Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Namibia (Ratification: 2000)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour. The Committee previously noted the various measures taken by the Government to eliminate child labour including through the implementation of the ILO–IPEC project entitled “Towards the elimination of the worst forms of child labour (TECL), Phase II: Supporting and monitoring the implementation of national plans of action in the three core countries in southern Africa” (TECL II).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that since the termination of the TECL project in 2012, there has not been an alternative national project to replace it. However, following the directives from the Cabinet, the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation established an Inter-ministerial Committee on child labour. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the initiatives taken by the Inter-ministerial Committee on Child Labour to eliminate child labour and the results achieved.

Article 2(1). Scope of application. Self-employment and work in the informal economy. The Committee previously noted that the Labour Act, and its provisions pertaining to the minimum age of employment, only applied to “employers” and “employees” (pursuant to section 2(1) and (2)). It also noted that in Namibia, approximately 31 per cent of persons between the ages of 6 and 17 were working on a self-employed basis and that 94.5 per cent of all children engaged in economic activity did so without remuneration. In this regard, it noted the Government’s indication that it had increased the number of labour inspectors and that the number of labour inspections carried out both in the formal and informal sectors had also increased.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that labour inspections are mainly conducted in the formal economy and that in the informal economy the inspectorate division gives education visits and advice on labour issues. The Committee accordingly urges the Government to strengthen its measures to adapt and strengthen the labour inspection services so as to improve the labour inspectorate’s capacity to identify instances of child labour in the informal economy so as to ensure that children who are not bound by an employment relationship, such as children who are self-employed or working in the informal economy are afforded the protection established by the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.

Article 7. Light work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the national legislation did not authorize light work. However, it noted that, 75 per cent of children between the ages of 12 and 14 were engaged in some form of economic activity, and that the majority of these children combined this work with school.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Labour Act makes provision for the employment of children of 14 and 16 years under special circumstances. However, children between 12 and 14 years are not allowed to perform economic activities under any circumstances. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Government, with the assistance of ILO–IPEC through the TECL II, has developed and submitted a list of light work activities to the Labour Advisory Council for its consideration. It also notes that the regulations on light work will be adopted following the approval of the list of light work activities. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to pursue its efforts to develop regulations to determine light work activities permitted for young persons, as well as the number of hours during which and the conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken. It requests the Government to provide a copy of the regulations on light work, once adopted.

Labour inspection and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, through its labour inspectors, intensified investigations on child labour in the agricultural sector and discovered such cases in the Omaheke, Khomas and Kavango regions, where children were employed by both foreign and Namibian nationals. It also noted from a study on child labour in the agricultural sector of 2011, that of the 15 per cent children aged between 10 and 17 years working on a full-time basis, approximately 82 per cent worked in the subsistence farming sector, while 17 per cent worked on commercial farms. It further noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 16 October 2012, expressed concern about the prevalence of child labour, especially in rural areas, as well as reports of exploitation of children in the agricultural sector (CRC/C/NAM/CO/2-3, paragraph 67).

The Committee notes the Government’s information that inspections are being carried out in the agricultural sector, covering both, commercial and subsistence farming and according to the latest inspection reports, no violations concerning child labour were detected. It also notes from the Government’s report that the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture has undertaken initiatives to increase the number of schools and hostels in rural areas. Moreover, the free universal primary education initiative by the Government has had an impact on school enrolment and attendance rates even for the less economically advantaged groups. It further notes the Government’s indication that free education will be extended to secondary education with effect from January 2016. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to progressively eliminate child labour, including through strengthening labour inspection services in the agricultural sector, and to facilitate access to education for children in rural areas. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard as well as on the number and nature of violations relating to the employment of children and young persons detected by the labour inspectorate, the number of persons prosecuted and the penalties imposed. Finally, noting that the Namibia Child Activities Survey report has been finalized and is awaiting to be launched, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy, once it has been launched.