Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Italy (Ratification: 1981)

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The Committee takes note of the Government’s report and of the observations of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), the Italian Confederation of Workers’ Trade Unions (CISL) and the Italian Union of Labour (UIL) of 16 November 2022. The Committee requests the Government to provide its reply to these observations.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy. The Committee takes note of the Government’s detailed information, in its report, regarding the measures taken to combat school dropouts and focus on school integration, with a view to breaking the cycle between child labour and school disaffection due to various causes, such as poverty, social hardship, immigration status, or belonging to certain categories at risk of social exclusion. A number of measures have also been taken to ensure the integration of pupils with non-Italian citizenship and the inclusion of students with disabilities. Moreover, the Committee notes the detailed information shared by the Government under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), regarding the measures it has taken to combat poverty. These include the Citizenship Income (Reddito di cittadinanza – RdC), which replaced the Inclusion Income (Reddito di inclusion – REI) in 2019 as the instrument for combating poverty, inequality and social exclusion and expanded the pool of beneficiaries, as well as the Single Universal Allowance for dependent children (AUUF), instituted by Legislative Decree No. 230 of 29 December 2021, which is a financial contribution to families. Further actions to combat poverty and social exclusion include the implementation of the Council of Europe’s recommendation of 14 June 2021, establishing a European Child Guarantee for the effective access of children and adolescents at risk of poverty or social exclusion to effective and free access to high quality early childhood education and care, education (including school-based activities), at least one healthy meal each school day and healthcare, with special attention to gender factors and specific forms of disadvantage.

The Committee takes note of the observations of the CGIL, CISL and UIL according to which attention needs to continue to be paid to situations of marginality and vulnerability of families, which lead to an increased risk for minors to abandon their education before reaching the legal minimum age for work or employment, also giving rise to exploitation due to illegality. Moreover, they indicate that there is a need to take due account of the exponential increase in recent years of child poverty which, already on the rise following the 2007 economic crisis, has had a further upsurge as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The percentage of minors in Italy at risk of poverty has risen significantly, the latest data on absolute poverty by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) showing that 1.382 million children do not have the necessary income to live in decent conditions. Furthermore, the CGIL, CISL and UIL indicate that exclusion from education and training is often systemic and is also at the root of child labour. A correlation between early school leaving and child labour exists, which particularly affects 14–15 year-olds, but the CGIL, CISL and UIL indicate that, in general, this phenomenon remains under the radar due to the lack of statistical surveys and administrative data in Italy. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of the measures taken and their impact on the progressive elimination of child labour in the country, including through combating the issues that have been identified as the main drivers of child labour, mainly: poverty, social vulnerability and exclusion, and early school leaving. It encourages the Government to pursue its efforts in this regard and to provide information on the results achieved. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on the employment of children and young persons below the age of 15 in the country.

Articles 2(1), 3(1) and 7(1). Minimum age for admission to work, hazardous work and light work. The Committee notes the Government’s information according to which article 3 of Law No. 977 of 1967 on the Protection of Children and Adolescent Labour, amended by Legislative Decree No. 179/2009, provides that the minimum age for admission to work is 15, but that children may be admitted to work in agriculture and family services from the age of 14, provided that this is compatible with the special requirements of health protection and does not lead to a breach of compulsory schooling.

In this regard, the CGIL, CISL and UIL indicate in their observations that special attention must be paid to occupational health and safety also with respect to underage employees, and that according to the most recent statistics, the incidence of accidents in the youngest age groups is very high. Out of a total of 536,002 accident reports submitted to the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) in the first 9 months of 2022, 28,781 were in the age group up to 14 years and 20,927 in the 15–19 age group.

The Committee therefore observes that it appears that the requirements of health protection for children working from the age of 14 to 18 appear either insufficient or not adequately applied in practice. The Committee reminds the Government that pursuant to Article 3(1) of the Convention, children from the age of 15 to 18 may only engage in work that is not likely to jeopardize their health or safety. The Committee also reminds the Government that the exception provided for in Article 7(1) of the Convention – which allows to set a lower age for admission to certain types of light work from the age of 13 or above – is intended to cover light work which is not likely to be harmful to their health or prejudice their school attendance. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take measures to ensure that children who are between 15 and 18 years of age are protected from engaging in work that is likely to harm their health and safety. It also requests the Government to take measures to ensure that the employment or work of children from the age of 14 to 15 is permitted only for light work and to ensure that the health and safety of the children who engage in such light work are protected. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.

Labour inspection and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s information according to which supervision in the field of labour and social legislation is ensured by the National Labour Inspectorate (INL), established in January 2017. The Government indicates that, while supervisory activities were reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inspections carried out in 2018 identified 263 illegally employed minors; 243 in 2019; 127 in 2020; and 144 in 2021. Violations concerning the employment of minors were found mostly in the following sectors: accommodation and catering services; wholesale and retail trade; vehicle and motorcycle repair; manufacturing; agriculture; art, sport and entertainment; and other service activities. The Government indicates that the percentage of minors found to be employed in violation of the requirements concerning the minimum age for admission to employment in the period 2018–21 was 17.6 per cent of the total number of minors identified through these inspections. The Committee encourages the Government to ensure that labour inspections are undertaken on an expanded basis, and to provide information on the number and nature of the infringements identified by the INL in relation to the employment of minors under the age of 15 in all sectors, disaggregated by gender and sector to the extent possible. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on violations identified, penalties imposed and collected, and any prosecutions in this regard.