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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Honduras (RATIFICATION: 1980)

Other comments on C138

Observation

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The Committee notes the observations of the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP), received on 30 August 2022.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes, from the observations of the COHEP, that according to the 2022 Report on the Characteristics of the Labour Market, published by the National Institute of Statistics, 65.2 per cent of children aged between 5 and 17 years dedicate their entire time to studying, 11.2 per cent are engaged in some type of work (this includes those who study and work and those who work full-time), and 23.6 per cent neither study nor work. The Report highlights that, out of the 256,526 minors engaged in work or employment, 64.8 per cent are in rural areas. The Committee also notes, from the observations of the COHEP, that in 2020, consultations and tripartite workshops took place for the preparation and approval of a Road map for the elimination of child labour in all its forms 2021–25, containing 10 strategic action points, including: (1) joint efforts with the education system to combat, in a coordinated manner, education exclusion and child labour; (2) the establishment of an inter-institutional and intersectoral common integrated care protocol for child labour and children engaged in hazardous work; and (3) strengthening of the operational and budgetary capacities of key institutions towards the prevention of child labour and protection of adolescent workers.

The Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, on the labour inspections undertaken with regard to child labour: 2 inspections in 2020, 45 inspections in 2021 and 22 inspections between January and March 2022. However, the Committee notes that no information is provided on the findings of these inspections. The Committee further notes, from the Government’s third periodic report on the application of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: (1) the reactivation, in 2017, of the National Commission for the Gradual Elimination of Child Labour; and (2) the Protocol for the Organization, Training and Certification of Committees for the Prevention of Child Labour (CCPR/C/HND/3, 9 January 2023, para. 209). The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour, including within the framework of the Road map for the elimination of child labour in all its forms 2021–25. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on: (i) the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, and to include in particular statistics on the employment of children under 14 years of age, extracts from the reports of the labour inspection services and information on the number and nature of the violations detected and penalties imposed; and (ii) the activities of the National Commission for the Progressive Elimination of Child Labour.

Article 2(1) and (4). Scope of application and minimum age for admission to employment or work. With regard to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s reply that it adopted Executive Agreement No. STSS-578-2020 on 14 December 2020, which approved the Regulations of protected adolescent work. The Government states that section 3 of the Regulations stipulates that: (1) the Secretary of State in the Offices of Labour and Social Security through the General Directorate of Social Welfare, is the only authority with the capacity to grant authorization for the work of adolescents, in accordance with the provisions of section 119 of the Code for Children and Adolescents; and (2) no authorization will be granted for the work of a minor under the age of 14 years. The Committee notes that the COHEP also refers to the regulations of protected adolescent work to indicate that no child under the age of 14 years is authorized to work in the country. While it welcomes the adoption of the Regulations of Protected Adolescent Work, the Committee notes that the Government has not taken any measures to amend section 2(1) of the Labour Code which excludes from its scope of application agricultural and stock raising undertakings that do not permanently employ more than 10 workers. Nor does it amend section 32(2) of the Labour Code which provides that the authorities responsible for supervising work by persons under 14 years of age could authorize them to engage in an economic activity if they considered it indispensable for their subsistence or that of their parents or brothers and sisters, and provided that it did not prevent them from attending compulsory schooling.

The Committee further notes, from the observations of the COHEP, the reform of section 8 of the Regulations on child labour 2001 by Decree No. 125-2015, published in the Gaceta on 28 January 2017, which updates the list of hazardous types of work. The Committee notes however that this update does not change the terms of sections 4 to 6 of the Regulations on child labour of 2001, which continue to provide that these Regulations only apply to contractual labour relations.

The Committee therefore once again recalls that, under the terms of Article 2(1) of the Convention, no one under the minimum age specified shall be admitted to employment or work in any occupation, subject to the exemption set out in Articles 4 to 8 of the Convention. The Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the Labour Code and the 2001 Regulations on child labour into conformity with the Code for Children and Young Persons of 1996 and the 2020 Regulations of protected adolescent work so as to ensure coherence in the legislation and that no child under 14 years of age is authorized to work, including children working in agricultural and stock-raising undertakings which do not permanently employ more than ten workers, and those who work on their own account. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this respect.