Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Jordan (Ratification: 1998)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Scope of application. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that section 73 of the Labour Code of 1996 prohibits the employment of minors under 16 years of age. The Committee had also noted the Government’s statement in its first report that it has not availed itself of the possibilities of exclusion or to limit the scope of application of the Convention envisaged in Articles 4 and 5. The Committee had noted however that, according to section 2 of the Labour Code, a person under 16 years of age who performs work outside the framework of an employment contract does not benefit from the protection laid down therein. It further observed that, by virtue of its section 3, the Labour Code shall not apply to: (a) members of the family of the employer working in his/her enterprise without remuneration; (b) domestic workers, gardeners, cooks and the like; and (c) agricultural workers excluding those who shall be covered by the Labour Code pursuant to a decision taken by the Council of Ministers upon the recommendation of the Minister of Labour. The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the prohibition to employ children under 16 applies to all workers regardless of their occupation as well as to self-employed workers. It also observes that, according to the National Report on Child Labour of 1997, 6.1 per cent of working children are self-employed, 14.5 per cent work for the family, and 10.2 per cent work for no wages. Thus, more than 30 per cent of working children fall outside the scope of application of the Labour Code. The Committee accordingly reminds the Government that the Convention shall apply to all kinds of work or employment regardless of the existence of an employment relationship. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that domestic workers, gardeners, cooks and the like, agricultural workers and self-employed workers benefit from the protection laid down in the Convention.

Part V of the report form. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that the Govsrnment has designed a new form for the purpose of collecting data on the employment of children. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that 50 per cent of child workers are in Amman, 21 per cent in the Governorate of Al‑Zarqaa, eight per cent in Arbad and four per cent in Al-Bulqaa. The majority of children work in undertakings employing less than five workers and for a maximum of eight hours per day. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, statistical data on the employment of minors by age group, and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported.