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

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

Article 2(3) of the Convention. Age of completion of compulsory education. The Committee previously noted the Committee on the Rights of the Children (CRC) expressed concern that not all provinces have a compulsory education law and, where this legislation exists, it is often not properly enforced. The Committee also noted that article 25A of the Constitution (as amended by the 18th Constitutional Amendment) states that the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 5–16 years in such manner as may be determined by law. The Committee further noted that, at the workshop on child labour legislative reform held in February 2012, the representatives of the four provinces and the social partners emphasized the importance of synergizing the child labour legislation with the Constitutional provisions on education providing for compulsory education up to 16 years of age.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information in its report that the Balochistan Compulsory Education Act 2014, the Punjab Free and Compulsory Education Act 2014, and the Sindh Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Act 2013 provide for free and compulsory education as guaranteed under article 25A of the Constitution for children aged 5–16 years. However, the Compulsory Primary Education Act 1996 remains applicable in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, providing for compulsory education at the primary level for children between 5 and 10 years of age. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that the Punjab Government has raised the minimum age for admission to work from 14 to 15 years under the Restriction on Employment of Children Ordinance 2016 (the Punjab Ordinance 2016), which further requires that the employer shall “arrange the hours of work of an adolescent in such manner that the working hours are not in conflict with the timing of educational or vocational institution where the adolescent is enrolled” in its section 5(4)(a).

The Committee once again recalls that, according to Article 2(3) of the Convention, the minimum age established shall not be lower than the age of completion of compulsory education. If the minimum age for admission to work is lower than the school-leaving age, children may be encouraged to leave school, as they are legally permitted to work (see General Survey of on the fundamental Conventions concerning rights at work, 2012, paragraph 370). The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken to link the minimum age for admission to employment to the age of completion of compulsory schooling, in line with Article 2(3) of the Convention. It also requests that the Government take the necessary measures to ensure that the legislation requiring attendance in compulsory education is adopted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the near future.

Article 4. Exclusion from the application of the Convention of limited categories of employment or work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 3 of the Employment of Children Act 1991 excludes from its scope work in family establishments. The Committee recalled that under Article 4(1) of the Convention, in so far as necessary, the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, may exclude from the application of the Convention limited categories of employment or work in respect of which special and substantial problems of application arise. In this regard, the Committee reminded the Government that the Convention applies to all sectors of economic activity and covers all forms of employment or work, unless excluded under Article 4(1) of the Convention. 

The Committee notes the Government’s information that section 9(3) of the Employment of Children Act 1991 also provides for exceptions in family run establishments, relating to hours and period of work, weekly holidays and notice to inspectors. The Committee further notes that, the new laws enacted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab removed the exception provided under section 3, but not that under section 9(3). Draft laws in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Balochistan and Sindh also contain similar provisions. The Committee further notes that, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development will further discuss with the provincial governments and social partners in the Federal Tripartite Consultative Committee whether they wish to avail of the possibility to exclude work in family establishments from the scope of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests that the Government provide information on consultations held with employers’ and workers’ organizations in this regard.

Article 6. Vocational training and apprenticeship. The Committee previously requested that the Government indicate whether the national legislation provides for apprenticeship programmes and, if so, to indicate the minimum age applicable for admission to apprenticeships, recalling that Article 6 of the Convention authorizes work to be carried out by persons who are at least 14 years in enterprises within the context of an apprenticeship programme. 

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, the Apprenticeship Ordinance 1962 is the law governing the system of apprenticeship training at the national level. Provincial governments have also provided notification of apprenticeship rules respectively in their jurisdiction. The minimum age for the admission to apprenticeship varies between 14 years of age (in Sindh) and 15 years of age (in other provinces). The Committee also notes that, the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) have prepared a draft amendment to the Apprenticeship Ordinance 1962, raising the minimum age for apprenticeship to 16 years of age.

Article 7. Light work. The Committee previously noted that while the Employment of Children Act 1991 permitted children under 14 to work for up to seven hours a day, there did not appear to be a minimum age for this permitted work. The Committee also noted that the Government did not indicate whether the draft Prohibition of Employment of Children Act contains provisions permitting and regulating light work for children between the ages of 12 and 14. Moreover, the Committee observed that a large number of children under the age of 14 (approximately 3 million children) were economically active. In this regard, the Committee recalled that by virtue of Article 7(1) and (4) of the Convention, national laws or regulations may permit children from the age of 12 to engage in light work, which is: (a) not likely to be harmful to their health or development; and (b) not such as to prejudice their attendance in school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programmes approved by the competent authority, or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received.

The Committee notes that the KPK Prohibition of Employment of Child Act 2015 defines light work in section 2 as “work which is not likely to cause harm to health or impede the physical or mental development of a child engaged in such work”. It notes with interest that section 3 further stipulates that a child not below the age of 12 years may be engaged in light work, alongside his family member, for a maximum of two hours per day mainly for the purpose of acquiring skills, in a private undertaking, or in any school established, assisted or recognized by Government for such purpose. The draft Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act 2016 also contains similar provisions. The Committee therefore requests that the Government take the necessary measures to ensure that the draft Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act is adopted in the near future, and encourages the Government to include provisions regulating light work in the draft Prohibition of Employment of Children Act in other provinces, to ensure that children over the age of 12 who are, in practice, engaged in economic activity, benefit from the protection of the Convention.