Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention, 1965 (No. 123) - Mongolia (Ratification: 1981)

Article 2 of the Convention. Prohibition of underground work for persons under the specified minimum age. The Committee had previously noted with interest the Labour Code of 1999 and the Order of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare establishing the lists of the jobs prohibited for women and young persons (No. A/204 of 1999). The Committee noted that under section 86 of the Labour Code, the minimum age for admission to employment in all underground work is 18 years. It also noted that section 109.4 of the Labour Code prohibits the employment of a minor in work which would be prejudicial to her or his intellectual development and health. Furthermore, Appendix 2 to Order No. A/204 of 1999 establishes the list of jobs prohibited for minors, which includes underground work in section 1. When ratifying the Convention, Mongolia specified the age of 18 as the minimum age for admission to underground work.

In view of the above, the Committee takes the opportunity to draw the Government’s attention to the decision taken by the Governing Body with regard to the Convention following its examination by the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.270/LILS/3(Rev.1)). The Governing Body decided to invite States parties to Convention No. 123 to contemplate ratifying the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). The ratification of Convention No. 138 by a State party to Convention No. 123, ipso jure, involves the immediate denunciation of the latter if the State accepts the obligations of Convention No. 138 and either, in accordance with Article 2 of that Convention, specifies a minimum age of not less than the age specified in pursuance of Convention No. 123, namely 18 years, or specifies that such an age applies to employment underground in mines in virtue of Article 3 of Convention No. 138.

The Committee notes that Mongolia ratified Convention No. 138 on 16 December 2002 and specified a minimum age for admission to work or employment of 15 years, which is lower than the age specified for Convention No. 123. It further notes that the Government has not specified that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to underground work. Consequently, the ratification of Convention No. 138 by Mongolia has not resulted in the denunciation of Convention No. 123. The Committee notes that the national legislation (section 86 of the Labour Code and section 1 of Appendix 2 to Order No. A/204 of 1999) prohibits work by young persons under 18 years of age in mines. It draws the Government’s attention to the fact that a formal declaration specifying that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to underground work would result in the denunciation with immediate effect of Convention No. 123. In view of the above, the Committee suggests that the Government might consider the possibility of issuing a declaration indicating that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to underground work, thereby resulting in the denunciation of Convention No. 123.

Part IV of the report form. Practical application of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice. The Committee notes in the Government’s report submitted under the ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that in October 2005, the National Statistical Office launched the final report of the National Child Labour Survey 2002–03 conducted with the technical support of ILO/IPEC/SIMPOC. Out of the 677,000 children aged 5–17 years, 10.1 per cent are involved in some form of activities in the economic sector. Of the working children, this report states that about 2 per cent are working in the mining and construction sectors and the processing industry (all taken together). The Committee further notes that there are some children involved in harmful forms of labour such as informal gold, coal, fluorspar and salt mining, quarrying and processing.

In addition, the Committee notes the Government’s information submitted under the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that the “sustainable micro mining” project implemented by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the “role and participation of employers in eliminating child labour at the mining sector” project implemented by ILO/IPEC and the “social and economic situation of gold miners” project implemented by the United Nations Population Fund, all give appropriate support in preventing and eliminating child labour in the mining sector. The Committee notes that 208 children working in the mining sector were covered by the abovementioned projects, 256 children were being retrained, 65 were undergoing professional training and 69 children re-entered general educational schools.