Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2010, publiée 100ème session CIT (2011)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Minimum age for admission to employment or work. The Committee recalled that, under section 3 of the Employment of Children Prohibition Ordinance, the minimum age of admission to employment was 12 years and that, under section 4, subsections (1) and (5), of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Ordinance, the minimum age is 14 years. The Government, however, specified a minimum age of 15 years when it ratified the Convention. It once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures in order to raise the statutory minimum age to 15 years, in accordance with this provision of the Convention.

The Committee further noted that the statutory provisions on minimum age applied only to persons employed under an employment relationship or under a contract of employment, whereas the Convention also covered work performed outside any employment relationship, including work performed by young persons on their own account. The Committee once again expresses the hope that the Government will indicate the measures taken or envisaged to give full effect to the Convention on this point.

Article 3. Hazardous work. The Committee recalled that no higher minimum age had been fixed for work which is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young people, other than night work. It once again urges the Government to take measures so as to set such 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 noted that the national legislation allowed exceptions to the above minimum ages as regards the employment of children under the age of 12 years in domestic work or agricultural work of a light nature at home by the parents or guardian of such children (section 3 of the Employment of Children Prohibition Ordinance) and the employment of children under the age of 14 years in an undertaking or 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 recalled that under this Article of the Convention, national laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of persons 13–15 years of age on 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 programmes 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. It once again expresses the hope that the Government will 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.

As regards the Government’s reference to the work of family members as the category excluded under Article 4, the Committee pointed out that the exceptions under this provision must be listed in the first report after ratification, and that the Government declared in its first report, received in February 1988, that no use was made of this provision.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. The Committee noted that section 8(1) of the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Ordinance provided for the keeping of registers or lists of young persons of less than 16 years of age, whereas the Convention describes the keeping of such registers of persons of less than 18 years of age. It noted the Government’s indication that this provision is not applied in practice. The Committee nevertheless pointed out that the Government has an obligation to give effect to the provisions of the Convention in law and practice. It therefore once again asks 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.

The Committee noted the Government’s indication 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 once again asks 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.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.