Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

The Committee notes the Government's report.

The Committee refers to its previous comments in regard to the employment of children as domestic servants, known as "restavek". It recalls that under section IX of the Labour Code (L.S. 1984-Haiti 1) on children employed in service, the Directorate of the Social Welfare and Research Institution (IBESR), which is represented in every regional office of the Ministry of Social Affairs, plays a key role by: issuing the permit needed for any person to take a child into his service; drawing up a report on any act of violence committed on the person of the child; arranging for visits to households in which there are children in service in order to inquire about their living conditions; requiring the labour court to impose the fines provided for any breach of the provisions set out in the section; and regulating in detail the obligations of employers of children in service and the rights of the children as well as the protection which must be accorded to them. In towns where there is no regional office of the Ministry of Social Affairs, the municipal administration supervises execution of the provisions of this chapter on children in service and issues the authorizations and certificates required.

In its previous observation, the Committee noted the Government's commitment to communicate statistics in respect of the activities of the IBESR, the municipal authorities and the labour courts, and to conduct an exhaustive study into general working conditions. The Committee notes that the Government's report contains no information on these points and takes due note of the Government's wish to obtain the support, aid and cooperation of the ILO.

On this matter, the Committee notes with interest that a project of the ILO's International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has just been established in Haiti in order to assist the Government in combating effectively child labour in general, and the "restavek" system in particular. The Committee hopes that the Government will send a copy of the national plan of action to fight child domestic work which will be adopted in the framework of this project, as well as any relevant information on developments noted, results obtained, statistical data established and legislative or regulatory measures taken.

Furthermore, the Committee hopes that the Government will specify the amount of the fines that can be imposed under the provisions of section IX of the Labour Code, as amended, and that it will provide any indications it deems useful concerning the issue of whether these amounts constitute, under Article 25 of the Convention, "really adequate" penalties.

Finally, the Committee trusts that the Government will supply detailed information on the practical application of Chapter IX of the Labour Code, including statistics on the number of permits issued by the IBESR and by the municipal administrations in regard to taking children into domestic service, on the visits and inquiries made in households where there are children in service, on breaches to the provisions of section IX noted, on the reports prepared and inquiries addressed to the labour court by the IBESR, as well as the fines imposed and damages awarded in application of these provisions.