Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Lesotho (Ratification: 2001)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and application of the Convention in practice. In response to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report that it is in the process of developing the second National Action Plan on the Elimination of Child Labour (APEC-II) 2022-2026. It also notes from the Government’s report under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that the preliminary findings of the Labour Force Survey 2020 reveals that 2.99 per cent of children are in child labour with the highest proportion among males (79.1 per cent) and among children in the rural areas (80 per cent). The Committee further notes from the UNICEF-Lesotho 2021 Multidimensional Child Poverty Report that the country has successfully reduced poverty in the past fifteen years following the implementation of extensive social protection programmes. However, this report indicates that as of 2018, 45.5 per cent of the child population is multidimensionally poor and nearly one in three children aged 5–17 years are engaged in child labour. The Committee therefore requests the Government to continue to take effective measures to reduce the incidence of child labour in the country. Accordingly, it requests the Government to ensure the adoption and implementation of APEC-II without delay and to provide information on the specific measures taken within its framework to eliminate child labour and the results achieved. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the situation of working children in Lesotho, including the number of children below the minimum age engaged in child labour and the nature, scope and trends of their work, disaggregated by age and gender. Lastly, it requests the Government to provide a copy of the results of the Labour Force Survey, once completed.

Article 2(1). Scope of application and labour inspectorate. Self-employment and work in the informal economy. In its previous comments, the Committee noted from the Decent Work Country Programme III 2018–23 document that over 50 per cent of the labour force is employed in the informal sector and that regulating and preventing child labour is a major concern since the coverage of labour inspectorate did not include informal economy activities. It further noted that the Labour Code Amendment Bill contains provisions extending its scope as well as the labour inspection services to the informal economy.

In response to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that the labour inspectorate through the Child Labour Unit works with the Community Child Protection Teams (CCPTs) in the villages where child labour is rampant. In addition, the District Child Protection Teams (DCPTs) regularly conduct public gatherings to raise awareness on child labour issues. The Government indicates that two Child Helplines supported by the Police and the Ministry of Social Development were launched and the Child Labour Unit provides training to social workers on identifying and dealing with calls that entail child labour issues. The Committee also notes from the Government’s report under Convention No. 182 that the Labour Code Amendment Bill is awaiting a clearance certificate from the Attorney General to be presented before Parliament.

The Committee further notes the Government’s information in its report of 2020 to the Human Rights Committee on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that the Labour Inspectorate is undergoing a restructuring process which will enable it to establish its own budget, transportation, equipment and an increase in the number of labour inspectors dedicated to child labour. The new structure suggests that there will be labour inspectors responsible for conducting inspections in the informal sector, including domestic work and herding (CCPR/C/LSO/2, paragraph 140). The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that the protection afforded by the Convention is granted to self-employed children and children working in the informal economy, including children engaged in herding and domestic work. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken in this regard, including within the restructuring process of the labour inspectorate as well as the measures taken by the Child Labour Unit, CCPTs and DCPTs in addressing child labour in the informal economy. The Committee finally expresses the firm hope that the Labour Code Amendment Bill which contains provisions protecting children working in the informal economy and extending labour inspection services to the informal economy, will be adopted and enforced in the near future.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee previously noted that, according to the Education Act of 2010, the age of completion of compulsory education is 13 years in Lesotho, two years before a child is legally eligible to work (15 years).

The Committee notes the Government’s information that deliberations are in progress among the responsible ministries to raise the compulsory age for education. The Committee once again reminds the Government that compulsory schooling is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, and underlines the need to link the age for admission to employment or work to the age of completion of compulsory schooling, as established in Paragraph 4 of the Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146). If compulsory schooling comes to an end before children are legally entitled to work, there may arise a vacuum which regrettably opens the door for the economic exploitation of children (see 2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 371). The Committee therefore once again strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure compulsory education up to the minimum age of employment or work of 15 years. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

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