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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Uganda (Ratification: 2003)

The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It expects that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2022, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.

Repetition

Article 2(1) and (4) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee notes that section 8(2) of the Children (Amendment) Act of 2016 sets the minimum age of employment to 16 years.

Articles 3(3) and 6. Admission to hazardous work from the age of 16 years and vocational training and apprenticeship. The Committee previously noted that, by virtue of section 34 of the Employment Act, the Minister could, on the recommendation of the Labour Advisory Board (LAB), make regulations governing the employment of persons for apprenticeship. The Committee noted that section 8 of the Employment of Children Regulations provides that a child aged between 12 and 17 years engaged in educational training and apprenticeship programmes which are on the list of hazardous work shall first be approved by a commissioner before they can take part in such work. Section 9 provides that an employer who wishes to employ a child in an apprenticeship shall apply to the commissioner, and that the commissioner shall issue such permits restricting the age, number of hours of work and conditions in which work in this apprenticeship is allowed. The Committee reminded the Government that, regardless of whether or not it is conducted in the framework of a vocational training or apprenticeship, children under 18 years are prohibited from engaging in hazardous work. The Committee noted the Government’s information that it has developed guidelines for labour inspectors on the identification of hazardous work that children are not permitted to undertake, in collaboration with the social partners. The Committee requested that the Government provide information on the manner in which the application of the guidelines for labour inspectors ensured that children under 16 years of age were not permitted to undertake educational training and apprenticeships which are on the list of hazardous work.

Noting the absence of information in this regard in the Government’s report, the Committee recalls that, under the terms of Article 3(3) of the Convention, national laws or regulations may, after consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, authorize the performance of hazardous types of work as from the age of 16 years on condition that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. The Committee therefore once again requests that the Government provide information on the manner in which the application of the guidelines for labour inspectors ensures that children under 16 years of age are not permitted to undertake educational training and apprenticeships which are on the list of hazardous work, and that young persons between 16 and 18 years of age who do undertake such educational training or apprenticeships do so under the safeguards laid out in Article 3(3) of the Convention.

Article 9(1). Penalties and labour inspectorate. The Committee previously noted that, as per section 96 of the Employment Act, any violation of the Act is punishable with a fine of 24 currency points. According to Schedule 2 of the Act, each currency point is equivalent to 20,000 Uganda shillings. Repeated offences are punishable by a fine of up to 48 currency points or imprisonment of a maximum period of two years.

The Committee notes that, according to the ILO–IPEC field office, there are a total of 27 occupational safety and health (OSH) inspectors and 49 district labour inspectors (out of 119 districts). Moreover, the Committee notes that the Country Level Engagement and Assistance to Reduce Child Labour (CLEAR) project contributed to strengthening labour inspectorates at the national and district level to address child labour, through the training of 61 inspectors on child labour inspections skills. The CLEAR project has also supported the revision of the labour inspection checklist to address child labour adequately and developed a toolkit for labour inspectors on combating child labour. While welcoming the measures taken by the Government to strengthen the labour inspection system on child labour, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the regulations providing for penalties in the case of a violation of the provisions on the employment of children and young persons are effectively implemented by the labour inspectorate. It encourages the Government to take measures to ensure that the annual inspection report is published as soon as possible and to ensure that it includes information on the number and nature of violations involving children detected by the labour inspectorate.