Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Niger (Ratification: 1978)

Article 2(3) of the Convention. Compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that, according to the report on basic education statistics for 2005–06 provided by the Government, the net school attendance rates for children between 7–12 years of age was 54.1 per cent for boys and 37.8 per cent for girls, with an average figure of 45.8 per cent. The Committee observed that poverty was one of the prime causes of child labour and when combined with a deficient education system it hampers the development of children. It therefore encouraged the Government to renew its efforts to combat child labour, especially by stepping up measures to increase the school attendance rate and reduce the school drop-out rate.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), according to which the net school attendance rate for children between 7–12 years of age increased to 53.5 per cent (61.3 per cent for boys and 45.6 per cent for girls) in 2008. The Government adds that Koranic schools have been renovated and centres for Koranic awareness established in all the regions of the country. The Committee further notes that, according to the second periodic report submitted by Niger to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 20 November 2008 (CRC/C/NER/2, paragraphs 321–325), the Ten-year Educational Development Programme (PDDE), drawn up in 2002, aimed at achieving 80 per cent enrolment rate in primary school by 2012 and 84 per cent by 2015, with special emphasis on narrowing the gap between girls and boys.

The Committee however notes that, in its concluding observations of 18 June 2009 (CRC/C/NER/CO/2, paragraph 66), the CRC, while commending the major efforts made by Niger to expand access to primary education, as well as the increase in the access of girls to education, the building of new educational infrastructures in rural areas and the training programmes for teachers, expressed concern at the poor quality of the education system, the high drop-out rate and weak gender equity in education. The Committee is of the view that compulsory schooling is one of the most effective means of combating child labour and that it is important to emphasize the necessity of linking the age of admission to employment or work (14 years in Niger) to the age of completion of compulsory education. If the two do not coincide various problems may arise. If schooling ends before young persons may work legally, there may be an enforced period of idleness (see the General Survey of 1981 on minimum age, ILC, 67th Session, Report III (Part 4B), paragraph 140). The Committee therefore considers it desirable to ensure that schooling is compulsory up to the minimum age of admission to employment, in accordance with Paragraph 4 of the ILO Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146).

The Committee also observes that the low rate of school attendance of children between 7–12 years of age shows that a significant number of children drop out of school well before attaining the minimum age for admission to employment and are on the labour market. Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the education system in the country, particularly by envisaging increasing the age of completion of compulsory schooling so that it coincides with the age of admission to employment or work (14 years). The Committee also requests the Government to take measures to increase the school attendance rate and reduce the school drop-out rate, particularly for girls, with a view to preventing children under 14 years of age from working. The Committee further requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved.

Article 2(1). Scope of application. The Committee had previously observed that the Labour Code did not apply to types of employment or work performed by children outside an enterprise, such as self-employed children. It noted the Government’s indication that widening the scope of application of the labour legislation to children engaged in an economic activity on their own account would require formal collaboration between the Ministries of the Civil Service, Labour, Mines, the Interior, Justice and Child Protection. The Committee expressed the hope that discussions on this issue would take place between these ministries. It reminded the Government that the Convention applies to all sectors of economic activity and that it covers all types of employment or work, whether or not a contractual employment relationship exists. Noting the absence of information in the Government’s report on this subject, the Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that discussions are held on this subject between the Ministries of the Civil Service, Labour, Mines, the Interior, Justice and Child Protection, and it requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this respect. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the protection laid down by the Convention is ensured where there is no employment relationship, especially in cases of children working on their own account or in the informal economy. In this regard, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to envisage the possibility of assigning special powers to labour inspectors with regard to children who work on their own account or in the informal economy.

Article 3(3). Authorization to employ young persons in hazardous work from the age of 16 years. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that Decree No. 67-126/MFP/T of 7 September 1967 authorizes the employment of young persons over 16 years of age in certain types of hazardous work. It also noted that health and safety committees had been established in enterprises and that they were responsible for training and awareness raising on safety. The Committee observed that these committees did not appear to provide adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. In this respect, the Government indicated that a distinction had to be made between three categories of young persons: those whose activities are performed in the context of a formal school curriculum, namely students in technical and vocational training schools; those who work in the context of an apprenticeship contract, supervised by one or more professional adults with many years of experience in the trade; and those who are trained under the traditional system for learning a trade and whose superior/trainer had also been trained under this system of transmission of practical knowledge. With regard to the latter category, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the manner in which the health and safety committees ensure that the work performed by young persons does not jeopardize their health or safety. Noting once again the lack of information in the Government’s report, the Committee recalls that, in addition to the requirement of training, Article 3(3) of the Convention allows employment or work by young persons as from the age of 16 years on condition that their health, safety and morals are fully protected. It therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that enterprise safety and health committees ascertain that the conditions of work of young persons aged between
16–18 years do not jeopardize their health and safety. It requests the Government to provide information in this respect in its next report.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the Government’s indication that studies were being conducted in the country, including a national study on child labour in Niger undertaken by the National Institute of Statistics, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, and in partnership with a consortium of NGOs.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Survey on Child Labour (ENTE) has been undertaken with the support of ILO–IPEC and is currently being processed. In its report provided to the Office under Convention No. 182, the Government indicates that it will provide the findings of the ENTE once they have been published. The Committee trusts that the findings of the ENTE will be published in the very near future and accordingly requests the Government to provide statistical data disaggregated by sex and by age group in its next report concerning the nature, extent and trends of work by children and young persons who are engaged in work below the minimum age specified by the Government when ratifying the Convention.