CONVENTION No. 138 Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admissionto Employment
CONVENTION No. 138 Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admissionto Employment
[Date of coming into force: 19 June 1976.]
Whole document
The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office, and having met in its Fifty-eighth Session
on 6 June 1973, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to
minimum age for admission to employment, which is the fourth item on the
agenda of the session, and
Noting the terms of the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919, the
Minimum Age (Sea) Convention, 1920, the Minimum Age (Agriculture)
Convention, 1921, the Minimum Age (Trimmers and Stokers) Convention, 1921,
the Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment) Convention, 1932, the Minimum
Age (Sea) Convention (Revised), 1936, the Minimum Age (Industry)
Convention (Revised), 1937, the Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment)
Convention (Revised), 1937, the Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959,
and the Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention, 1965, and
Considering that the time has come to establish a general instrument
on the subject, which would gradually replace the existing ones
applicable to limited economic sectors, with a view to achieving the
total abolition of child labour, and
Having determined that this instrument shall take the form of an
international Convention, adopts this twenty-sixth day of June of the
year one thousand nine hundred and seventy-three the following Convention,
which may be cited as the Minimum Age Convention, 1973:
Article 1
Each Member for which this Convention is in force undertakes to pursue
a national policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of child
labour and to raise progressively the minimum age for admission to
employment or work to a level consistent with the fullest physical and
mental development of young persons.
Article 2
1. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall specify, in a
declaration appended to its ratification, a minimum age for admission to
employment or work within its territory and on means of transport
registered in its territory; subject to Articles 4 to 8 of this
Convention, no one under that age shall be admitted to employment or work
in any occupation.
2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention may subsequently
notify the Director-General of the International Labour Office, by further
declarations, that it specifies a minimum age higher than that previously
specified.
3. The minimum age specified in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this
Article shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory
schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article, a
Member whose economy and educational facilities are insufficiently
developed may, after consultation with the organizations of employers and
workers concerned, where such exist, initially specify a minimum age of 14
years.
5. Each Member which has specified a minimum age of 14 years in
pursuance of the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall include in
its reports on the application of this Convention submitted under article
22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization a
statement-
(a) that its reason for doing so subsists; or
(b) that it renounces its right to avail itself of the provisions
in question as from a stated date.
Article 3
1. The minimum age for admission to any type of employment or work
which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is
likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of young persons shall
not be less than 18 years.
2. The types of employment or work to which paragraph 1 of this
Article applies shall be determined by national laws or regulations or by
the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of
employers and workers concerned, where such exist.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article,
national laws or regulations or the competent authority may, after
consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned,
where such exist, authorise employment or work as from the age of 16 years
on condition that the health, safety and morals of the young persons
concerned are fully protected and that the young persons have received
adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant
branch of activity.
Article 4
1. In so far as necessary, the competent authority, after consultation
with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such
exist, may exclude from the application of this Convention limited
categories of employment or work in respect of which special and
substantial problems of application arise.
2. Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall list in its first
report on the application of the Convention submitted under article 22 of
the Constitution of the International Labour Organization any categories
which may have been excluded in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this Article,
giving the reasons for such exclusion, and shall state in subsequent
reports the position of its law and practice in respect of the categories
excluded and the extent to which effect has been given or is proposed to
be given to the Convention in respect of such categories.
3. Employment or work covered by Article 3 of this Convention shall
not be excluded from the application of the Convention in pursuance of
this Article.
Article 5
1. A Member whose economy and administrative facilities are
insufficiently developed may, after consultation with the organizations of
employers and workers concerned, where such exist, initially limit the
scope of application of this Convention.
2. Each Member which avails itself of the provisions of paragraph 1 of
this Article shall specify, in a declaration appended to its ratification,
the branches of economic activity or types of undertakings to which it
will apply the provisions of the Convention.
3. The provisions of the Convention shall be applicable as a minimum
to the following: mining and quarrying; manufacturing; construction;
electricity, gas and water; sanitary services; transport, storage and
communication; and plantations and other agricultural undertakings mainly
producing for commercial purposes, but excluding family and small-scale
holdings producing for local consumption and not regularly employing hired
workers.
4. Any Member which has limited the scope of application of this
Convention in pursuance of this Article-
(a) shall indicate in its reports under article 22 of the
Constitution of the International Labour Organization the general position
as regards the employment or work of young persons and children in the
branches of activity which are excluded from the scope of application of
this Convention and any progress which may have been made towards wider
application of the provisions of the Convention;
(b) may at any time formally extend the scope of application by a
declaration addressed to the Director-General of the International Labour
Office.
Article 6
This Convention does not apply to work done by children and young
persons in schools for general, vocational or technical education or in
other training institutions, or to work done by persons at least 14 years
age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with
conditions prescribed by the competent authority, after consultation with
the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist,
and is an integral part of-
(a) a course of education or training for which a school or
training institution is primarily responsible;
(b) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking,
which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or
(c) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate
the choice of an occupation or of a line of training.
Article 7
1. National laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of
persons 13 to 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.
2. National laws or regulations may also permit the employment or work
of persons who are at least 15 years age but have not yet completed their
compulsory schooling on work which meets the requirements set forth in
sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. The competent authority shall determine the activities in which
employment or work may be permitted under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
Article and shall prescribe the number of hours during which and the
conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
Article, a Member which has availed itself of the provisions of paragraph
4 of Article 2 may, for as long as it continues to do so, substitute the
ages 12 and 14 for the ages 13 and 15 in paragraph 1 and the age 14 for
the age 15 in paragraph 2 of this Article.
Article 8
1. After consultation with the organizations of employers and workers
concerned, where such exist, the competent authority may, by permits
granted in individual cases, allow exceptions to the prohibition of
employment or work provided for in Article 2 of this Convention, for such
purposes as participation in artistic performances.
2. Permits so granted shall limit the number of hours during which and
prescribe the conditions in which employment or work is allowed.
Article 9
1. All necessary measures, including the provision of appropriate
penalties, shall be taken by the competent authority to ensure the
effective enforcement of the provisions of this Convention.
2. National laws or regulations or the competent authority shall
define the persons responsible for compliance with the provisions giving
effect to the Convention.
3. National laws or regulations or the competent authority shall
prescribe the registers or other documents which shall be kept and made
available by the employer; such registers or documents shall contain the
names and ages or dates of birth, duly certified wherever possible, of
persons whom he employs or who work for him and who are less than 18 years
of age.
Article 10
1. This Convention revises, on the terms set forth in this Article,
the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919, the Minimum Age (Sea)
Convention, 1920, the Minimum Age (Agriculture) Convention, 1921, the
Minimum Age (Trimmers and Stokers) Convention, 1921, the Minimum Age
(Non-Industrial Employment) Convention, 1932, the Minimum Age (Sea)
Convention (Revised), 1936, the Minimum Age (Industry) Convention
(Revised), 1937, the Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment) Convention
(Revised), 1937, the Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959, and the
Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention, 1965.
2. The coming into force of this Convention shall not close the
Minimum Age (Sea) Convention (Revised), 1936, the Minimum Age (Industry)
Convention (Revised), 1937, the Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment)
Convention (Revised), 1937, the Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959,
or the Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention, 1965, to further
ratification.
3. The Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919, the Minimum Age (Sea)
Convention, 1920, the Minimum Age (Agriculture) Convention, 1921, and the
Minimum Age (Trimmers and Stokers) Convention, 1921, shall be closed to
further ratification when all the parties thereto have consented to such
closing by ratification of this Convention or by a declaration
communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office.
4. When the obligations of this Convention are accepted-
(a) by a Member which is a party to the Minimum Age (Industry)
Convention (Revised), 1937, and a minimum age of not less than 15 years
is specified in pursuance of Article 2 of this Convention, this shall ipso
jure involve the immediate denunciation of that Convention,
(b) in respect of non-industrial employment as defined in the
Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment) Convention, 1932, by a Member
which is a party to that Convention, this shall ipso jure involve the
immediate denunciation of that Convention,
(c) in respect of non-industrial employment as defined in the
Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment) Convention (Revised), 1937, by a
Member which is a party to that Convention, and a minimum age of not less
than 15 years is specified in pursuance of Article 2 of this Convention,
this shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of that
Convention,
(d) in respect of maritime employment, by a Member which is a
party to the Minimum Age (Sea) Convention (Revised), 1936, and a minimum
age of not less than 15 years is specified in pursuance of Article 2 of
this Convention or the Member specifies that Article 3 of this Convention
applies to maritime employment, this shall ipso jure involve the immediate
denunciation of that Convention,
(e) in respect of employment in maritime fishing, by a Member
which is a party to the Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959, and a
minimum age of not less than 15 years is specified in pursuance of Article
2 of this Convention or the Member specifies that Article 3 of this
Convention applies to employment in maritime fishing, this shall ipso
jure involve the immediate denunciation of that Convention,
(f) by a Member which is a party to the Minimum Age (Underground
Work) Convention, 1965, and a minimum age of not less than the age
specified in pursuance of that Convention is specified in pursuance of
Article 2 of this Convention or the Member specifies that such an age
applies to employment underground in mines in virtue of Article 3 of this
Convention, this shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of
that Convention,
if and when this Convention shall have come into force.
5. Acceptance of the obligations of this Convention-
(a) shall involve the denunciation of the Minimum Age (Industry)
Convention, 1919, in accordance with Article 12 thereof,
(b) in respect of agriculture shall involve the denunciation of
the Minimum Age (Agriculture) Convention, 1921, in accordance with
Article 9 thereof,
(c) in respect of maritime employment shall involve the
denunciation of the Minimum Age (Sea) Convention, 1920, in accordance with
Article 10 thereof, and of the Minimum Age (Trimmers and Stokers)
Convention, 1921, in accordance with Article 12 thereof,
if and when this Convention shall have come into force.
Article 11
The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to
the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.
Article 12
1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the
International Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered
with the Director-General.
2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the
ratifications of two Members have been registered with the
Director-General.
3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member
twelve months after the date on which its ratification has been
registered.
Article 13
1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after
the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first
comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the
International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not
take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.
2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not,
within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years
mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation
provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten
years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of
each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.
Article 14
1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall
notify all Members of the International Labour Organization of the
registration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated to him by
the Members of the Organization.
2. When notifying the Members of the Organization of the registration
of the second ratification communicated to him, the Director-General shall
draw the attention of the Members of the Organization to the date upon
which the Convention will come into force.
Article 15
The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall
communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for
registration in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United
Nations full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciation
registered by him in accordance with the provisions of the preceding
Articles.
Article 16
At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a
report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the
desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of
its revision in whole or in part.
Article 17
1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this
Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise
provides-
(a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention
shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention,
notwithstanding the provisions of Article 13 above, if and when the new
revising Convention shall have come into force;
(b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into
force this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the
Members.
2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual
form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not
ratified the revising Convention.
Article 18
The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are
equally authoritative.
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