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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Tunisia (RATIFICATION: 1995)

Other comments on C138

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Article 2(1) and (3) of the Convention. Scope of application and school attendance. The Committee previously noted that section 53 of the Labour Code sets the minimum age for admission to employment at 16 years but appears not to cover children working on their own account. In this regard, the Government indicated that basic education is compulsory until the age of 16 years and that, in its view, compulsory basic education prevents children under 16 years of age from entering the labour market (as wage earners) or working on a self employed basis. The Committee noted that, under section 1 of Act No. 2002-80 of 23 July 2002 concerning school education and instruction, education remains compulsory for all children between 6 and 16 years of age, while section 21 states that any guardian who fails to enrol his or her child in a basic education establishment or withdraws his or her child from education before the child is 16 years old shall be liable to a fine ranging from 20 to 200 Tunisian dinars (TND). The Committee noted the statistical data according to which the net enrolment rate for children between 6 and 16 years of age was 90.5 per cent for 2006–07. Moreover, the drop-out rate in the first stage of basic education was 1.7 per cent and the drop-out rate in the second stage of basic education was 10.9 per cent. The Committee observes that, in view of the fact that basic education ends at the age of 16 years, these statistics show that a number of children under 16 years of age are dropping out of school. The Committee noted the Government’s information to the effect that, in order to provide better guarantees for the right to education, Tunisia has made action against failure in education and dropping out of school a priority of its education policy and has implemented a whole draft of measures towards this end.

The Committee previously noted the Government’s information that the measures implemented had started to bear fruit: the school enrolment rate for children between 6 and 16 years of age increased from 87.7 per cent in 1998 to 91.4 per cent in 2008. As regards the drop-out rate in the first stage of basic education (primary), it fell from 3.4 per cent in 1998 to 1.6 per cent in 2008. However, the Committee observed that, as indicated by the Government, failure and drop-out rates at secondary level remain relatively high (between 10 and 11 per cent). The Committee welcome the progress made with regard to increasing enrolment and reducing drop-out rates at primary level but notice that the drop-out rate at secondary level shows that a number of children are dropping out of school before reaching the minimum age for admission to employment and are entering the labour market.

The Committee notes that the Government has not supplied any new information on this matter in its report. However, it notes that the Committee on the Right of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of 16 June 2010 (CRC/C/TUN/CO/3, paragraph 55), also expressed its concern at the drop-out and repetition rates in the first and second stages of basic education which, while decreasing, continue to pose a significant change to the education system, and also at the persistent regional and urban/rural disparities in education and in the quality of education facilities. The Committee therefore again requests the Government to intensify its efforts to increase the enrolment rate at primary level and reduce the drop-out rate for children under 16 years of age at secondary level in order to prevent them from working, particularly on a self-employed basis. It urges the Government to supply information in its next report on the progress made in this respect.

Article 7. Determination of light work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s indications that a draft Decree determining the nature of light work, the preliminary precautions to be taken when engaging children in such work and the number of hours they may be allowed to work was being prepared. The Committee Government’s indication that it would send the copy of this Decree to the Office, once it has been adopted.

Noting the absence of information on this matter in the Government’s report, the Committee recalls once again that, under Article 7(3) of the Convention, the competent authority must not only determine the activities in which employment or light work may be permitted, but must also prescribe the conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken. The Committee again expresses the hope that the draft Decree concerning light work will be in conformity with the terms of Article 7(3) of the Convention. It urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that this Decree is adopted as soon as possible.

Article 8. Artistic performances. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that it would send the Office a copy of the Order determining the minimum age for granting individual employment permits for children to appear in public performances or participate in cinematographic works, and setting limits on the authorized duration of work undertaken in the interests of art, science or education, once the text of the Order has been adopted. Noting that the Government has been referring to this Order for a number of years, the Committee again urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Order is adopted in the very near future. It again requests the Government to supply a copy of the Order, once it has been adopted.