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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1990)

Articles 1 and 2(3) and (4) of the Convention. Raising the minimum age for admission to employment. The Committee takes due note of the information contained in the report on the fulfilment of international commitments relating to the minimum age for admission to employment (Official Letter No. 06-2025-SCLPL/CBE/ag, of 4 April 2025), issued by the Legislation and Labour Policy Subcommittee of the National Tripartite Committee on Labour Relations and Freedom of Association and provided by the Government according to which progress was made on the draft bill for raising the minimum age for admission to employment to 15 years.

From the information provided in the above-mentioned report, the Committee notes that further to the observations made by the employers and workers regarding the bill, the Subcommittee launched a process of dialogue which included 11 meetings in 2024, for the purpose of: (1) raising the minimum age for admission to employment to 15 years; (2) harmonizing the Labour Code with the “Act on the comprehensive protection of children and young persons”; and (3) prohibiting the work of young persons under 15 years of age in any activity, including in the informal economy. The Committee notes that the bill received tripartite approval at the last session in 2024 of the Subcommittee and was referred in January 2025 to the National Tripartite Committee for subsequent forwarding to the National Congress. The Committee encourages the Government to continue taking the necessary steps to raise the minimum age for admission to employment or work from 14 to 15 years, and requests it to continue providing information on progress in this respect.

Article 2(1) and (3). Minimum age for admission to employment. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, according to which Decision No. 885 of the Board of the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS), containing the “Occupational safety and health regulations relating to the manual lifting and transport of loads”, was repealed by Decision No. 1534, published in the Central American Gazette on 21 November 2022. The Government indicates that the latter decision prescribed the application of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, adopted through Government Decision No. 229-2014 as amended by Government Decisions Nos 33-2016 and 57-2022, which were the subject of tripartite consensus in the National Occupational Safety and Health Council (CONASSO).

The Committee notes that the above-mentioned regulations do not explicitly prohibit the manual handling of loads by persons under 14 years of age. It observes that section 90 stipulates that loads handled manually must not exceed the established maximum weight limits, namely 20 kg for men between 18 and 22 years of age and 45 kg for men above 22 years of age. Furthermore, section 90(a) indicates that the maximum weight permitted for the performance of such activity by women must be considerably less, and indicates that both employers and workers must respect the criteria established by the ILO in this sphere. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the manual handling of loads, regulated in section 90 of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, is prohibited for persons under 14 years of age.