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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - El Salvador (RATIFICATION: 1996)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy for the eradication of child labour, labour inspection and application in practice. The Committee previously noted the measures adopted by the Government within the context of the road map to make El Salvador free from child labour and its worst forms and requested it to continue its efforts to remove children from child labour, especially those engaged in hazardous types of work. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that, although the period of implementation of the road map has finished (2015–17), efforts have continued for the progressive elimination of child labour at the national level. In this regard, the Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Development, together with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, have carried out awareness-raising campaigns on child labour. The National Council for Children and Young Persons, through local committees for the rights of children and young persons, has undertaken various dissemination, training and technical support activities related to the prevention and eradication of child labour in the different departments of the country. The Committee notes the extensive statistical data provided by the Government, according to which the number of children engaged in child labour fell from 141,609 in 2014 to 93,283 in 2019, and the sectors with the greatest incidence of child labour are: agriculture (41.2 per cent), where hazardous tools are used by children; and commerce, hotels and restaurants (32.2 per cent). It notes that the indicators of child labour below the minimum age and hazardous types of child labour fell between 2014 and 2019 from 2.9 to 2.0 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 years for work below the minimum age and from 1.5 to 1.0 per cent for hazardous types of work, respectively; and that the total number of presumed victims of child labour in 2019, according to the reported crime information system, was 29 (including four children between 0 and 8 years of age, four children between 9 and 11 years of age and ten children between 12 and 14 years of age).

With reference to the labour inspections carried out on child labour, the Government indicates that the Standing Plan for Child Labour Inspections is continuing to be followed by the General Directorate of Labour Inspection at the national level. The Committee notes that the number of scheduled child labour inspections has decreased progressively from 1,155 inspections carried out in 2018, to 951 in 2019 and 557 in 2020. In this regard, the Government indicates that the decrease in the number of inspections in previous years was largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced inspection-related activities. The Committee notes that the number of inspections in which children were identified as being engaged in child labour was six in 2018, two in 2019 and two in the period between January and May 2021.

While welcoming the information provided by the Government, according to which the rate of child labour fell between 2014 and 2019, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted to prevent child labour and ensure its progressive elimination, particularly for children and young persons engaged in hazardous activities, with an indication of the results achieved. Taking into account the Government’s indication that most child labour is concentrated in the agricultural sector, including hazardous types of work, and that on the other hand the number of labour inspections has decreased, the Committee encourages the Government to renew its efforts to strengthen the capacities of the labour inspection services so that they can monitor child labour in all sectors, including the informal economy. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on this subject, with an indication of the number and nature of the violations detected and the penalties imposed.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the low rate of school attendance by children and young persons in rural areas and requested the Government to continue taking the necessary measures to raise the school attendance rate of children below the minimum age for admission to employment, which is 14 years, particularly in rural areas. The Committee notes that, according to the statistics provided by the Government, in general, the school drop-out rate has fallen from 6.6 per cent in 2014 to 4.2 per cent in 2019. However, it observes that the school attendance rate for children up to the age of 14 years fell from 96.6 per cent in 2014 to 77.9 per cent in 2019. The Committee notes that the Government has continued implementing the accelerated education programme for the first and second cycles of basic education, as a means of enabling vulnerable persons, including children and young workers, to study at flexible times and in accordance with their needs. Between 2017 and May 2021 a total of 9,997 students have been covered by this programme. The Committee requests the Government to continue taking measures to increase school attendance and retention rates for children under 14 years of age (the minimum age declared by El Salvador for admission to employment) and to provide updated information on this subject, if possible disaggregated by department and age.