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

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

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report. It requests the Government to supply further information on the following points.

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. 1. Scope of application. The Committee had previously noted that section 63(1) of the Labour Code prohibits children under 16 years of age from concluding a labour contract. Recalling that the Convention requires the fixing of a minimum age for all types of work or employment and not only for work under an employment contract, the Committee had asked the Government to supply information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure the application of the Convention to all types of work outside an employment relationship, such as self-employment. The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no information on this point. It once again 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. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the protection established by the Convention is ensured for children carrying out an economic activity without a labour contract, such as self-employed children.

2. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee had previously noted that section 63(1) of the Labour Code states that an employment contract may be concluded only with a person of at least 16 years of age. However, it had noted that according to section 63(2), of the Labour Code a person of 15 years of age, who has completed the basic general education or left the general educational establishment, may work. The Committee had noted that a minimum age for admission to employment or work of 16 years had been specified by the Russian Federation at the time of ratification in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. It had asked the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that access to employment of children under the age of 16 may be allowed exceptionally, and only for work that meets the criteria set out in Article 7 of the Convention. The Committee notes the absence of information in this regard. It once again reminds the Government that under Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention, no one under the minimum age for admission to employment or work specified upon ratification of the Convention shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation, and that the only possible exception is light work under Article 7 of the Convention. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that no one under the age of 16 may be admitted to employment or work in any occupation.

Part V of the report form. Practical application of the Convention. The Committee had previously noted the Government’s indication that persons under 18 years of age were often engaged in work under harmful and hazardous working conditions. It had also noted the Government’s statement to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1998 that the number of juveniles in unregulated employment was on the increase in towns, in connection with the development of the non-state sector of the economy, especially small private businesses. The Committee had requested the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to prevent children from working under harmful and hazardous conditions, and to continue to supply information on the practical application of the national legislation giving effect to the Convention, in particular in the non-state sector, including, for example, extracts from official reports, statistical data and the number and nature of contraventions reported.

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report under Convention No. 182 that in 2004, state labour inspectors carried out more than 2,300 targeted inspections to ensure the observance of the labour rights of persons under the age of 18. These inspections identified and resolved more than 8,300 cases of violations. Disciplinary, administrative and penal sanctions were applied to the persons responsible for the labour law violations. The employment of persons under the age of 18 in hazardous types of work, in violation of section 265 of the Labour Code, was one of the most typical infringements of the labour law. The inspections also revealed that in small private businesses the cases of violation of the labour rights of persons under the age of 18 were frequent. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that in 2004 more than 8,000 under-aged persons worked in the registered private organizations, of whom 70 persons (0.9 per cent) performed their work in hazardous working conditions. It observes that the number of persons under age working in hazardous working conditions is less than it was in 2003 (390 persons) and in 2002 (655 persons). The Committee further notes the detailed statistics provided by the Government on the number of economically active population aged 15 to 17 in 2004. According to these statistics, 293,070 persons aged 15-17 were economically active in 2004. The Committee asks the Government to continue to supply information on the practical application of the national legislation giving effect to the Convention, including extracts from official reports, statistical data and the number and nature of contraventions reported.

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