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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Ratification: 2001)

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Articles 3(d) and 4(1) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to, and determination of, hazardous work. The Committee notes, from the Government’s report, that once again there has been no progress to prohibit the employment of children under the age of 18 years in hazardous work nor to determine the types of hazardous work prohibited to children below 18 years of age. The Committee further notes that the Government provides no information on the results of the consultations, ongoing since 2013, which were intended to amend the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act (EWYPC Act) to bring it into conformity with Articles 3(d) and 4(1) of the Convention. The Committee therefore notes with regret that section 3(1) of the EWYPC Act continues to permit the employment of children in all types of work and employment, including hazardous types of work, from the age of 14 years (except for the prohibition on night work in industrial undertakings under section 3(2)). The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that its legislation: (i) prohibits the employment of children under 18 years of age in hazardous work; and (ii) determines the types of hazardous work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments made in this regard, including the status of any ongoing consultations with social partners and other stakeholders to this end.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee previously noted that children were found to be engaged in hazardous work, including in the agricultural sector, the commercial sex industry and the illicit trade in drugs. It notes that the Government, in reply to its previous request, merely indicates that no new statistical information is available with regard to the implementation of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee recalls the importance of providing information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice and emphasizes the necessity to ensure that sufficient and up-to-date data on the prevalence of the worst forms of child labour are made available to determine the magnitude of child labour and, in particular, its worst forms (see General Survey on the Fundamental Conventions of 2012, para. 647). The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient data on the situation of children involved in the worst forms of child labour are made available. It requests the Government to provide information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by age and gender.

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