Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

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

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Scope of application. Children working in the informal economy. The Committee previously noted that section 63(1) of the Labour Code prohibited children under 16 years of age from signing an employment contract. The Committee also 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 subsequently noted the Government’s information regarding measures taken to prevent children from signing employment contracts in breach of the national labour legislation, but observed an absence of information regarding any measures taken to ensure that children who work without an employment contract enjoyed the protection afforded by the Convention.

The Committee once again notes an absence of information in the Government’s report regarding measures taken to address children working outside the scope of an employment contract or in the informal economy. However, the Committee notes the Government’s statement, in its report submitted under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that one of the most common violations detected by the state labour inspectorate involving persons under the age of 18 was the failure to conclude employment contracts in written form. The Committee also notes that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its concluding observations of 1 June 2011, expressed concern regarding the large number of children who live and work on the streets, in particular in the informal sector where they are vulnerable to abuse to such an extent that regular school attendance is severely restricted (E/C.12/RUS/CO/5, paragraph 24). Recalling that the Convention applies to all branches of economic activity and covers all types of employment or work, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspectorate to better monitor children working in the informal economy. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the specific measures taken in this respect in its next report.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Labour inspectorate and the application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted the information from a 2009 study carried out by the ILO–IPEC, within the framework of a project on street children in the region of St. Petersburg, that children, some as young as 8 and 9 years old, were engaged in economic activities such as collecting empty bottles and recycling paper, transporting goods, cleaning workplaces, looking after property, street trading and cleaning cars.

The Committee notes the statement in the Government’s report that the Federal Labour and Employment Service (Rostrud) and its local departments (the state labour inspectorates) ensure the protection of the labour rights of minors in employment through their inspection activities. In this regard, the Committee notes the information in the Government’s report submitted under Convention No. 182 that 1,267 inspections were carried out in the first six months of 2010 to verify compliance with legislation relating to children under 18 and 564 such inspections were carried out in the first six months of 2011. The Government also indicates that in the first six months of 2010, 1,865 violations were detected relating to persons under 18, and 1,461 such violations were detected over the same period in 2011. Consequently, labour inspectors imposed fines amounting to 1,200,000 Russian roubles (RUB) in the first six months of 2010, and fines of RUB756,000 over the same period in 2011. The Committee therefore observes that significantly fewer inspections were carried out to verify compliance with legislation relating to children under 18 in the first six months of 2011 (564 such inspections detecting 1,461 violations) compared to the first six months of 2010 (1,267 inspections detecting 1,865 violations). The Committee accordingly urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to effectively address and eliminate child labour, including in the informal economy. Moreover, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient data on the situation of working children in the Russian Federation is made available, including information on the number of children below the minimum age engaged in economic activity, and the nature, scope and trends of their work. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and by age.