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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Brazil (Ratification: 2001)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and practical application of the Convention. The Committee previously noted the various measures taken by the Government for the elimination of child labour, including the setting up of a specific inspection scheme for the elimination of child labour within the Child Labour Eradication Programme (PETI) as well as the income transfer initiatives, such as the Bolsa Família programme. The Committee noted that although child labour had declined over the past years, there remained serious challenges.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that in 2013, the PETI was reformulated and implemented by Ordinance No. 63 of 2014 with the aim to strengthen the prevention and eradication of child labour through inter-sectoral strategic actions in areas with a high incidence of child labour. Accordingly, a total of 1,032 municipalities were identified as eligible for federal co-financing of the strategic actions of the PETI, 2014.

Moreover, in the first half of 2013, a total of 110,353 families with children and adolescents in child labour were registered for social and monitoring services within the Programme of Integral Attention to Families (PAIF). Furthermore, the child-care services provided to children removed from child labour by the Basic Social Protection Programme was expanded from 3,588 to 5,039 municipalities, covering 1,624,260 children of all age groups. In addition, the Committee notes from the ILO–IPEC project report of September 2013 on “Combating worst forms of child labour (WFCL) and promoting horizontal cooperation in selected countries of South America” that currently, the Bolsa Família programme serves 13.8 million families for a total of 50 million people. The Government report indicates that, in 2013, 310,753 families with children and adolescents in child labour received cash transfers through this programme.

The Committee further notes from the ILO–IPEC report for the project “Support to national efforts towards a child labour-free State, Bahia” of January 2013, that the Government designed and implemented the Plan for overcoming extreme poverty – Brazil without misery, aiming to withdraw 16.2 million Brazilians from extreme poverty through cash transfers and focusing on child labour as one of its priorities. This programme increased the reach of its income transfer programmes by including 1.3 million children and adolescents in the Family Grant conditional cash transfer programme (Brazil Carinhoso) and expanded the maximum number of children entitled to additional benefits from three to five per family.

Lastly, the Committee notes the following information from the ILO–IPEC project report of 2013 regarding the results achieved within the framework of ILO–IPEC activities in Brazil:

• -Within the project “Support to national efforts towards a child labour-free State, Bahia 2008–13”, 16,491 children who were withdrawn or prevented from child labour were rehabilitated through education; and a total of 16,465 families were covered by the Family Grant and Family Health Programmes.
• -Within the project, “Combating WFCL and promoting horizontal cooperation in selected countries of South America 2009–13”, a total of 8,525 children were withdrawn (3,047) or prevented (5,478) from child labour.
• -Within the project, “Programme to reduce WFCL in tobacco-growing communities in Malawi and Brazil, 2012–15”, during January 2012 to December 2013, a total of 2,143 children were prevented from child labour through educational services or training opportunities, and 3,000 children were prevented through other non-education-related services.

The Committee welcomes the Government’s information that the results of the national household surveys from 1992 to 2012 indicated a drastic reduction in child labour from 8.4 million children (between the ages of 5–17 years) in 1992 to 3.51 million children in 2012, indicating a reduction of 4.9 million (59 per cent) during this period. It notes, however, that according to the 2013 and 2014 national household surveys, although there was a further reduction in child labour in 2013, with 3.1 million children aged 5–17, working in 2014 an increase of 4.5 per cent has been noted, bringing the total number of children working to 3.3 million. Taking due note of the concrete social protection measures and educational initiatives taken by the Government, the Committee requests it to pursue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour in the country. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard, as well as to continue to provide statistical information on the results achieved, including through the implementation of the reformed PETI, 2014. It also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the “Plan for overcoming extreme poverty – Brazil without misery” on eliminating child labour.

Article 2(1). Scope of application. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 402 of the Consolidated Labour Act excludes from its scope, work by children and young persons in family enterprises, that is, in economic activities for the purpose of family subsistence and maintenance. It noted that a majority of children working under the minimum age were working either on a self-employed basis or on an unpaid basis in family enterprises.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that the fight against child labour in Brazil, through regular inspections and specific programmes for the eradication of child labour, comprises both the formal and informal sectors, including family enterprises. In this regard, the Committee refers to its observation of 2013 under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that a significant proportion of young persons between 5 and 14 years of age who work do so in private households, and this situation restricts intervention by inspectors, on account of the principle of inviolability of the home, apart from the fact that the application of legal enforcement instruments is restricted to employment relationships. The Committee further notes from the ILO report of 2013 Decent Work Country Profile – A sub-national perspective in Brazil, that of the estimated 910,000 children under the age of 14 years working in agricultural establishments, 85.6 per cent of them work in family agriculture. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take the necessary measures to adapt and strengthen the capacity and reach of the labour inspectorate services so as to better identify instances of child labour in the informal economy and to guarantee the protection afforded by the Convention to children under the age of 16 years who are self-employed or working in family agriculture. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.