Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Ecuador (Ratification: 2000)

Articles 1 and 9(1) of the Convention. National policy, penalties and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee encouraged the Government to intensify its efforts to combat child labour within the context of the National Development Programme 2017-21. The Committee requested the Government to provide with its next report the municipal orders approved in the context of the orders on child labour. It also requested it to ensure that persons who employ children in violation of the law are penalized and that statistical data on labour inspection is made available.

The Committee takes due note, according to the Government’s report, of Ministerial Decision No. MDT-2018-0158 specifying the implementation of public policies, programmes and projects with a view to the progressive eradication of work by girls, boys and young persons, and Ministerial Decision No. 124 of 7 August 2019 of the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES) containing the technical service standard for the eradication of child labour. It also notes the 101 cooperation agreements with other bodies concluded by the MIES in 2021 with a view to implementing global coverage of the 11 350 girls, boys and young persons engaged in work, through the processes of prevention, individual follow up and restoration of their rights. The Committee also notes the interinstitutional cooperation agreement between the MIES and the Ministry of Labour with a view to the coordination, among other areas, of labour inspections, with the participation of the cantonal commissions for the protection of rights and the officers of National Police Department specialized in issues relating to girls, boys and young persons.

The Committee also notes that, in the context of the National Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour between 2017 and April 2020, some 693 labour controls and 11 017 inspections were carried out, of which 12.1 per cent were related to child labour. It further notes that 804 girls and boys engaged in child labour were referred to the cantonal systems for the protection of rights and that 84 boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 14 years engaged in child labour were identified in work in mechanics, catering, banana growing, family enterprises and general trading.

According to the various statistics provided in the Government’s report, the Committee also notes two sources of penalties applied in the context of child labour: (i) the statistics of the Single System for the Recording of Child Labour, which records a total of 67 penalties applied under section 95 of the Children and Young Persons Code relating to the presence of girls, boys and young persons in child labour, mainly between the ages of 10 and 14 years during the period 2018-21; (ii) the regional departments of labour and the public service of the towns of Portoviejo, Ambato, Quito, Cuenca, Loja, Ibarra and Guayaquil, which carried out labour inspections related to the project for the eradication of child labour. In 2019, penalties were handed down in 89 cases of child labour out of 863 inspections undertaken by the Enterprise Network for the Eradication of Child Labour, while in 2020 penalties were imposed in 17 cases of child labour out of 489 inspections and in the first half of 2021, penalties were imposed in 10 cases of child labour out of 292 inspections.

However, the Committee notes that, according to the statistics from the urban survey of employment, unemployment and underemployment carried out in 2019, a total of 310 373 children between the ages of five and 14 years were still subjected to child labour or exposed to the risk of being used for child labour. It also observes that, in its concluding observations in 2019 on the fourth periodic report of Ecuador, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed concern at the growth of the informal sector in both urban and rural areas and the lack of information on the effectiveness of the measures to combat child labour in the sector (E/C.12/ECU/CO/4, paragraph 35). The Committee therefore encourages the Government to continue its efforts to combat child labour in the context of the implementation of its programmes and projects with a view to the progressive eradication of work by girls, boys and young persons. Recalling that it is also possible to combat child labour in the informal economy through enforcement mechanisms, and particularly labour inspection, it also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to adapt and reinforce the labour inspection services and to ensure that inspectors receive appropriate training with a view to improving their capacity to detect cases of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue ensuring that persons who employ children in violation of the law are penalized.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to continue its efforts to increase the school attendance rate of children under 15 years of age.

The Committee notes the interventions of the Ministry of Education for very young children through the Subsecretariat of Specialized and Inclusive Education and the National Directorate of Initial and Basic Education, which are executing the “Initial and basic education project” intended to increase the percentage of girls and boys under five years of age in programmes for very young children, while recognizing the specific socio-economic characteristics of families and communities. It also notes that this project has developed a model for support to children and young persons who are behind with their schooling with a view to catching up, so that they can be reintegrated into the education system, by eliminating or mitigating their delay and therefore preventing early school drop outs.

The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government in annex to its report on the coverage of basic initial and general education over the past four years. The Committee emphasizes that between 2017 and 2021, according to the statistics contained in annex to the Government’s report, the total number of students in basic initial and general education both fell. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests it to continue its efforts to increase the school attendance rate of children under 15 years of age.

Article 8(2). Artistic performances. In its previous comments, the Committee once again requested the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to establish a system of individual permits for children under 15 years of age working in activities such as artistic performances, to limit the hours during which such employment or work is authorized and to prescribe the conditions of work and employment.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that there are no regulations authorizing children under 15 years of age to work in artistic activities, but that a reform of the Labour Code could be envisaged to specify the type of work for children under 15 years of age, while safeguarding their integrity and their rights, as set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador and international human rights instruments. The Committee recalls that, in accordance with Article 8(1) of the Convention, the competent authority may allow exceptions to the minimum age for admission to employment or work of 15 years specified by Ecuador and, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, authorize, in individual cases, participation in such activities as artistic performances. It also reminds the Government that, under the terms of Article 8(2) of the Convention, permits so granted shall limit the hours during which and prescribe the conditions in which such employment or work is allowed. The Committee therefore once again expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures in the near future for the adoption of legislation establishing a system of individual permits for children under 15 years of age who work in activities such as artistic performances, and to limit the hours during which and prescribe the conditions in which such employment or work is allowed. It requests the Government to provide information in its next report on a potential reform of the Labour Code or on the other measures adopted.