Appendix 2.5 Excerpts from selected ILO standards on child labour

The first Convention on child labour was adopted at the first session of the International Labour Conference in 1919. This instrument - the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 5) - fixed at 14 years the minimum age for admission of children to industrial employment. Subsequently, many international labour Conventions and Recommendations were adopted prohibiting the employment of children under a certain age and regulating their conditions of work in particular sectors or occupations. The most recent instruments on the subject are the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182), and Recommendation (No. 190), adopted in 1999. The fundamental and most comprehensive instruments towards the total abolition of child labour are the Minimum Age Convention (No. 138) and Recommendation (No. 146), adopted in 1973. Excerpts from these and other Conventions and Recommendations relating to night work, hazardous employment, the handling of heavy weights and medical examinations are reproduced below.

PROHIBITION AND ELIMINATION OF THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

Excerpts, Articles 1 to 8.

Article 1

Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Convention, the term "child" shall apply to all persons under the age of 18.

Article 3

For the purposes of this Convention, the term "the worst forms of child labour" comprises:

(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;

(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;

(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;

(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.

Article 4

1. The types of work referred to under Article 3(d) shall be determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, taking into consideration relevant international standards, in particular Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999.

2. The competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, shall identify where the types of work so determined exist.

3. The list of the types of work determined under paragraph 1 of this Article shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary, in consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned.

Article 5

Each Member shall, after consultation with employers' and workers' organizations, establish or designate: appropriate mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the provisions giving effect to this Convention.

Article 6

1. Each Member shall design and implement programmes of action to eliminate as a priority the worst forms of child labour.

2. Such programmes of action shall be designed and implemented in consultation with relevant government institutions and employers' and workers' organizations, taking into consideration the views of other concerned groups as appropriate.

Article 7

1. Each Member shall take all necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of the provisions giving effect to this Convention including the provision and application of penal sanctions or, as appropriate, other sanctions.

2. Each Member shall, taking into account the importance of education in eliminating child labour, take effective and time-bound measures to:

(a) prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour;

(b) provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration;

(c) ensure access to free basic education, and, wherever possible and appropriate, vocational training, for all children removed from the worst forms of child labour;

(d) identify and reach out to children at special risk; and

(e) take account of the special situation of girls.

3. Each Member shall designate the competent authority responsible for the implementation of the provisions giving effect to this Convention.

Article 8

Members shall take appropriate steps to assist one another in giving effect to the provisions of this Convention through enhanced international cooperation and/or assistance including support for social and economic development, poverty eradication programmes and universal education.

Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190)

I. Programmes of action

2. The programmes of action referred to in Article 6 of the Convention should be designed and implemented as a matter of urgency, in consultation with relevant government institutions and employers' and workers' organizations, taking into consideration the views of the children directly affected by the worst forms of child labour, their families and, as appropriate, other concerned groups committed to the aims of the Convention and this Recommendation. Such programmes should aim at, inter alia: I

(a) identifying and denouncing the worst forms of child labour;

(b) preventing the engagement of children in or removing them from the worst forms of child labour, protecting them from reprisals and providing for their rehabilitation and social integration through measures which address their educational, physical and psychological needs;

(c) giving special attention to:

(i) younger children;
(ii) the girl child;
(iii) the problem of hidden work situations, in which girls are at special risk;
(iv) other groups of children with special vulnerabilities or needs;

(d) identifying, reaching out to and working with communities where children are at special risk;

(e) informing, sensitizing and mobilizing public opinion and concerned groups, including children and their families.

II. Hazardous work

3. In determining the types of work referred to under Article 3(d) of the Convention, and in identifying where they exist, consideration should be given, inter alia, to:

(a) work which exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse;

(b) work underground, under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces;

(c) work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools, or which involves the manual handling or transport of heavy loads;

(d) work in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging to their health;

(e) work under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours or during the night or work where the child is unreasonably confined to the premises of the employer.

4. For the types of work referred to under Article 3(d) of the Convention and Paragraph 3 above, national laws or regulations or the competent authority could, after consultation with the workers' and employers' organizations concerned, authorize employment or work as from the age of 16 on condition that the health, safety- and morals of the children concerned are fully protected, and that the children have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity".

III. Implementation

5. (1) Detailed information and statistical data on the nature and extent of child labour should be compiled and kept up to date to serve as a basis for determining priorities for national action for the abolition of child labour, in particular for the prohibition and elimination of its worst forms as a matter of urgency.

(2) As far as possible, such information and statistical data should include data disaggregated by sex, age group, occupation, branch of economic activity, status in employment, school attendance and geographical location. The importance of an effective system of birth registration, including the issuing of birth certificates, should be taken into account.

(3) Relevant data concerning violations of national provisions for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour should be compiled and kept up to date.

6. The compilation and processing of the information and data referred to in Paragraph 5 above should be carried out with due regard for the right to privacy.

7. The information compiled under Paragraph 5 above should be communicated to the International Labour Office on a regular basis.

8. Members should establish or designate appropriate national mechanisms to monitor the implementation of national provisions for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, after consultation with employers' and workers' organizations.

9. Members should ensure that the competent authorities which have responsibilities for implementing national provisions for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour cooperate with each other and coordinate their activities.

10. National laws or regulations or the competent authority should determine the persons to be held responsible in the event of non-compliance with national provisions for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

11. Members should, in so far as it is compatible with national law, cooperate with international efforts aimed at the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency by:

(a) gathering and exchanging information concerning criminal offences, including those involving international networks;

(b) detecting and prosecuting those involved in the sale and trafficking of children, or in the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;

(c) registering perpetrators of such offences.

12. Members should provide that the following worst forms of child labour are criminal offences:

(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;

(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; and

(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties, or for activities which involve the unlawful carrying or use of firearms or other weapons.

13. Members should ensure that penalties including, where appropriate, criminal penalties are applied for violations of the national provisions for the prohibition and elimination of any type of work referred to in Article 3(d) of the Convention.

14. Members should also provide as a matter of urgency for other criminal, civil or administrative remedies, where appropriate, to ensure the effective enforcement of national provisions for the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, such as special supervision of enterprises which have used the worst forms of child labour, and, in cases of persistent violation, consideration of temporary or permanent revoking of permits to operate.

15. Other measures aimed at the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour might include the following:

(a) informing, sensitizing and mobilizing the general public, including national and local political leaders, parliamentarians and the judiciary;

(b) involving and training employers' and workers' organizations and civic organizations;

(c) providing appropriate training for the government officials concerned, especially inspectors and law enforcement officials, and for other relevant professionals;

(d) providing for the prosecution in their own country of the Member's nationals who commit offences under its national provisions for the prohibition and immediate elimination of the worst forms of child labour even when these offences are committed in another country;

(e) simplifying legal and administrative procedures and ensuring that they are appropriate and prompt;

(f) encouraging the development of policies by undertakings to promote the aims of the Convention;

(g) monitoring and giving publicity to best practices on the elimination of child labour;

(h) giving publicity to legal or other provisions on child labour in the different languages or dialects;

(i) establishing special complaints procedures and making provisions to protect from discrimination and reprisals those who legitimately expose violations of the provisions of the Convention, as well as establishing helplines or points of contact and ombudspersons;

(j) adopting appropriate measures to improve the educational infrastructure and the training of teachers to meet the needs of boys and girls;

(k) as far as possible, taking into account in national programmes of action:

(i) the need for job creation and vocational training for the parents and adults in the families of children working in the conditions covered by the Convention; and

(ii) the need for sensitizing parents to the problem of children working in such conditions.

16. Enhanced international cooperation and/or assistance among Members for the prohibition and effective elimination of the worst forms of child labour should complement national efforts and may, as appropriate, be developed and implemented in consultation with employers' and workers' organizations. Such international cooperation and/or assistance should include:

(a) mobilizing resources for national or international programmes;

(b) mutual legal assistance;

(c) technical assistance including the exchange of information;

(d) support for social and economic development, poverty eradication programmes and universal education.

MINIMUM AGE FOR ADMISSION TO EMPLOYMENT

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)

The General Conference of the ILO adopted Convention No. 138 in 1973 on a minimum age for admission to employment, stating that "the time has come to establish a general instrument on the subject, which would gradually replace the existing ones applicable to limited economic sectors, with a view to achieving the total abolition of child labour". Articles 1 to 9 are quoted in their entirety.

"Article 1

Each Member for which this Convention is in force undertakes to pursue a national policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child labour and to raise progressively the minimum age for admission to employment or work to a level consistent with the fullest physical and mental development of young persons.

Article 2

1. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall specify, in a declaration appended to its ratification, a minimum age for admission to employment or work within its territory and on means of transport registered in its territory; subject to Articles 4 to 8 of this Convention, no one under that age shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation.

2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention may subsequently notify the Director-General of the International Labour Office, by further declarations, that it specifies a minimum age higher than that previously specified.

3. The minimum age specified in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article, a Member whose economy and educational facilities are insufficiently developed may, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, initially specify a minimum age of 14 years.

5. Each Member which has specified a minimum age of 14 years in pursuance of the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall include in its reports on the application of this Convention submitted under article 22 of: the Constitution of the International Labour Organization a statement -

(a) that its reason for doing so subsists; or
(b) that it renounces its right to avail itself of the provisions in question as from a stated date.

Article 3

1. The minimum age for admission to any type of employment or work which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons shall not be less than 18 years.

2. The types of employment or work to which paragraph 1 of this Article applies shall be determined by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, national laws or regulations or the competent authority may, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, authorize employment or 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 the young persons have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity.

Article 4

1. In so far as necessary, the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, may exclude from the application of this Convention limited categories of employment or work in respect of which special and substantial problems of application arise.

2. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall list in its first report on the application of the Convention submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization any categories which may have been excluded in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this Article, giving the reasons for such exclusion, and shall state in subsequent reports the position of its law and practice in respect of the categories excluded and the extent to which effect has been given or is proposed to be given to the Convention in respect of such categories.

3. Employment or work covered by Article 3 of this Convention shall not be excluded from the application of the Convention in pursuance of this Article.

Article 5

1. A Member whose economy and administrative facilities are insufficiently developed may, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, initially limit the scope of application of this Convention.

2. Each Member which avails itself of the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall specify, in a declaration appended to its ratification, the branches of economic activity or types of undertakings to which it will apply the provisions of the Convention.

3. The provisions of the Convention shall be applicable as a minimum to the following: mining and quarrying; manufacturing; construction; electricity, gas and water; sanitary services; transport, storage and communication; and plantations and other agricultural undertakings mainly producing for commercial purposes, but excluding family and small-scale holdings producing for local consumption and not regularly employing hired workers.

4. Any Member which has limited the scope of application of this Convention in pursuance of this Article -

(a) shall indicate in its reports under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization the general position as regards the employment or work of young persons and children in the branches of activity which are excluded from the scope of application of this Convention and any progress which may have been made towards wider application of the provisions of the Convention;

(b) may at any time formally extend the scope of application by a declaration addressed to the Director-General of the International Labour Office.

Article 6

This Convention does not apply to work done by children and young persons in schools for general, vocational or technical education or in other training institutions, or to work done by persons at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, and is an integral part of -

(a) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible;

(b) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or

(c) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training.

Article 7

1. National laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of persons 13 to 15 years of age on light work which is -

(a) not likely to be harmful to their health or development; and

(b) not such as to prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programmes approved by the competent authority or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received.

2. National laws or regulations may also permit the employment or work of persons who are at least 15 years of age but have not yet completed their compulsory schooling on work which meets the requirements set forth in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article.

3. The competent authority shall determine the activities in which employment or work may be permitted under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article and shall prescribe the number of hours during which and the conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, a Member which has availed itself of the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 2 may, for as long as it continues to do so, substitute the ages 12 and 14 for the ages 13 and 15 in paragraph 1 and the age 14 for the age 15 in paragraph 2 of this Article.

Article 8

1. After consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, the competent authority may, by permits granted in individual cases, allow exceptions to the prohibition of employment or work provided for in Article 2 of this Convention, for such purposes as participation in artistic performances.

2. Permits so granted shall limit the number of hours during which and prescribe the conditions in which employment or work is allowed.

Article 9

1. All necessary measures, including the provision of appropriate penalties, shall be taken by the competent authority to ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of this Convention.

2. National laws or regulations or the competent authority shall define the persons responsible for compliance with the provisions giving effect to the Convention.

3. National laws or regulations or the competent authority shall prescribe the registers or other documents which shall be kept and made available by the employer; such registers or documents shall contain the names and ages or dates of birth, duly certified wherever possible, of persons whom he employs or who work for him and who are less than 18 years of age."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume LVI, Number 1, 1973, pages 21-27.

Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146)

This Recommendation, adopted by the Conference of the ILO in 1973, supplements Convention No. 138. It expresses the desire of the Conference "to define further certain elements of policy which are the concern of the International Labour Organization". These relate to national policy, minimum age, hazardous employment or work, conditions of employment, and enforcement. The text of the operative part of the Recommendation follows.

I. National policy

1. To ensure the success of the national policy provided for in Article 1 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, high priority should be given to planning for and meeting the needs of children and youth in national development policies and programmes and to the progressive extension of the inter-related measures necessary to provide the best possible conditions of physical and mental growth for children and young persons.

2. In this connection special attention should be given to such areas of planning and policy as the following:

(a) firm national commitment to full employment, in accordance with the Employment Policy Convention and Recommendation, 1964, and the taking of measures designed to promote employment-oriented development in rural and urban areas;

(b) the progressive extension of other economic and social measures to alleviate poverty wherever it exists and to ensure family living standards and income which are such as to make it unnecessary to have recourse to the economic activity of children;

(c) the development and progressive extension, without any discrimination, of social security and family welfare measures aimed at ensuring child maintenance, including children's allowances;

(d) the development and progressive extension of adequate facilities for education and vocational orientation and training appropriate in form and content to the needs of the children and young persons concerned;

(e) the development and progressive extension of appropriate facilities for the protection and welfare of children and young persons, including employed young persons, and for the promotion of their development.

3. Particular account should as necessary be taken of the needs of children and young persons who do not have families or do not live with their own families and of migrant children and young persons who live and travel with their families. Measures taken to that end should include the provision of fellowships and vocational training.

4. Full-time attendance at school or participation in approved vocational orientation or training programmes should be required and effectively ensured up to an age at least equal to that specified for admission to employment in accordance with Article 2 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973.

5. (1) Consideration should be given to measures such as preparatory training, not involving hazards, for types of employment or work in respect of which the minimum age prescribed in accordance with Article 3 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, is higher than the age of completion of compulsory full-time schooling.

(2) Analogous measures should be envisaged where the professional exigencies of a particular occupation include a minimum age for admission which is higher than the age of completion of compulsory full-time schooling.

II. Minimum age

6. The minimum age should be fixed at the same level for all sectors of economic activity.

7. (1) Members should take as their objective the progressive raising to 16 years of the minimum age for admission to employment or work specified in pursuance of Article 2 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973.

(2) Where the minimum age for employment or work covered by Article 2 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, is still below 15 years, urgent steps should be taken to raise it to that level.

8. Where it is not immediately feasible to fix a minimum age for all employment in agriculture and in related activities in rural areas, a minimum age should be fixed at least for employment on plantations and in the other agricultural undertakings referred to in Article 5, paragraph 3, of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973.

III. Hazardous employment or work

9. Where the minimum age for admission to types of employment or work which are likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons is still below 18 years, immediate steps should be taken to raise it to that level.

10. (1) In determining the types of employment or work to which Article 3 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, applies, full account should be taken of relevant international labour standards, such as those concerning dangerous substances, agents or processes (including ionizing radiations), the lifting of heavy weights and underground work.

(2) The list of the types of employment or work in question should be re-examined periodically and revised as necessary, particularly in the light of advancing scientific and technological knowledge.

11. Where, by reference to Article 5 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, a minimum age is not immediately fixed for certain branches of the economic activity or types of undertakings, appropriate minimum age provisions should be made applicable therein to types of employment or work presenting hazards for young persons.

IV. Conditions of employment

12. (1) Measures should be taken to ensure that the condition in which children and young persons under the age of 18 years are employed or work reach and are maintained at a satisfactory standard. These conditions should be supervised closely.

(2) Measures should likewise be taken to safeguard and supervise the conditions in which children and young persons undergo vocational orientation and training within undertakings, training institutions and schools for vocational or technical education and to formulate standards for their protection and development.

13. (1) In connection with the application of the preceding Paragraph, as well as in giving effect to Article 7, paragraph 3, of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, special attention should be given to -

(a) the provision of fair remuneration and its protection, bearing in mind the principle of equal pay for equal work;

(b) the strict limitation of the hours spent at work in a day and in a week, and the prohibition of overtime, so as to allow enough time for education and training (including the time needed for homework related thereto), for rest during the day and for leisure activities;

(c) the granting, without possibility of exception save in genuine emergency, of a minimum consecutive period of 12 hours' night rest, and of customary weekly rest days;

(d) the granting of an annual holiday with pay of at least four weeks and, in any case, not shorter than that granted to adults;

(e) coverage by social security schemes, including employment injury, medical care and sickness benefit schemes, whatever the conditions of employment or work may be;

(f) the maintenance of satisfactory standards of safety and health and appropriate instruction and supervision.

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) of this Paragraph applies to young seafarers in so far as they are not covered in respect of the matters dealt with therein by international labour Conventions or Recommendations specifically concerned with maritime employment.

V. Enforcement

14. (1) Measures to ensure the effective application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, and of this Recommendation should include -

(a) the strengthening as necessary of labour inspection and related services, for instance by the special training of inspectors to detect abuses in the employment or work of children and young persons and to correct such abuses; and

(b) the strengthening of services for the improvement and inspection of training in undertakings.

(2) Emphasis should be placed on the role which can be played by inspectors in supplying information and advice on effective means of complying with relevant provisions as well as in securing their enforcement.

(3) Labour inspection and inspection of training in undertakings should be closely coordinated to provide the greatest economic efficiency and, generally, the labour administration services should work in close cooperation with the services responsible for the education, training, welfare and guidance of children and young persons.

15. Special attention should be paid -

(a) to the enforcement of provisions concerning employment in hazardous types of employment or work; and

(b) in so far as education or training is compulsory, to the prevention of the employment or work of children and young persons during the hours when instruction is available.

16. The following measures should be taken to facilitate the verification of ages:

(a) the public authorities should maintain an effective system of birth registration, which should include the issue of birth certificates;

(b) employers should be required to keep and to make available to the competent authority registers or other documents indicating the names and ages or dates of birth, duly certified wherever possible, not only of children and young persons employed by them but also of those receiving vocational orientation or training in their undertakings;

(c) children and young persons working in the streets, in outside stalls, in public places, in itinerant occupations or in other circumstances which make the checking of employers' records impracticable should be issued licences or other documents indicating their eligibility for such work."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume LVI, Number 1, 1973, pages 34-37.

NIGHT WORK

Night Work of Children and Young Persons (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1921 (No. 14)

"The General Conference of the International Labour Organization recommends:

I. That each Member of the International Labour Organization take steps to regulate the employment of children under the age of fourteen years in agricultural undertakings during the night, in such a way as to ensure to them a period of rest compatible with their physical necessities and consisting of not less than ten consecutive hours.

II. That each Member of the International Labour Organization take steps to regulate the employment of young persons between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years in agricultural undertakings during the night, in such a way as to ensure to them a period of rest compatible with their physical necessities and consisting of not less than nine consecutive hours."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume IV, Number 22, 30 November 1921, pages 492-493.

Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946 (No. 79)

Excerpts, Articles 1 to 6

"Article 1

1. This Convention applies to children and young persons employed for wages, or working directly or indirectly for gain, in non-industrial occupations.

2. For the purpose of this Convention, the term "non-industrial occupation" includes all occupations other than those recognized by the competent authority as industrial, agricultural or maritime occupations.

3. The competent authority shall define the line of division which separates non-industrial occupations from industrial, agricultural and maritime occupations.

4. National laws or regulations may exempt from the application of this Convention -

(a) domestic service in private households; and

(b) employment on work which is not deemed to be harmful, prejudicial, or dangerous to children or young persons, in family undertakings in which only parents and their children or wards are employed.

Article 2

1. Children under fourteen years of age who are admissible for full-time or part-time employment and children over fourteen years of age who are still subject to full-time compulsory school attendance shall not be employed nor work at night during a period of at least fourteen consecutive hours, including the interval between eight o'clock in the evening and eight o'clock in the morning.

2. Provided that national laws or regulations may, where local conditions so require, substitute another interval of twelve hours of which the beginning shall not be fixed later than eight thirty o'clock in the evening nor the termination earlier than six o'clock in the morning.

Article 3

1. Children over fourteen years of age who are no longer subject to full-time compulsory school attendance and young persons under eighteen years of age shall not be employed nor work at night during a period of at least twelve consecutive hours, including the interval between ten o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning.

2. Provided that, where there are exceptional circumstances affecting a particular branch of activity or a particular area, the competent authority may, after consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations concerned, decide that in the case of children and young persons employed in that branch of activity or area, the interval between eleven o'clock in the evening and seven o'clock in the morning may be substituted for that between ten o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning.

Article 4

1. In countries where the climate renders work by day particularly trying, the night period may be shorter than that prescribed in the above articles if compensatory rest is accorded during the day.

2. The prohibition of night work may be suspended by the Government for young persons of sixteen years of age and over when in case of serious emergency the national interest demands it.

3. National laws or regulations may empower an appropriate authority to grant temporary individual licences in order to enable young persons of sixteen years of age and over to work at night when the special needs of vocational training so require, subject to the period of rest being not less than eleven consecutive hours in every period of twenty-four hours.

Article 5

1. National laws or regulations may empower an appropriate authority to grant individual licences in order to enable children or young persons under the age of eighteen years to appear at night as performers in public entertainments or to participate at night as performers in the making of cinematographic films.

2. The minimum age at which such a licence may be granted shall be prescribed by national laws or regulations.

3. No such licence may be granted when, because of the nature of the entertainment or the circumstances in which it is carried on, or the nature of the cinematographic film or the conditions under which it is made, participation in the entertainment or in the making of the film may be dangerous to the life, health, or morals of the child or young persons.

4. The following conditions shall apply to the granting of licences:

(a) the period of employment shall not continue after midnight;

(b) strict safeguards shall be prescribed to protect the health and morals, and to ensure kind treatment of, the child or young person and to avoid interference with his education;

(c) the child or young person shall be allowed a consecutive rest period of at least fourteen hours.

Article 6

1. In order to ensure the due enforcement of the provisions of this Convention, national laws or regulations shall -

(a) provide for a system of public inspection and supervision adequate for the particular needs of the various branches of activity to which the Convention applies;

(b) require every employer to keep a register, or to keep available official records, showing the names and dates of birth of all persons under eighteen years of age employed by him and their hours of work; in the case of children and young persons working in the streets or in places to which the public have access, the register or records shall show the hours of service agreed upon in the contract of employment;

(c) provide suitable means for assuring identification and supervision of persons under eighteen years of age engaged, on account of an employer or on their own account, in employment or occupations carried on in the streets or in places to which the public have access;

(d) provide penalties applicable to employers or other responsible adults for breaches of such laws or regulations.

2. There shall be included in the annual reports to be submitted under Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization full information concerning all laws and regulations by which effect is given to the provisions of this Convention and, more particularly, concerning -

(a) any interval which may be substituted for the interval prescribed in paragraph 1 of Article 2 in virtue of the provisions of paragraph 2 of that Article;

(b) the extent to which advantage is taken of the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 3;

(c) the authorities empowered to grant individual licences in virtue of the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 5 and the minimum age prescribed for the granting of licences in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of the said Article."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume XXIX, Number 4, 15 November 1946, pages 274-280.

Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 90)

Excerpts, Articles 1 to 6.

Article 1

1. For the purpose of this Convention, the term "industrial undertaking" includes particularly -

(a) mines, quarries, and other works for the extraction of minerals from the earth;

(b) undertakings in which articles are manufactured, altered, cleaned, repaired, ornamented, finished, adapted for sale, broken up or demolished, or in which materials are transformed, including undertakings engaged in shipbuilding or in the generation, transformation or transmission of electricity or motive power of any kind;

(c) undertakings engaged in building and civil engineering work, including constructional, repair, maintenance, alteration and demolition work;

(d) undertakings engaged in the transport of passengers or goods by road or rail, including the handling of goods at docks, quays, wharves, warehouses or airports.

2. The competent authority shall define the line of division which separates industry from agriculture, commerce and other non-industrial occupations.

3. National laws or regulations may exempt from the application of this Convention employment on work which is not deemed to be harmful, prejudicial, or dangerous to young persons in family undertakings in which only parents and their children or wards are employed.

Article 2

1. For the purpose of this Convention the term "night" signifies a period of at least twelve consecutive hours.

2. In the case of young persons under sixteen years of age, this period shall include the interval between ten o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning.

3. In the case of young persons who have attained the age of sixteen years but are under the age of eighteen years, this period shall include an interval prescribed by the competent authority of at least seven consecutive hours falling between ten o'clock in the evening and seven o'clock in the morning; the competent authority may prescribe different intervals for different areas, industries, undertakings or branches of industries or undertakings, but shall consult the employers' and workers' organizations concerned before prescribing an interval beginning after eleven o'clock in the evening.

Article 3

1. Young persons under eighteen years of age shall not be employed or work during the night in any public or private industrial undertaking or in any branch thereof except as hereinafter provide for.

2. For purposes of apprenticeship or vocational training in specified industries or occupations which are required to be carried on continuously, the competent authority may, after consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations concerned, authorize the employment in night work of young persons who have attained the age of sixteen years but are under the age of eighteen years.

3. Young persons employed in night work in virtue of the preceding paragraph shall be granted a rest period of at least thirteen consecutive hours between two working periods.

4. Where night work in the baking industry is prohibited for all workers, the interval between nine o'clock in the evening and four o'clock in the morning may, for purposes of apprenticeship or vocational training of young persons who have attained the age of sixteen years, be substituted by the competent authority for the interval of at least seven consecutive hours falling between ten o'clock in the evening and seven o'clock in the morning prescribed by the authority in virtue of paragraph 3 of Article 2.

Article 4

1. In countries where the climate renders work by day particularly trying, the night period and barred interval may be shorter than that prescribed in the above articles if compensatory rest is accorded during the day.

2. The provisions of Articles 2 and 3 shall not apply to the night work of young persons between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years in case of emergencies which could not have been controlled or foreseen, which are not of a periodical character, and which interfere with the normal working of the industrial undertaking.

Article 5

The prohibition of night work may be suspended by the government, for young persons between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years, when in case of serious emergency the public interest demands it.

Article 6

1. The laws or regulations giving effect to the provisions of this Convention shall -

(a) make appropriate provision for ensuring that they are known to the persons concerned;

(b) define the persons responsible for compliance therewith;

(c) prescribe adequate penalties for any violation thereof;

(d) provide for the maintenance of a system of inspection adequate to ensure effective enforcement; and

(e) require every employer in a public or private industrial undertaking to keep a register, or to keep available official records, showing the names and dates of birth of all persons under eighteen years of age employed by him and such other pertinent information as may be required by the competent authority.

2. The annual reports submitted by Members under Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization shall contain full information concerning such laws and regulations and a general survey of the results of the inspections made in accordance therewith."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume XXXI, Number 1, 31 August 1948, pages 24-31

HAZARDOUS EMPLOYMENT

Lead Poisoning (Women and Children) Recommendation, 1919 (No. 4)

Excerpts.

"1. The General Conference recommends to the Members of the International Labour Organization that, in view of the danger involved to the function of maternity and to the physical development of children, women and young persons under the age of eighteen years be excluded from employment in the following processes:

(a) in furnace work in the reduction of zinc or lead ores;

(b) in the manipulation, treatment, or reduction of ashes containing lead, and the de-silvering of lead;

(c) in melting lead or old zinc on a large scale;

(d) in the manufacture of solder or alloys containing more than ten per cent of lead;

(e) in the manufacture of litharge, massicot, red lead, white lead, orange lead, or sulphate, chromate or silicate (frit) of lead;

(f) in mixing and pasting in the manufacture or repair of electric accumulators;

(g) in the cleaning of workrooms where the above processes are carried on.

2. It is further recommended that the employment of women and young persons under the age of eighteen years in processes involving the use of lead compounds be permitted only subject to the following conditions:

(a) locally applied exhaust ventilation, so as to remove dust and fumes at the point of origin;

(b) cleanliness of tools and workrooms;

(c) notification to Government authorities of all cases of lead poisoning, and compensation therefor;

(d) periodic medical examination of the persons employed in such processes;

(e) provision of sufficient and suitable cloak-room, washing, and mess-room accommodation, and of special protective clothing;

(f) prohibition of bringing food or drink into workrooms.

3. It is further recommended that in industries where soluble lead compounds can be replaced by non-toxic substances, the use of soluble lead compounds should be strictly regulated.

4. For the purpose of this Recommendation, a lead compound should be considered as soluble if it contains more than five per cent of its weight (estimated as metallic lead) soluble in a quarter of one per cent solution of hydrochloric acid."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume I, April 1919-August 1920, pages 428-429.

White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13)

Excerpt.

"Article 3

1. The employment of males under eighteen years of age and of all females shall be prohibited in any painting work of an industrial character involving the use of white lead or sulphate of lead or other products containing these pigments."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Supplement to Volume IV, Number 23, 7 December 1921, pages 13-16.

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115)

Excerpts.

"Article 6

1. Maximum permissible doses of ionizing radiations which may be received from sources external to or internal to the body and maximum permissible amounts of radioactive substances which can be taken into the body shall be fixed ... for various categories of workers.

2. Such maximum permissible doses and amounts shall be kept under constant review in the light of current knowledge.

Article 7

1. Appropriate levels shall be fixed in accordance with Article 6 for workers who are directly engaged in radiation work and are -

(a) aged 18 and over;
(b) under the age of 18.

2. No worker under the age of 16 shall be engaged in work involving ionizing radiations."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume XLIII, Number 2, 1960, pages 41-46.

Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136)

Excerpt.

"Article 11

2. Young persons under 18 years of age shall not be employed in work processes involving exposure to benzene or products containing benzene: Provided that this prohibition need not apply to young persons undergoing education or training who are under adequate technical and medical supervision."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume LIV, Number 3, 1971, pages 246-251.

Benzene Recommendation, 1971 (No. 144)

Excerpt.

"20. Young persons under 18 years of age should not be employed in work processes involving exposure to benzene or products containing benzene, except where they are undergoing education or training and are under adequate technical and medical supervision."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume LIV, Number 3, 1971, pages 255-259.

Occupational Safety and Health (Dock Work) Convention, 1979 (No. 152)

Excerpt.

"Article 38

2. A lifting appliance or other cargo-handling appliance shall be operated only by a person who is at least 18 years of age and who possesses the necessary aptitudes and experience or a person under training who is properly supervised."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume LXII, Number 2, Series A, 1979, pages 70-76.

MAXIMUM WEIGHT

Maximum Weight Convention, 1967 (No. 127)

Excerpts.

"Article 1

For the purpose of this Convention - ... the term "young worker" means a worker under 18 years of age.

Article 7

1. The assignment of women and young workers to manual transport of loads other than light loads shall be limited.

2. Where women and young workers are engaged in the manual transport of loads, the maximum weight of such loads shall be substantially less than that permitted for adult male workers."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume L, Number 3, Series I, July 1967, pages 1-4.

Maximum Weight Recommendation, 1967 (No. 128)

Excerpts.

"1. For the purpose of this Recommendation ... the term "young worker" means a worker under 18 years of age.

19. Where young workers are engaged in the manual transport of loads, the maximum weight of such loads should be substantially less than that permitted for adult workers of the same sex.

20. As far as possible, young workers should not be assigned to regular manual transport of loads.

21. Where the minimum age for assignment to manual transport of loads is less than 16 years, measures should be taken as speedily as possible to raise it to that level.

22. The minimum age for assignment to regular manual transport of loads should be raised, with a view to attaining a minimum age of 18 years.

23. Where young workers are assigned to regular manual transport of loads, provision should be made -

(a) as appropriate, to reduce the time spent on actual lifting, carrying and putting down of loads by such workers;

(b) to prohibit the assignment of such workers to certain specified jobs, comprised in manual transport of loads, which are especially arduous."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume L, Number 3, Series I, July 1967, pages 25-29.

MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Sea) Convention, 1921 (No. 16)

Excerpts.

"Article 2

The employment of any child or young person under eighteen years of age on any vessel, other than vessels upon which only members of the same family are employed, shall be conditional on the production of a medical certificate attesting fitness for such work, signed by a doctor who shall be approved by the competent authority.

Article 3

The continued employment at sea of any such child or young person shall be subject to the repetition of such medical examination at intervals of not more than one year, and the production, after each such examination, of a further medical certificate attesting fitness for such work. Should a medical certificate expire in the course of a voyage, it shall remain in force until the end of the said voyage."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Supplement to Volume IV, Number 23, 7 December 1921, pages 24-25.

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention, 1946 (No. 77)

Excerpts.

"Article 2

1. Children and young persons under eighteen years of age shall not be admitted to employment by an industrial undertaking unless they have been found fit for the work on which they are to be employed by a thorough medical examination.

Article 3

1. The fitness of a child or young person for the employment in which he is engaged shall be subject to medical supervision until he has attained the age of eighteen years.

2. The continued employment of a child or young person under eighteen years of age shall be subject to the repetition of medical examinations at intervals of not more than one year.

3. National laws or regulations shall -

(a) make provision for the special circumstances in which a medical re-examination shall be required in addition to the annual examination or at more frequent intervals in order to ensure effective supervision in respect of the risks involved in the occupation and of the state of health of the child or young person as shown by previous examinations; or

(b) empower the competent authority to require medical re-examinations in exceptional cases.

Article 4

1. In occupations which involve high health risks medical examination and re-examinations for fitness for employment shall be required until at least the age of twenty-one years.

2. National laws or regulations shall either specify, or empower an appropriate authority to specify, the occupations or categories of occupations in which medical examination and re-examinations for fitness for employment shall be required until at least the age of twenty-one years.

Article 5

The medical examination required by the preceding Articles shall not involve the child or young person, or his parents, in any expense.

Article 7

1. The employer shall be required to file and keep available to labour inspectors either the medical certificate for fitness for employment or the work permit or workbook showing that there are no medical objections to the employment as may be prescribed by national laws or regulations.

2. National laws or regulations shall determine the other methods of supervision to be adopted for ensuring the strict enforcement of this Convention."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume XXIX, Number 4, 15 November 1946, pages 254-261.

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946 (No. 78)

Excerpts.

"Article 2

1. Children and young persons under eighteen years of age shall not be admitted to employment or work in non-industrial occupations unless they have been found fit for the work in question by a thorough medical examination.

Article 3

1. The fitness of a child, or young person for the: employment in which he is engaged shall be: subject to medical supervision until he has attained the age of eighteen years.

2. The continued employment of a child or young person under eighteen years of age shall be subject to the repetition of medical examinations at intervals of not more than one year.

3. National laws or regulations shall -

(a) make provision for the special circumstances in which a medical re-examination shall be required in addition to the annual examination or at more frequent intervals in order to ensure effective supervision in respect of the risks involved in the occupation and of the state of health of the child or young person as shown by previous examinations; or

(b) empower the competent authority to require medical re-examinations in exceptional cases.

Article 4

1. In occupations which involve high health risks medical examination and re-examinations for fitness for employment shall be required until at least the age of twenty-one years.

2. National laws or regulations shall either specify, or empower an appropriate authority to specify, the occupations or categories of occupations in which medical examination and re-examination for fitness for employment shall be required until at least the age of twenty-one years.

Article 5

The medical examinations required by the preceding Articles shall not involve the child or young person, or his parents, in any expense.

Article 7

1. The employer shall be required to file and keep available to labour inspectors either the medical certificate for fitness for employment or the work permit or workbook showing that there are no medical objections to the employment as may be prescribed by national laws: or regulations.

2. National laws or regulations shall determine -

(a) the measures of identification to be adopted for ensuring the application of the system of: medical examination for fitness for employment to children and young persons engaged either on their own: account or on account of their parents in itinerant trading or in any other occupation carried on in the streets or in places to which the public have access; and

(b) the other methods of supervision to be adopted for ensuring the strict enforcement of the Convention."

Source: ILO: Official Bulletin, Volume XXIX, Number 4, 15 November 1946, pages 261-268.