Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Pakistan (Ratification: 2006)

The Committee notes the observations of the Pakistan Workers Federation (PWF) received on 19 October 2017. The Committee requests the Government to reply to these comments.

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee previously noted the Government’s statement that, following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the power to legislate on labour matters has been transferred to the provinces. The Committee also noted that the four provinces had, in coordination with the Federal Government, drafted a Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, which prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years, and that these drafts would soon be introduced to the provincial legislative assemblies. The Committee urged the Government to ensure that the Prohibition of Employment of Children Act is adopted in the four provinces.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information in its report that, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Prohibition of Employment of Children Act was adopted in 2015 (KPK Act 2015), specifying the minimum age for admission to work as 14 years, while the Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Ordinance was adopted in 2016 (Punjab Ordinance 2016), specifying the minimum age as 15 years. The Committee further notes that the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), as well as Balochistan and Sindh provinces have also drafted legislation containing similar provisions. Recalling that, at the time of ratification in 2006, Pakistan specified 14 years as the applicable minimum age, the Committee requests that the Government take the necessary measures to ensure that the draft Prohibition of Employment of Children Acts are adopted in the Islamabad Capital Territory, as well as Balochistan and Sindh provinces in the near future. It also requests that the Government provide a copy of the relevant legislation, once adopted.

Article 3(1) and (2). Determination of types of hazardous work. The Committee previously noted that, under the Employment of Children Act 1991, there was no specific age for admission to hazardous work. The Committee also noted the information from ILO–IPEC of October 2012 that, as part of the Combating Abusive Child Labour II Project, preparation of new provincial lists of hazardous child labour would begin. In this regard, the Committee noted the information from the mission report of the tripartite interprovincial workshop, carried out in May 2013 within the ILO technical assistance programme (the Special Programme Account (SPA) project) that the action plans of some of the provinces included undertaking, in 2013, tripartite consultations with a view to revising the hazardous work list.

The Committee notes with satisfaction that, the KPK Act 2015 and the Punjab Ordinance 2016 provide for two lists of types of hazardous work prohibited to young persons under 18 years of age, including occupations related to transport by railway, work inside underground mines and aboveground quarries, work with power driven cutting machines, work exposed to dust or poisonous materials, work at oil and gas fields, and so on. These lists were determined in consultation with the representative workers’ and employers’ organizations and discussed at the level of Provincial Tripartite Consultative Committee. The Committee further notes that, the draft laws from ICT, Balochistan and Sindh also prohibit hazardous work for children below 18 years of age. The Committee therefore requests that the Government take the necessary measures to ensure that the draft laws prohibiting the employment of persons under 18 years of age in hazardous types of work in ICT, Balochistan and Sindh provinces are adopted in the near future. It also requests that the Government take the necessary measures, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, to determine the types of hazardous employment or work prohibited to young persons under 18 years of age in ICT, Balochistan and Sindh, in conformity with Article 3(2) of the Convention.

Article 9(1). Penalties and labour inspectorate. The Committee previously noted the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) indication that persons found guilty of violating child labour legislation were rarely prosecuted and that when prosecution did occur, the fines imposed were usually insignificant. The Committee also noted that the enforcement of child labour legislation was weak due to the lack of inspectors assigned to child labour, lack of training and resources, and corruption, and that the penalties imposed were often too minor to act as a deterrent. The Committee further noted that the provincial labour departments each have training centres for inspectors, and provide training on child labour. Moreover, according to the SPA mission report, the tripartite participants of the workshop indicated that they experienced difficulties in enforcing the legislative provisions relating to child labour, due to, among others, a lack of capacity among labour inspectors, and that there was a need for the more effective application of penalties for child labour related violations.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, according to new laws in KPK and Punjab provinces on the prohibition of employment of children, the maximum fines have been increased from Pakistani rupee (PKR) 20,000 to PKR50,000 (approximately US$190 to $475). Moreover, fines provided in the Punjab Prohibition of Child Labour at Brick Kilns Act 2016 range from PKR50,000 to PKR500,000 (approximately $475 to $4,750). The Committee further notes the Government’s information that the Federal Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development (OP&HRD) has worked on a framework document for the revitalization and restructuring of the labour inspection system. Reforms recommended under this framework document are being followed under the Programme of Strengthening Labour Inspection System for Promoting Labour Standards and Ensuring Workplace Compliance in Pakistan, supported by the ILO country office. The Committee also notes that, in Punjab province, provisions related to the labour inspection in the Punjab Ordinance 2016 replaced those in the Employment of Children Act 1991. The Committee further notes the Government’s information regarding Punjab province that, in 2014, 133,973 inspections were conducted, 790 children were detected in child labour, and 536 convictions were handed out, out of 790 prosecutions, involving PKR218,550 fines (approximately $2,076); while in 2015, 153,418 inspections were conducted, 1,446 children were detected in child labour, and 448 convictions were handed out, out of 1,446 prosecutions, involving PKR505,600 fines (approximately $4,805). Moreover, the Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 11 July 2016, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) remains concerned about the inadequate number of sufficiently trained inspectors, their vulnerability to corruption and a lack of resources to inspect workplaces (CRC/C/PAK/05, paragraph 71). The Committee notes that the fines assessed do not appear to be sufficiently effective and dissuasive. The Committee therefore requests that the Government continue its efforts to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate, and to continue providing information on the number and nature of violations relating to the employment of children detected by the labour inspectorate. The Committee also requests that the Government continue to strengthen its measures to ensure that persons who violate the abovementioned laws are prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of these laws in practice, including the number and nature of violations detected and the penalties imposed in this regard.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that, the second National Child Labour Survey was planned under the Combating Abusive Child Labour II project, in consultation with the Federal Bureau of Statistics. However, the Committee noted the information, from ILO–IPEC of September 2012, that the survey was subsequently cancelled.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, with the assistance of UNICEF, child labour surveys are being organized in the provinces. The Punjab Government has started its provincial level survey in collaboration with the Board of Statistics, which will be completed by May 2017. Sindh and KPK provinces also included relevant schemes in their respective annual development programs for conducting child labour surveys during the current fiscal year (2016–17). Balochistan is planning to hold a child labour survey in the coming years. Moreover, the International Labour Standards Unit in the Ministry of OP&HRD created the first detailed national profile on child labour and children in employment using the ILO Global Estimation Methodology on Child Labour, and published the report “Understanding Children’s Work in Pakistan: An Insight into Child Labour Data (2010–15) and Legal Framework” with the support of the ILO. According to the report, the number of children of 10–17 years of age engaged in child labour has decreased from 4.04 million in 2010–11 to 3.70 million in 2014–15, of which 2.067 million (55 per cent) are in the 10–14 years range. While taking due note of the decrease in the number of children engaged in child labour, the Committee must express its concern at the high number of children still working under the minimum age. The Committee therefore urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to prevent and eliminate child labour, including through continued cooperation with the ILO, and to provide information on the results achieved. The Committee also requests the Government to provide the results of the child labour surveys at the provincial levels once available.

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