Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

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

Article 2, paragraph l, of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee previously noted that section 63(1) of the Labour Code prohibited children under 16 years of age from signing an employment contract. It asked the Government to supply information on the measures taken or contemplated to ensure the application of the Convention to all types of work outside an employment relationship. The Committee noted the Government’s statement that the illegal employment of minors and the violation of their labour rights are frequent occurrences in the informal economy. This involves minors who wash cars, engage in trading and perform auxiliary work. The Committee therefore reminded 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 notes the detailed statement in the Government’s report indicating the measures taken to prevent children from signing employment contracts in breach of the national labour legislation, particularly with regard to the minimum age for admission to employment in hazardous types of work. However, the Committee observes that the Government does not supply any information regarding the measures taken to ensure that children who work without having signed an employment contract enjoy the protection afforded by the Convention. The Committee therefore again requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the protection afforded by the Convention is enjoyed by children carrying out an economic activity without an employment contract, particularly self-employed children and children working in the informal economy, as soon as possible. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the progress made in this respect in its next report.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, according to a study on child labour carried out in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) from May to October 2009 in the context of the ILO–IPEC project on street children in the St. Petersburg (Leningrad) regions, the 1,003 children who were interviewed were engaged in the following kinds of work: collecting empty bottles and recycling paper and beer bottles (58.6 per cent); transporting goods (25.4 per cent); cleaning workplaces (21.3 per cent); looking after property (14.3 per cent); street trading (10.4 per cent); and cleaning cars (2.6 per cent). The study also indicates that 22 per cent of boys started working at 8 or 9 years of age, compared with 5.8 per cent of girls, and 40 per cent of boys started working at 10 or 11 years of age, compared with 15.4 per cent of girls. While expressing its deep concern at the situation of children engaged in work, particularly in the informal sector, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that child labour for young persons under 16 years of age is abolished in practice. Furthermore, the Committee again requests the Government to supply information on the application in practice of the national legislation giving effect to the Convention, including extracts from official reports and information on the number and nature of reported infringements, particularly with regard to children under 16 years of age working in the informal sector.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.