Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Tunisia (Ratification: 1995)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the adoption of the National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour 2015–20 and asked the Government to provide information on the measures adopted within the framework of the National Plan of Action and the results achieved.

The Government indicates in its report that, in the context of the PROTECTE project “United against child labour in Tunisia”, implemented by the ILO in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs, training workshops on combating child labour have been held for trainers within government institutions with a stake in the project and for focal points in all governorates in the country. Workshops on the roles and responsibilities of actors combating child labour have also been held in 2019 in the target areas of Jendouba and Sfax, in the context of support for implementation of a pilot model for the “Child labour monitoring system (SSTE)”. The Government also indicates that the PROTECTE project led to the drawing up in 2018 of a guide to the laws and regulations relating to child labour in order to reinforce the knowledge of institutional actors. In addition, a guide to action against child labour has been developed, for those involved in combating child labour.

The Government also mentions the “National survey of child labour in Tunisia 2017”, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) with technical assistance from the ILO and published in 2018, which highlighted the scope and the different forms of child labour in the 5–17 age group. In this regard, the Committee notes that according to this survey, which was carried out with the participation of stakeholders in the National Plan of Action, 7.9 per cent of children between 5 and 17 years of age are involved in child labour, and of these 75.9 per cent are involved in hazardous work. Among the 16–17 age group, 14.3 per cent of children are engaged in hazardous work. Moreover, the survey indicates a higher number of boys than girls forced to engage in child labour (9.7 per cent of boys compared with 6 per cent of girls). In the rural areas of the country, where agriculture predominates, 15.7 per cent of children are involved in child labour, compared with 3.8 per cent in urban areas. Child labour is particularly widespread in the rural region of north-west Tunisia (Jendouba, Beja, Kef and Siliana), where 27.7 per cent of children are involved in child labour, and nearly one in four children (24.6 per cent) performs hazardous work. The Committee also notes that, according to ILO information communicated in the context of the PROTECTE project, a draft decree has been drawn up for establishing a unit, at the Ministry of Social Affairs, for the management of action against child labour. While duly noting the Government’s activities, the Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour, including in agriculture and in hazardous work. It requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of violations recorded and the penalties imposed, and on the role of the unit for the management of action against child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in the context of the National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour 2015–20 with regard to the elimination of child labour in the country, and to indicate whether the Plan of Action has been renewed.

Article 7(3). Determination of light work. For many years, the Committee has been asking the Government to take the necessary measures for the adoption of the Decree, referred to by the Government, for determining the nature of light work.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a draft decree has been drafted relating to the employment of children in light work in the context of non-industrial and non-agricultural activities. The Government states that a copy of this decree will be sent to the ILO once it has been adopted.

The Committee also notes that sections 55 and 56 of the Labour Code provide that the minimum age for admission to work is fixed at 13 years for light work which is not harmful to the health or development of children or detrimental to their school attendance. It notes that section 56, concerning non-industrial and non-agricultural activities, provides that light work can only be done by children for a maximum of two hours per day, and that a decree determines the nature of light work and the initial precautions to be taken when employing children in such work. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the decree concerning the employment of children in light work in non-industrial and non-agricultural activities will be adopted in the very near future, pursuant to section 56 of the Labour Code, in order to determine light work permitted for children from the age of 13 years.