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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

Article 9(1) of the Convention. Penalties. 1. Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH). Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that section 171(1)(3) of the new Labour Law provides that a fine in the amount of 1,000 to 3,000 Convertible Marka (BAM), or of BAM5,000 to 10,000 in case of a recurring violation, shall be imposed on employers (legal persons) if they have concluded an employment agreement or if they have employed an underage person for any type of work, in breach of section 20 of the Labour Law. The fine is of BAM2,000 to 5,000 on employers (natural persons), for the same offence. The Committee requests that the Government provide information on the application of this provision in practice, in particular the number of penalties imposed.

2. Brčko District. The Committee previously noted that the Labour Law of the Brčko District which prescribed penalties for various violations of the law, did not establish any penalties for the violation of section 10 of the Labour Law (prohibition on concluding an employment contract with a person under the age of 15 years).

The Committee notes the Government’s information that section 110 of the Labour Law shall be amended to provide that a fine between BAM1,000 and 10,000 shall be imposed on the employer (legal person) if they have concluded an employment agreement with a person under the age of 15 years, in violation of section 10(1) of the Law, or if they have employed an underage person without fulfilling the requirements referred to in section 10(2) of the Law. The Committee requests that the Government provide information on the progress made in adopting this amendment to the Labour Law, imposing a penalty for concluding an employment contract with a person below 15 years of age, as well as on the application in practice of this provision, in particular the number of penalties imposed.

Article 9(3). Registers of employment. Brčko District. The Committee previously noted the Government’s information that the procedure of keeping record books which contain information regarding the date of birth of the employees was under way for the Brčko District.

The Committee notes the Government’s information that, during inspections, employers provide the labour inspectors of the Brčko District with documentation which reveal whether their employees are under the age of 18. It also notes the Government’s indication that the monitoring of the enforcement of the Labour Law is conducted in accordance with the Law on inspection services and the Law on administrative procedure, as well as other bylaws specifying the responsibilities, procedures and powers of the labour inspectors. The Committee once again requests that the Government provide information on the specific legal provisions that prescribe the keeping of registers of employees in the Brčko District.

Application of the Convention in practice. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information according to which, in Republika Srpska, 97 young persons (62 boys and 35 girls) between the ages of 15 and 18 were recorded as employees in 2015 and 194 (125 boys and 69 girls) were recorded in 2016; in the FBiH, 338 employees under 18 years were recorded in 2014 and 197 in 2015; and in the Brčko District, no cases of employment of persons under the age of 18 were registered by the labour inspectors. The Committee requests that the Government continue providing information on the number of children and young persons engaged in economic activities, the number and nature of violations detected and the penalties imposed.