Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

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

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Scope of application. Children working on their own account or in the informal economy. The Committee previously noted that the provisions regulating the minimum age of employment (section 139 of the Labour Code, section 4 of the Republic Act No. 9231, Amending R.A. 7610 and sections 1 and 4 of Order No. 18) did not appear to apply to persons working outside of a formal labour relationship. The Committee also noted the information from the Labour Force Survey of 2005 that there were approximately 155,000 self-employed working children aged 5–17. In this regard, it requested the Government to provide information on the manner in which self-employed children benefit from protection provided for in the Convention.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that the Department of Labour and Employment issued a memorandum to all regional directors of the Department directing them to consistently conduct monitoring visits to informal sector activities in their region, in order to address child labour. The Committee also notes the information from ILO–IPEC on the Philippine Time-bound Programme (PTBP) phase II, that all regional offices implement a “Workers in the Informal Sector Augmentation Programme”, and that 5 per cent of this programme’s funding is earmarked for child labour amounting to 11.6 million Philippine pesos (PHP) (approximately US$265,476). The Committee further notes that a survey in four provinces entitled “Baseline Survey for the ILO–IPEC PTBP Phase 2” was completed in January 2011, which identified 9,350 children for withdrawal, prevention and protection from child labour through the PTBP. This survey indicates that in the province of Quezon, the majority of children identified were self-employed, while in the province of Masbate, 45 per cent of the children identified were self-employed. The survey also indicates that many children in the country are engaged in selling goods in the informal economy. In this regard, the Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that children working in the informal economy or on a self-employed basis benefit from the protection of the Convention, including by taking specific measures to expand the reach and strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate to monitor child labour in the informal sector. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken and on the results achieved.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee previously noted that schooling is compulsory for children aged 6–12 years. The Committee also noted that the Government was implementing several measures to keep children in school and that school drop-out rates had decreased at both the elementary and secondary levels. However, it also noted the Government’s indication in its report of 20 March 2009 to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC/C/PHL/3–4, paragraph 211) that serious concern remained about the increasing number of children who are not able to go to school, estimated at 4.2 million children.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that it is implementing various programmes to facilitate children’s participation in, and completion of, school. The Government indicates that to keep students in the education system it implements initiatives called “Alternative Delivery Modes”, which offer students an additional option to formal schooling, making schooling more inclusive and effective. These Alternative Delivery Modes include the Drop out Reduction Programme and the Off-school Approach, designed to prevent drop outs and improve school completion. The Government also indicates that the Department of Education is taking several measures to improve the curriculum and integrate socially marginalized groups into the education system. Moreover, the Government indicates that it is implementing a project entitled “Tracking system for students at-risk for dropping out”, which intends to establish country-wide indicators to track and address such at-risk students. In addition, the Committee notes the information from ILO–IPEC on the PTBP that the Department of Social Welfare and Development is implementing a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme, for which children’s attendance in school is one of the conditions. The coverage of the CCT programme has recently been expanded from 1 million to 2.3 million beneficiaries.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that these initiatives contribute to increasing the number of children under the age of 15 who complete basic education. Nonetheless, the Committee must emphasize the necessity of linking the age of admission to employment (15 years) to the age limit for compulsory education (12 years). If compulsory schooling comes to an end before a young person is legally entitled to work, there may be an enforced period of inactivity. The Committee therefore considers it desirable to ensure that compulsory education is up to the minimum age for employment, as provided under Paragraph 4 of the Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146). Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to raise the age of completion of compulsory schooling to 15 years. It also urges the Government to pursue its efforts to increase school enrolment and attendance rates among children under 15 years of age, and to continue to provide information on the results achieved in this regard.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that phase II of the PTBP for the years 2009–13, aiming to work towards a 75 per cent reduction in child labour, focused on agriculture, mining, fishing and domestic labour. However, it also noted, that according to the 2001 survey on children, out of 4 million economically active children aged 5–17 years, 246,000 children were between the ages of 5–9 years, and 1.9 million were between the ages 10–14 years. Moreover, the Committee noted that 2.3 million children were found to be working in the agricultural sector.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that the Department of Labour and Employment, through its Bureau of Working Conditions, regularly conducts training for labour inspectors aimed at enhancing their capacity to enforce labour standards, including child labour laws and policies. The Government indicates that five such training sessions were held in 2010. The Government also indicates that, to reduce child labour in agriculture, it is implementing an Integrated Services for Migratory Sugar Workers Project, which aims to improve the socio-economic conditions of these workers and their families by, inter alia, facilitating access to social protection. The Government further indicates that the Philippine Labour and Employment Plan for 2011–16 recognizes that children remain vulnerable as they continue to work and engage in hazardous occupations. To address this, the Government has committed to take several measures to prevent and eliminate child labour, including by strengthening strategic partnerships, improving access of child labourers and their families to integrated services and establishing a child labour knowledge management system. Moreover, the Committee notes the information from ILO–IPEC on the PTBP phase II that the National Statistics Office is undertaking preparations for a National Survey on Working Children in 2011.

The Committee takes due note of the measures taken by the Government to combat child labour, but must once again express its concern at the high number of children under the age of 15 years working in the Philippines, particularly in the agricultural sector. It urges the Government to strengthen its efforts, within the framework of the PTBP phase II as well as through the abovementioned national measures and the labour inspectorate, to prevent and eliminate child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard. It also requests the Government to provide information from the National Survey on Working Children, once it is completed, particularly with regard to the number of children under the minimum age engaged in economic activity.