By Sarah Hannan Concurrent to World Day Against Child Labour on 12 June, the approval of the Cabinet was granted to amend the Shop and Office Employees Act, the Employment of Women, Young Persons, and Children Act, the Minimum Wages (Indian Labour) Ordinance Amendment Act, the Factories Ordinance, and orders published in the Extraordinary Gazette dated 31 October 1958, in accordance with the provisions of the Employee Provident Fund Act, to increase the minimum age of employment up to 16 years. The amendment was made in line with the policy statement “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” under the heading of “An informed and knowledgeable child population”, to comply with the compulsory schooling age, ensuring that all children in the country are entitled to the privileges and rights as per the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. Strengthen awareness Attorney-at-Law Milan Salpitikorala, a child rights expert, views this amendment in a positive note, especially given that the previous age limit for the estate sector had been 14 years. “The move needs to be commended, which means the child will be able to complete at least their primary education. However, clear regulations need to be laid out and employers should be closely monitored to ensure that they are not exploiting the child.” Salpitikorala also stated that awareness needs to be created at the grassroots level, taking the child labour that is exploited in the trading sector into consideration. “There are enough and more instances where many of us have seen children put to work at retail stores. They are clearly working way above the number of hours that an apprentice should work per week. This needs to be regulated and monitored, and the State needs to take proper action,” she said. We then asked whether the age limit, now being set at 16, will contribute towards an increase in dropouts from secondary education, to which she responded: “A child dropping out of school after O/Ls (Ordinary Level examinations) and taking up a taxi driving job is something that even the parents should take responsibility for. The State is there to amend the Labour Act accordingly and set regulations for work and wage pay, even to an apprentice, but a child not being encouraged to pursue further studies is partly the responsibility of the parents, while the State still facilitates free education at the secondary level.” Safeguarding child rights The Sunday Morning contacted Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees’ Union Joint Secretary Anton Marcus to inquire how this amendment could affect a child who is recruited for employment. “Once the minimum age for employment is set at 16, it then gives room for certain employers to exploit the situation. While the Cabinet approves such a decision and makes amendments in the labour acts and regulations, they should also take measures to ensure that regulations are set up to protect a child. Whether an apprentice or contract worker, a child will not be represented by a union and even the night work conditions will have to be looked into,” he said. According to Marcus, should a child be employed as an apprentice, they should only be allowed to work for a maximum of 10 hours per week. But these regulations will not be adhered to by many employers, Marcus opined. Local labour laws vs. the International Convention on the Rights of the Child According to Article 1 of the Convention, a child is defined as a human being below the age of 18 years. Article 28 of the Convention also indicates that the State should recognise the right of the child to education and should encourage the child to be educated and reduce drop outs from schools.

Article 28: 1. States Parties recognise the right of the child to education and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular: (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all; (b) Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need; (c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means; (d) Make educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children; (e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates 2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity and in conformity with the present Convention 3. States Parties shall promote and encourage international co-operation in matters relating to education, in particular with a view to contribute to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitate access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching methods. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries.

When the minimum age of employment gets dropped to 16, there is a higher possibility where children would drop out of school, without exploring the prospects of higher education. This also allows employers to allow a child who is above 16 to be employed on night work in industrial undertakings as stipulated in the Employment of Women, Young Persons, and Children Act No. 47 of 1956. At present, the Act restricts persons from employing an individual under the age of 18 years during the night. But with the amendment of the minimum age for employment (16), some employers will probably put children to work at night. The only bright side of this age limit being made 16, is for child labour in estate work, as it is provisioned in the Act to amend the Minimum Wages (Indian Labour) Ordinance (Chapter 135), where it lists that employers are not permitted to recruit children below the age of 14 years or knowingly permit such child to be employed. The Ministry of Skills Development, Employment, and Labour Relations seemingly took the liberty to exercise what was mentioned in Article 32 (2) (a) and (b) of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child to decide on the minimum age of employment.

Article 32: 1. States Parties recognise the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous, or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development. 2. States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social, and educational measures to ensure the implementation of the present article. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of other international instruments, States Parties shall in particular: (a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment; (b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment; (c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of the present article.

Accordingly, the State should also look at closely monitoring and regulating such employment opportunities that will open up following the amendment.