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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1997)

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Article 2(1) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. In its previous comments, the Committee requested that the Government amend section 129(2) of the Code for Children and Young Persons and its related sections (130(3); 131(1), (3) and (4); 133(3) and (4); and 138(1)) and that it raise the minimum age for work from 10 years back to 14 years, to bring it in conformity with Decision No. 0025/2017 of the Constitutional Court of 21 July 2017 and the Convention. The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report on the adoption of Law No. 1139 of 20 December 2018 amending the Code for Children and Young People, which amends sections 130, 131, 132, 133(3) and (4), 138(1) and (2), 140(b), 188(ff) and (gg) of the Code. The Committee notes with satisfaction that section 131, as amended, provides that only children of at least 14 years can apply for authorizations to work to the Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents. It further notes the Government’s statement that taking into consideration Decision No. 0025/2017 of the Constitutional Court of 21 July 2017 and Law No. 1139 amending the Code for Children and Young Persons, the minimum age for admission to work has been raised to 14 years, in line with the Convention. However, the Committee notes that Law No. 1139 does not explicitly amend section 129(2), which sets the minimum age for admission to work to 10 years for own-account workers, and to 12 years for children in an employment relationship. In this regard, the Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on the Right of the Child and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have noted with satisfaction the adoption of Law No. 1139 and the increase of the minimum age for admission to work or employment to 14 years (CRC/C/BOL/CO/5-6, 6 March 2023, para. 44 and E/C.12/BOL/CO/3, 5 November 2021, para. 32). The Committee further notes that article 133 of the Political Constitution provides that: “the ruling that declares the unconstitutionality of a law … makes the challenged norm inapplicable and has full effects on everyone”. The Committee requests the Government to confirm that section 129(2) of the Code for Children and Young Persons is effectively inapplicable.

Article 6. Apprenticeships. With regard to sections 28 and 58 of the General Labour Act, which allow children below the age of 14 years to work in apprenticeships, the Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report still does not provide any new information on the steps taken to prohibit children under 14 years of age from engaging in apprenticeships, and only refers to information already provided in previous reports. The Committee therefore once again recalls that sections 28–30 of the General Labour Act do not prescribe a minimum age for signing an apprenticeship contract and that section 58 of the Act explicitly prohibits work for children under the age of 14 years, except for cases of apprenticeships, while none of these provisions make any reference to section 129(1) of the Code for Children and Young Persons on the minimum age for admission to work. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that, in 2019, 12,000 children were working as apprentices (compared to 124,000 in 2016), but it notes that this data is not disaggregated by age. Recalling that it has been drawing the Government’s attention to this matter since 2001, the Committee strongly urges the Government to take the necessary steps to harmonize the provisions of the national legislation with Article 6 of the Convention so as to set, without delay, the minimum age for admission to employment or work in apprenticeships at 14 years.

Article 7(1) and (4). Light work. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that Law No. 1139 repeals section 132(7) of the Code for Children and Young Persons and amends section 133, with the effect of removing the provisions authorizing children between the ages of 10 and 14 years to be employed, under the condition that it does not endanger their life, health, safety or image, and does not interfere with their access to education. The Committee notes that while these amendments have repealed the express authorization for children to be engaged in light work between the ages of 10 and 14 years of age, sections 132 and 133, as amended, no longer provide a lower minimum age for admission to light work. The Committee therefore requests the Government, in consultation with the social partners concerned, to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Code for Children and Young Persons is amended so that a minimum age for admission to light work is clearly provided, which should be no less than 12 years, in accordance with Article 7(1) and (4) of the Convention.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that: (1), following the adoption of Law No. 1139, establishing the minimum age at 14, the Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents, in charge of delivering work authorizations for children, will only grant authorizations for children aged 14 and above; (2) efforts must be made to strengthen both the authorization and registration procedures of young workers, to guarantee the protection of their rights, and that, through the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare (MTEPS), it will insist that the legislation is applied by the Autonomous Regional Governments; and (3) section 138 of the Code for Children and Young Persons provides that the Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents is responsible for keeping the Register of work authorizations for children aged between 14 and 18 years who are engaged in work. The Committee notes, however, that section 138 does not address the obligation of the employer to keep and make available registers or other documents of persons whom he/she employs or who work for him/her and who are less than 18 years of age. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all employers keep a register of the persons whom they employ who are less than 18 years of age, in accordance with Article 9(3) of the Convention.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.