst others, aims to reduce child labour; and the Social Minister Decree No. 1 of 2018 concerning the Family Hope Program (PPA-PKH programme) which provides cash to very poor households. The Committee further notes the Government’s information that the Ministry of Manpower, through the Family Hope Program, succeeded in removing from work, 11,252 boys and 6,748 girls in 2019, and 4,078 boys and 4,922 girls in 2020 in various sectors. Overall, from 2008 to 2020, the Child Labour Reduction Programme in support of the Family Hope Programme removed a total of 143,456 children from child labour who returned to school.

The Committee, however, notes from the Government’s Combined 5th and 6th periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child of 2021 that according to the findings of the 2019 National Labour Force Survey, 2.36 million (6.35 per cent) of the workforce are children aged 10–17 years (paragraph 282). While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, and the results achieved in terms of the number of children removed from child labour.

Article 2(1). Scope of application and labour inspection. 1. Informal economy. The Committee previously noted that Act No. 13 of 2003 (Manpower Act) excluded from its application children who are engaged in self-employment or working without a clear wage relationship. It also noted from the 2009 Indonesia Child Labour Survey Report that, 57 per cent of all working children aged 5–17 years were employed in agriculture, including forestry, hunting and fishery. Moreover, out of all working children between the ages of 5–12, 12.7 per cent were self-employed, and 82.5 per cent were unpaid family workers.

With regard to the situation of child labour in the agricultural sector, the Government indicates that the labour inspectorate has made efforts to monitor the situation of child labour in this sector through the declaration of child-labour-free oil palm plantation sector in 287 companies in 35 districts/cities in 7 provinces. It also indicates that Government Regulation No. 78 concerning Special Protection for Children in situations of exploitation and Presidential Regulation No. 25 of 2021 concerning Child-Friendly District/City Policies were adopted for protecting children from child labour. The Committee notes from the Government’s report submitted in 2021 under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) that focus group discussions and training on handling child labour for labour inspectors were conducted. Noting that a vast majority of children working under the minimum age are involved in informal employment which is not covered by the Manpower Act, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Convention is applied to all children, including children working outside an employment relationship. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate services to better monitor children working in the informal economy and on their own account, particularly in the agricultural sector. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the number and nature of violations relating to the employment of children and young persons detected by the labour inspectorate and the penalties imposed.

2. Domestic work. With regard to the protection of children engaged in domestic work, the Committee requests the Government to refer to its detailed comments under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that there appeared to be no provisions in the Manpower Act prescribing that a register be kept and made available by the employer.

The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any relevant information in this regard. The Committee therefore once again recalls that Article 9(3) of the Convention requires employers to keep registers containing the names and ages or dates of birth, duly certified wherever possible, of persons whom they employ or who work for them and who are less than 18 years of age. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures, by amendment of the law or regulation, to ensure that all employers are obliged to keep registers of all persons below the age of 18 years who work for them, in conformity with Article 9(3) of the Convention and to provide information on any measures taken in this regard.

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