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Summary: This report summarises individual observations and direct requests issued by the ILO Committee of Experts related to child labour conventions. To view the full reports, go to the ILOLEX database (http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/) and click on ‘display all documents related to a specific country’.
Scroll to: _____________________________________________________________ CEACR: Individual Observation concerning Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) Dominica (ratification: 1983) Published: 2011 The Government of Dominica failed to submit a report in 2011 and therefore the ILO's 2011 report stressed some of the points raised in previous observations. Article 2(1) of the convention. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. Although the Government of Dominica specified a minimum age of 15 years when it ratified the Convention, the minimum age of admission to employment remains 12 years of age under section 3 of the Employment of Children Prohibition Ordinance. Furthermore, the minimum age remains at 14 years under section 4 subsections (1) and (5) of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Ordinance. Consequently, the ILO once again in 2011 urges the Government to take the necessary measures to raise the minimum statutory age to 15 years, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. Article 3. Hazardous work. According to the ILO's Individual Observations, the Government has yet to ensure a higher minimum age for workers to engage in work which is likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of young people. The Committee urges the Government to take measures to set higher minimum age(s) in accordance with Article 3(1) of the Convention, and to determine the types of employment or work to which higher minimum age(s) should apply, in accordance with Article 3(2) of the Convention. Article 7. Light work. The Committee expresses concern that national legislation allows exceptions to the above mentioned minimum ages in the employment of children under the age of 12 in domestic work or agricultural work of a light nature by the parents or guardian of such children (section 3 of the Employment of Children Prohibition Ordinance). In addition, it allows the employment of children under the age of 14 years on a ship where only members of the same family are employed (section 4, subsection 1 and section 5, of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Ordinance). The Committee recalls that under Article 7 of the Convention, national laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of persons aged 13-15 in light work which is: (a) not likely to be harmful to their health or development; and (b) not such as to prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programs approved by the competent authority or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received. Another condition is that the activities involved and the conditions of work and employment should be determined by the competent authority. Consequently, the ILO Committee urges the Government to take measures to restrict, in accordance with this provision, the possibility to employ children below the minimum age specified, and to determine the activities and conditions of their employment or work. Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. Although section 8(1) of Dominica's Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Ordinance provides for the keeping of registers or lists of young persons of less than 16 years of age, the Convention explicitly calls for such registers of persons of less than 18 years of age. The Government indicates in response that this provision is not applied in practice. The Committee nevertheless points out that the Government has an obligation to give effect to the provisions of the Convention in law and practice. It therefore once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures so that registers or other documents are kept by the employer concerning workers younger than 18 years of age. In response, the Government has previously noted that the provisions of the Convention are upheld by custom and practice. Pending the necessary amendments to the legislative provisions as requested above, the Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information on how the Convention is applied in practice, as required under Part V of the report form, including, for instance, extracts from official reports, statistics, and information on inspection visits made and contraventions reported. _____________________________________________________________ CEACR: Individual Direct Request concerning Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) Dominica (ratification: 2001) Submitted: 2011 The Government of Dominica failed to produce a report in 2011 and therefore the ILO's report further stressed some of the points raised in previous direct requests. Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. 1. Sale and trafficking of children. According to section 22(1) of Dominica's Sexual Offences Act No. 1 of 1998, any person who unlawfully takes away, causes to be taken away, detains another person for marriage or for sexual intercourse, or for the commission of a crime shall be guilty of an offence. Furthermore, under section 51 of the country's Offences Against the Person Act it is an offence to fraudulently allure, take away or detain a woman under the age of 18 years. However, the Committee observes that the above laws only prohibit the abduction of girls under 18 years of age for sexual purposes, and not boys. As a result, the Committee has requested the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to prohibit the sale and trafficking of all children, including boys under the age of 18 years for sexual as well as labour exploitation. Clause (b). 1. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. Dominca's Sexual Offences Act contains a number of provisions relating to the prohibition of procuring or offering of a person, including a child for prostitution. Section 18 states that any person who procures or induces a minor to have sexual intercourse with another person, or conspires for the procurement of a minor for sexual intercourse shall be punished. Section 10 prohibits any adult from having sexual intercourse with a minor employee. Moreover, procuring another person for prostitution or to become an inmate of a brothel (section 18); procuring defilement of a person (section 19); unlawful detention of a person with intent to have sexual intercourse (section 20); living on the earnings of prostitution (section 25); and keeping, managing or assisting in the management of a brothel (section 24) are all punishable under the Sexual Offences Act. The Committee notes that, according to section 2 of the Sexual Offences Act, a “minor” is a person under the age of 18 years. However, the Committee further notes that the national legislation does not appear to contain any provision addressing child pornography. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances is prohibited. Article 3, clause (d). Hazardous work. According to section 7(1) of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, no young person (under 18) shall be employed or work during the night in any public or private industrial undertaking, other than an undertaking in which only members of the same family are employed. However, as the ILO Committee makes clear in its report there is no other provision which prohibits the employment of young persons in work which is likely to jeopardise their health, safety or morals. Yet, by virtue of Article 3(d) of the Convention, work, which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children under 18 years of age is considered as one of the worst forms of child labour. As a result, by virtue of Article 1 of the Convention, member States are required to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures as a matter of urgency to ensure that the employment of children under 18 years of age in work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm their health, safety or morals, is prohibited. Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Education. The Committee notes that the provisions of the Education Act No. 11 provide for free and compulsory education to all children from the ages of 5-16 years (sections 2, 14, 15 and 16). Section 27 of the Education Act requires every child of compulsory school age to attend a school and section 36 requires every parent to ensure that the child receives education through regular attendance at a school. However, according to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.238, 30 June 2004, paragraph 42) there is reason to be concerned with quality of education some children receive. In particular, access to education for pregnant girls and teenage mothers remains problematic and there are high drop-out rates particularly among boys. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to improve access to education of pregnant girls and teenage mothers and to reduce the drop-out rates of children, in particular boys. Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk. Carib Indian children. The Committee noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations (CRC/C/15/Add.238, 30 June 2004, paragraph 49), expressed concern about the limited enjoyment of the rights of Carib Indian children particularly with regard to their access to education. As a result, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote access of Carib Indian children to education, thereby preventing them from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. _____________________________________________________________
The Committee also expresses concern that statutory provisions on minimum age apply only to persons employed under an employment relationship or under a contract of employment, whereas the Convention also covers work performed outside any employment relationship, including work performed by young persons on their own account.