Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

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 that according to article 25A of the Constitution (as amended by the 18th Constitutional Amendment) the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of 5 and 16 years in such manner as may be determined by law. It also noted 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 Education Act 2013 provided 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 remained applicable in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, providing for compulsory education at the primary level for children between 5 and 10 years of age. The Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the legislation requiring attendance in compulsory education is adopted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the near future.

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s information that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Free Compulsory Primary and Secondary Education Act which provides for free and compulsory primary and secondary education to all children from the age of 5–16 years was adopted in April 2017.

The Committee observes that the four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) have enacted laws providing for free and compulsory education until the age of 16 years. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the minimum age for admission to employment or work specified by Pakistan at the time of ratification was 14 years. While taking due note of the progress made, the Committee reminds the Government that pursuant to Article 2(3) of the Convention, the minimum age specified should not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling. Furthermore, the Committee emphasizes the importance of linking the age of school completion with the minimum age for admission to work or employment. If the minimum age for admission to work (14 years of age) is lower than the age of completion of school (16 years of age), children may be encouraged to leave school as children required to attend school may also be legally authorized to work (see General Survey of 2012 on the fundamental Conventions concerning rights at work, paragraph 370).  The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to raise the minimum age for admission to employment from 14 to 16 years, in order to link this age with the age of completion of compulsory schooling, in conformity with Article 2(3) of the Convention.

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 and section 9(3) provides for exceptions in family-run establishments, relating to hours and period of work, weekly holidays and notice to inspectors. The Committee also noted that, the new laws enacted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab removed the exception provided for under section 3, but not that under section 9(3). Draft laws in the ICT, Balochistan and Sindh also contain similar provisions. The Committee further noted the Government’s information that the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development would further discuss with the provincial governments and the social partners whether they wished to avail of the possibility to exclude work in family-run establishments from the scope of the Convention pursuant to Article 4(1) of the Convention.

The Committee once again notes the Government’s indication that further information on this subject will be provided after consultation with the Federal and Provincial Tripartite Consultative Committee.  The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on consultations held in this regard.

Article 7. Light work.  The Committee previously observed that a large number of children under the age of 14 (approximately 3 million children) were economically active. It 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 lower minimum age for this permitted work. It also noted that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2015 (KPK Act 2015) provides for a definition of light work and regulates light work activities of children from the age of 12 years. Noting the Government’s information that the draft Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act 2016 contains provisions regulating light work for children of 12 years of age, the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption of this draft law. It also encouraged 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.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act 2017 defines light work as defined in the KPK Act of 2015. The Government also indicates that the Balochistan Employment of Children (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, 2019 and the proposed amendments to the Employment of Children Act, 1991 by the ICT administration have incorporated provisions regulating light work. Moreover, discussions are ongoing at the tripartite forums in the province of Punjab on incorporating the definition of “light work” in the Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Ordinance, 2016.

The Committee observes that while section 2 of the Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act 2017 provides for a definition of “light work”, there appears to be no provisions establishing a minimum age for light work or regulating the hours and conditions of work by children of 12 years of age in light work activities.  The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged by the Government of Sindh to include within the Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act 2017 provisions establishing a lower minimum age of 12 years for light work activities and regulating the hours and conditions of such work. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Balochistan Employment of Children (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, 2019 and amendments to the Employment of Children Act, 1991 which contain provisions defining and regulating light work activities by children from the age of 12 years are adopted in the near future. It further expresses the firm hope that the Government of Punjab will take the necessary measures to incorporate similar provisions on light work in the Punjab Restriction on Employment of Children Ordinance, 2016. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.