Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 5) - Jersey

CMNT_TITLE

Jersey

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report.

The Committee recalls that the ILO Governing Body at its 349th Session, October–November 2023, on the recommendation of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group (SRM TWG), confirmed the classification of Convention No. 5 as an outdated instrument, and placed an item on the agenda of the 117th Session of the International Labour Conference (2028) for the consideration of its withdrawal.

The Governing Body requested the Office to undertake follow-up action to actively encourage the ratification of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), which is the most up-to-date instrument on minimum age, in Member States in which Convention No. 5 is currently in force. Accordingly, the Committee encourages the Government to follow-up the Governing Body’s decision at its 349th Session (October–November 2023) approving the recommendations of the SRM TWG, and to consider extending the application of Convention No. 138 to Jersey.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes that the Employment of Children (General Provisions) Order, 1989, was repealed by the Act annulling the Employment of Children (General Provisions) Order, 1989, as amended, dated 21 November 1989. It recalls that the Convention prohibits the employment of children under the age of 14 years in any industrial undertaking other than an undertaking in which only members of the same family are employed. The only exception provided for in the Convention concerns work done in technical schools. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the legislative provisions currently in force to give effect to the provisions of the Convention after the Order of 1989 was repealed, and provide their text.

The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of the Convention as required in point V of the report form, including the effect of having raised the school-leaving age to 16 years, and attaching, for example, extracts from official reports, information on the inspection visits made and the number and nature of contraventions reported, and statistics on school attendance.

CMNT_TITLE

Further to its previous comments, the Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government. It notes with interest the adoption of new Orders on the employment of children and the Government's intention to raise the school-leaving age to 16. The Committee therefore requests the Government to report on any progress made in this connection. It would also appreciate receiving a copy of the Children (Jersey) Law, 1969, with all subsequent amendments, as this text is not available in the ILO.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply in its next report information on the practical application of the Convention, including statistics on the employment of children and details on the number and nature of infringements which may have been observed during inspections, as required by point V of the report form on the Convention.