CMNT_TITLE

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Belize (RATIFICATION: 2000)

Other comments on C138

Observation

2022

Direct Request

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Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes with interest the adoption in 2022 of the Belize National Child Labour Policy and Strategy 2022-2025, which was developed with the technical support of the ILO and in consultation with the social partners and other relevant stakeholders. The Policy has four objectives: (1) to address existing legislative and information gaps, providing necessary legal protection for all children who are engaged or potentially engaged in child labour; (2) to increase compliance with labour laws for the benefit of children; (3) to substantially reduce barriers to school access and ensure continuous school attendance throughout the legal age for every child; (4) to ensure adequate support and economic resilience for children and their families as a way to pre-empt engagement in child labour. Key strategies contemplated in the Policy include, among others, building awareness among children, their families and society about the danger of child labour; strengthening data collection on child labour; identification of working undocumented child migrants; strengthening mechanisms to reduce child labour in the tourism industry; and extending the social protection floor.

The Committee notes from the statistical information contained in the Policy that, as of 2013, the child labour rate was 3.2 per cent (equivalent to 3,528 children). It also notes that the Mennonites were found to have the highest child labour rate at 9.5 per cent, two and a half times as high as any other ethnic group.

The Committee further notes the Government’s indication in its report that a Child Labour Secretariat and Inspectorate was established in the Labour Department, which shall focus on child labour inspections, education and awareness-raising programs, and information gathering and reporting. Between 2019 and 2021, a total of 30 training sessions on child labour were conducted for different government entities and stakeholders, including the Banana, Sugar and Citrus industries, the tourism industry, the National Garifuna Council, and the Spanish Lookout (Mennonite) in the Cayo district. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour, including among Mennonite children, under its National Child Labour Policy and Strategy 2022-2025, and the results achieved. In this regard, it requests the Government to continue to provide updated statistical information on the nature, extent, and trends of child labour, indicating the sectors of economic activity where child labour is more prevalent. Finally, it requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the Child Labour Secretariat and Inspectorate, including on the number of child labour inspections carried out, the infringements detected, and the penalties applied.

With regard to the issues raised under Articles 2(1), 3(2), 7 and 9(3), the Committee requests the Government to see the consolidated comments at the end.

Article 2(1) Scope of application. In response to its previous comments concerning the existence of different minimum ages, the Committee takes due note that the Government indicates that the Legislative Review Committee (LRC) that was established to review the national legislation concerning child labour made recommendations to amend the respective sections of the Shops Act, Chapter 287, and the Labour Act, Chapter 297 to ensure that the minimum age specified applies to all sectors of the employment and not only to industrial undertakings and shops.

Article 3(2). Determination of types of hazardous work. The Committee recalls that the LRC had recommended the insertion into the Labour Act of a hazardous work list.

Article 7. Light work. The Committee recalls that the LRC had recommended to raise the minimum age for light work from 12 to 13 years and adopt a list of types of light work.

Article 9(3) Registers of employment. The Committee recalls that the LRC had recommended deleting section 163 of the Labour Act, which limited the obligation to keep registers of employees under the age of 18 years to public and private industrial undertakings, and to replace it with a general requirement for all employers to prepare and keep one or more registers containing information of each worker available for inspection.

Noting the Government’s indication that the review of the legislative proposals made by the LRC and by the Labour Advisory Board was completed, and later forwarded to the Minister of Labour, Local Government and Rural Development for further action, the Committee hopes the proposed amendments will be adopted as soon as possible to ensure that:

(i)the minimum age declared by the Government (14 years) is respected in all type of work undertaken by children, as well as in all sectors of economic activity;
(ii)a list of types of hazardous work is approved, in consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, and incorporated into the labour legislation;
(iii)no child below 12 years of age be authorized to perform light work, and a list of types of light work is adopted;
(iv)all employers keep one or more registers containing information of each worker available for inspection.

It requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard as well as a copy of the new legislation once adopted.