Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Ukraine (Ratification: 1979)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report and of the communication of the Confederation of the Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KSPU) for the period from 31 May 2004 to 31 May 2005, received with the Government’s report. The Committee also takes note of the detailed discussion which took place at the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards of the 92nd Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2004. It requests the Government to supply further information on the following points.

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee had previously noted that, according to the communication of 23 August 2002 from the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FTUU), child labour was an increasingly frequent problem and that there were child workers under the age of 15 in Ukraine. The FTUU also stated that in most cases, the children worked in the informal sector, where labour relations were non-existent and the Government had virtually no control over working conditions. As a result, the children had no right to legal and social protection. The Committee also notes that, the KSPU in its recent communication indicates that, in practice, the average age of children affected by child labour in Ukraine amounts to 12 years and that child labour is widely used in illegally operated mines. Cheap child labour is also used in construction and agriculture.

The Committee notes that the Conference Committee had noted the indication by the Government representative that a technical cooperation programme with ILO/IPEC had recently been launched. This programme would focus, inter alia, on building the institutional and technical capacity of the Government and the social partners to apply Convention No. 138, as well as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). The Conference Committee had expressed the hope that this technical cooperation programme would address the situation of children below the age of 16 working in the informal sector, including by enhancing the capacity of the labour inspectorate in the informal economy. The Conference Committee had requested the Government to provide, in its next report to the Committee of Experts, information on the implementation of this technical cooperation programme as well as on the results achieved in eliminating child labour in the informal sector. 

The Committee notes that the Labour Code, pursuant to its section 3(1), excludes self-employment from its scope of application. The Committee reminds the Government that the Convention applies to all sectors of economic activity and covers all forms of employment or work, whether or not there is a contractual employment relationship and whether or not the work is remunerated. Taking into account the information from the FTUU and the KSPU on the number and age of children performing work in illegal mines and in enterprises where formal labour relations are non-existent, the Committee is very concerned about the absence of information from the Government on this point. It therefore urges the Government to provide information on the manner in which the protection established by the Convention is ensured for children engaged in an economic activity in the informal sector. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the technical cooperation programme with ILO/IPEC and on its impact on eliminating child labour in the informal sector.

Part V of the report form. Practical application of the Convention. The Committee had previously noted the statistical information supplied by the Government in its reports for 2002 and 2003. It had noted in particular that, according to a survey of 9.2 million children aged from 5 to 17 years, 35,000 were economically active, 52 per cent of them aged 15-17 and 24 per cent aged 13-14. The Committee notes that, according to the communication of the KSPU, about half a million children have been involved in child labour. The KSPU also states that illegal mines use the labour of children, even under 10 years of age. Thus, due to inadequate control on the part of the former Government of Ukraine, about 5,000 illegally operated mines have been established in Ukraine, some of which are still in operation. The Conference Committee had expressed its concern over the situation of many young persons who increasingly worked in practice, in particular, in the informal sector. It had requested the Government to provide information, containing statistics on the number and the age of children working in the informal sector. The Committee, like the Conference Committee, is deeply concerned at the large number of children under the age of 16 who increasingly work in practice, especially in the informal sector. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to renew its efforts to progressively improve this situation and asks the Government to provide detailed information on measures taken in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to supply statistical data on the number of children working in the informal sector and extracts from the reports of inspection services. It finally asks the Government to provide information on the number and nature of the contraventions reported and the penalties imposed.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government concerning other detailed points.