Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Eswatini (Ratification: 2002)

Revision of the Employment Act. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, regarding the process of promulgation into law of the Employment Bill No. 7 of 2023, and that this Bill has not yet passed into law due to several reasons, including lack of consensus on certain provisions by the social partners. The Committee further observes that the Government has communicated the more recent Bill No. 12 of 2024, which reflects the provisions of Part III on the prohibition of child labour and employment of young persons. Observing that the Government has been referring to the Employment Bill for more than 20 years,the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Employment Bill, 2024, is adopted without delay, taking into consideration the comments made by the Committee.

Article 1 of the Convention and application of the Convention in practice. National plan of action. The Committee previously took note of the adoption of the Action Programme on Combating Child Labour in Eswatini 2021–26 (APCCL), the main objective of which is addressing the issues that have been identified as the main drivers of child labour. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, due to a lack of capacity, minimal progress was achieved by the Task Team appointed in 2021 to drive the implementation of the APCCL. The Government indicates that it has requested ILO technical support for capacity-building of the members of the Task Force, and that a workshop was intended to take place in October 2024 to this end.

The Committee observes with deepconcern that, according to the 2023 Labour Force Survey (LFS) (published in May 2025), the number of children engaged in child labour seems to have significantly increased between 2021 (30,207 children under 18 years or 8.2 per cent) and 2023 (120,947 children under 18 or 35.7 per cent). The Committee therefore urges the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure the effective abolition of child labour by children under the minimum age for employment or work. In this regard, it requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the implementation of the APPCL, taking into account and addressing the root causes of child labour in the country, and to provide information on the results achieved. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the reasons for the significant and rapid increase in the incidence of child labour in the country.

Article 2(1). Scope of application and labour inspection. Informal economy, including family undertakings. The Committee notes the information shared by the Government regarding the ongoing labour inspection reforms aimed at strengthening the capacity of labour inspectors to allow them to better monitor and identify cases of child labour, including in the informal economy. This includes the training of labour inspectors on child labour, work on the Strategic Compliance Planning by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the establishment of a Case Management System. The ILO is also providing technical assistance in the context of a Needs Assessment review conducted for the Labour Administration system to further conduct a statistical survey of all work establishments in the country, the objectives of which include ascertaining an adequate ratio of labour inspectors available in each locality and in accordance with the number of work establishments. The findings of this survey will feed into the Strategic Compliance planning currently under way.

The Government indicates that, in all labour inspections conducted in the past three years, no cases of child labour have been identified, including in the textile and apparel firms, manufacturing and processing, transport and agricultural sectors. The Committee, while taking into account the increase in the incidence of child labour between 2021 and 2023, also observes that the LFS indicates that the proportion of the labour force who is employed in the informal economy is 56.2 per cent in 2023 (as opposed to 51 per cent in 2021). The Committee therefore urges the Government to strengthen its measures to build the capacity of labour inspectors with a view to allowing them to better monitor and identify cases of child labour, particularly in the informal economy. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken in this regard, within the framework of Strategic Compliance planning or otherwise, as well as information on the number and nature of cases of child labour detected by the Labour Inspectorate

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory education. The Committee recalls that, under the Free Primary Education Act of 2010, education is free and compulsory only in the case of primary education, which begins at age 6 and goes on for seven years, ending at age 13. The Committee observes that the age of completion of compulsory education remains lower than the age of admission to employment or work (15 years). The Committee stresses the importance of adopting legislation providing for compulsory education up to the minimum age for admission to employment or work (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, para. 369). Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary steps to make education compulsory up until the minimum age for admission to employment, which is 15 years in the Kingdom of Eswatini. As regards matters related to the functioning of the education system, the Committee refers to its comments under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182).

Article 3(2). Determination of hazardous work. Following its previous comments, the Committee observes that the regulations adopted pursuant to the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act, 2012, by Legal Notice No. 111 and 112 of 2023 and attached to the Government’s report, are not related to the establishment of a hazardous work list. The Committee observes, however, that section 9 of the Employment Bill, 2024, provides a list of types of hazardous work that are prohibited to children and young persons under 18. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption of the Employment Bill, 2024, in the very near future.

Article 7. Light work. Following its previous comments, the Committee observes with regret that section 10 of the Employment Bill, 2024, repeats the provisions of the previous Employment Bills and provides that children under the minimum age of 15 years may perform work under certain circumstances, including in a family business, for up to six hours per day and 33 hours per week, although not during school hours or at night. The Committee once again observes that there is no minimum age set for light work in family undertakings under section 10 of the Employment Bill, 2024, in contravention with Article 7(1) of the Convention, according to which the minimum age for light work must be set at 13 years. In addition, the Committee once again underlines that children who work for up to 6 hours per day or 33 hours per week cannot, in practice, effectively attend school, as the time needed for schoolwork, rest and leisure could be considerably reduced, and that, therefore, this exception is not in accordance with the requirements of Article 7(3) of the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it took note of the Committee’s observations regarding the need to review the provisions of section 10 of the Employment Bill, and that this will be drawn to the attention of the Parliament during the legislative process for the adoption of the Bill. The Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that section 10 of the Employment Bill, 2024, is modified to set a minimum age of 13 years for the performance of light work, and to reduce the number of hours per week that children between the ages of 13 and 15 are permitted to work in these circumstances in order to ensure that such work is not likely to be harmful to their health or development and is not such as to prejudice their attendance at school.