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

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Article 2(1) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to employment or work and application of the Convention in practice. Children working in informal artisanal activities and other sectors. The Committee recalls that informal artisanal activities and formal artisanal activities involving five employees or fewer, are excluded from the application of the Labour Code under section 4. Therefore, section 143 of the Labour Code, which sets a minimum age of 15 years for employment or work, does not apply to these sectors. In this regard, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government, in its report, indicating that the bill concerning conditions of work and employment in activities of a purely traditional nature, prohibiting work for children under 15 years of age in this sector, was amended and referred to the Secretariat-General of the Government in 2017. It indicates that in 2022, consultations on the bill were resumed by the Department of Economic Inclusion of Small Enterprises and Employment, with the Department responsible for handicrafts and the Moroccan Federation of Chambers of Handicrafts. However, the Government indicates that the adoption process has been delayed by another bill concerning the exercise of artisanal activities, as well as the exceptional circumstances imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that one of the conditions for obtaining the national quality label for handicrafts is the non- employment of children under 15 years of age. This measure seeks to promote quality among craftworkers and enterprises in the artisanal sector. The Government also indicates that it will continue to fund the apprenticeship training programme, in accordance with the provisions of section 6 of Act No. 12-00 on vocational training, which requires beneficiaries to be over 15 years of age. The Committee reiterates the firm hope that the bill concerning conditions of work and employment in activities of a purely traditional nature will be adopted in the very near future and requests the Government to send a copy when it has been adopted. It requests the Government to continue its efforts to combat child labour, especially in the artisanal sector.

Child domestic workers. As regards 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. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that labour inspectors recorded 509 observations relating to child labour and removed 13 children under 15 years of age from child labour and 37 children aged 16 to 18 from hazardous work. Moreover, in 2021, the Department responsible for labour signed eight partnership agreements with civil society associations in this regard. As part of the implementation of these agreements, a total of 332 children under 15 years of age were removed from child labour and 180 children aged 16 to 18 were removed from hazardous work.

However, the Committee once again notes with regret that the Government has not sent any information on the number of persons prosecuted and the penalties imposed on persons violating provisions giving effect to the Convention. Furthermore, the Committee notes with concern that, despite the fact that it has been raising this issue since 2005, the penalties for violating the prohibition on the employment of children under 18 years of age in hazardous work still do not constitute an adequate deterrent to ensure the application of the provisions of the Convention concerning hazardous work. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures, without delay, to ensure that all persons who employ children under 18 years of age in hazardous work are prosecuted and incur penalties that constitute an effective and adequate deterrent, in accordance with Article 9(1) of the Convention and in line with the more severe penalties envisaged in section 151 of the Labour Code. The Committee also encourages the Government to address the root causes of child labour in the country. The Committee also 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 violation and the penalties imposed, particularly in relation to the provisions giving effect to the Convention.

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