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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Indonesia (Ratification: 2000)

Article 5 of the Convention. Monitoring mechanisms. Labour inspectorate. The Committee previously noted the information from ILO–IPEC that the involvement of labour inspectors in child labour issues is limited. The Committee further noted that a review of the effectiveness of the current labour inspection programme in Indonesia in combating child labour (undertaken within the project entitled “Support to the Indonesian National Plan of Action and the Development of the Time-bound Programme for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour”) indicated that the monitoring of child labour through labour inspection is very weak and this was attributed to both human resource and financial resource constraints.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it has engaged in capacity building training in collaboration with the ILO Country Office in Jakarta, including on child labour monitoring systems. The Government also indicates that it has increased cooperation with non-governmental organizations to improve the quality of child labour monitoring. The Government further indicates that it has allocated a budget to improve child labour monitoring through inspection activities and data collection, although this activity has not yet reached all districts in Indonesia. Moreover, the Government indicates that it has provided training to new labour inspectors on child labour, and has also sent inspectors to trainings held at the International Training Centre of the ILO on child labour. With reference to its comments made under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), the Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to strengthen the capacity of the child labour monitoring mechanisms, including through the allocation of additional resources to the labour inspectorate and continued support for the development of child labour monitoring systems. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of any measures taken in this regard, particularly on measures taken to ensure the effective monitoring of children working in the informal sector.

Article 6 and part V of the report form. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that the National Action Plan on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (NAP on WFCL) prepared in 2002, was a three-stage programme over 20 years, with the second stage taking place from 2008 to 2012. It noted that under this umbrella, numerous vulnerable children had been prevented from engaging in the worst forms of child labour, and a significant number of children had been withdrawn. As of 2010, 26 districts had been reached through the NAP on WFCL. However, the Committee also noted that the Indonesia Child Labour Survey (2009) indicated that approximately 20.7 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 worked for more than 40 hours a week. The Survey also highlighted that approximately 8 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 worked at places such as street or market stalls and traffic lights, which were identified in the Survey as unsafe places to work.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the outcomes achieved through the implementation of the NAP on WFCL include the withdrawal of more than 2,000 child labourers and the prevention of 5,000 child labourers in various sectors through a series of initiatives such as skills training, inclusive education and training on life skills. The Government also indicates that the NAP on WFCL resulted in the establishment of action committees on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in the provinces of West Papua, Papua, Maluku and East Nusa Tenggara and the implementation of studies on occupational hazards in the manganese sector in East Nusa Tenggara. The Committee further notes Government’s statement that it continues to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of children from the worst forms of child labour, including by prioritizing the issue of children in the 2010–14 Medium Term National Development Plan, as well as through strengthening the relevant governmental institutions at the provincial and district/city levels. The Government indicates that the Family Hope Programme contributes to the reduction of child labour, by providing support to children from poor families through programmes of empowerment and strengthening of familial functioning to facilitate the ability of parents to meet the basic rights and protection of children. Lastly, the Committee notes the Government's statement that the Child Social Welfare Programme has contributed significantly to the reduction of child labour. This Programme aims to protect children against all forms of exploitation and abuse (including the worst forms of child labour) and reached 14,437 persons between 2009 and 2012. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the results achieved through the implementation of these various initiatives, including the NAP on WFCL, particularly in terms of the number of children prevented from engaging in, or removed from, the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice, including any information available on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that the Government had taken several measures to facilitate access to education to out-of-school children and vulnerable children. However, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that in the 2008 school year, 437,608 children had dropped out of primary school and an additional 214,775 students dropped out of junior high school. The Committee expressed its concern at the number of children who had dropped out of school, and requested information on the measures taken to address this.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it has an inclusive education programme that aims to help vulnerable groups, including child labourers, to return to school. The Government also indicates that it has taken measures to prevent the worst forms of child labour by providing free education and by providing scholarships to poor students. In this regard, the Committee notes the information from a document from ILO–IPEC concerning the "Project of Support to the Indonesian Time-bound Programme on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour" of September 2011 that the Government provides financial assistance to poor students by covering costs of uniforms, transportation, text books and other school supplies, and that the funds allocated for this purpose were increased in 2011 to reach 2.7 million poor students from elementary schools and 1.3 million poor students from junior secondary schools. Moreover, the Committee notes that the Government has been implementing a conditional cash transfer (CCT) programme entitled Keluarga Harapan or since 2007. One of the main objectives of the CCT programme is to improve the education level of children from very poor households, particularly by reaching children who are currently not in school, including those in child labour. By the end of 2011, the CCT programme was expected to cover 1.1 million households, with further expansion planned in 2012.

While welcoming the measures taken by the Government, the Committee notes the information in the 2011 UNESCO Global Monitoring Report on Education For All that there remained approximately 312,000 out of school children of primary school age, and 1,800,000 out of school children of secondary school age. Therefore, considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to strengthen its ongoing efforts to facilitate educational access to children from poorer families and vulnerable groups, including through the expansion of its conditional cash transfer programme. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, and to provide statistical information on the results obtained, particularly with regard to reducing the number of out-of-school children at the primary and secondary levels.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. Child workers in the footwear industry. The Committee previously noted that various projects had been undertaken aimed at preventing children from engaging in hazardous work in the footwear industry. Nonetheless, the Committee noted that it appeared that a significant number of children continued to work in the footwear industry, particularly in the Ciomas-Bogor Tasikmalaya areas of West Java.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the regional government of the Bogor Regency (in West Java) has been, along with community leaders and teachers, taking measures to convey information to craftsmen on the dangers for children of working in footwear workshops. The regional government has also been performing health check-ups for families, especially for children who are exposed to footwear industry workshops. The Committee also notes the information from ILO–IPEC that, through the International Garment Training Centre in Bogor, a programme of vocational training for former child labourers has been inaugurated. These trainings are aimed at providing specific skills to child former labourers over the minimum age for admission to work to prevent them from engaging in hazardous work in the future and to assist in their integration. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to prevent children from engaging in hazardous work in the footwear industry as well as to provide for their removal and social reintegration. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken in this regard, and on the results achieved.