CMNT_TITLE

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Fiji (RATIFICATION: 2003)

Other comments on C138

Observation

2014

Direct Request

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Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and practical application of the Convention. The Committee recalls its previous comment which noted the establishment of the tripartite Project Advisory Committee on Child Labour (PAC) as well as an ILO–IPEC project “Tackle child labour through education” (TACKLE project) which aimed to address child labour through education and poverty reduction.

The Committee notes that the Government, in particular through the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment, is developing a National Action Plan for Child Labour and a five-year strategic plan (2013–18) for combating child labour, including the worst forms, in coordination with the Ministry of Education. It further notes the Government’s information on measures taken to continue to strengthen the child labour inspectors of the Ministry of Labour, including by providing 18 new labour inspectors to the Child Labour Unit (CLU) and establishing a National Child Labour Database system, which has been in operation since June 2013.

The Committee further notes, however, the information in the report “Child Labour in Fiji – A survey of working children in commercial sexual exploitation, on the streets, in rural agricultural communities, in informal and squatter settlements and in schools” (Child Labour in Fiji report), produced by the ILO Country Office for South Pacific Island Countries and ILO–IPEC in 2010, which identifies high levels of school drop-outs, in particular in the agricultural sector, squatter communities and informal settlements, as contributing to child labour in the country. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to continue to strengthen its efforts to combat child labour and to provide information on the impact in this regard of the National Action Plan for Child Labour and the five-year strategic plan (2013–18) for combating child labour. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to support the measures undertaken by the PAC, particularly through ensuring access to education for children in the agricultural sector, squatter communities and informal settlements. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including statistical data on the employment of children and young persons that is gathered in the National Child Labour Database system, extracts from the reports of inspection services and information on the number and nature of violations detected involving children and young persons.