Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Belarus (Ratification: 1979)

The Committee requests the Government to supply further information on the following points.

Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to supply a copy of the legislative provisions adopted under section 175 of the Labour Code concerning the work in which persons under 18 years of age are prohibited from engaging.

Article 6. The Committee notes that Chapter 13 of the Labour Code provides for the organization of apprenticeship in undertakings. It recalls that the Convention excludes from its scope work done by persons at least 14 years of age as an integral part of an approved programme of training. The Committee therefore requests the Government to supply further information on this point, for example, the minimum age for apprentices in an undertaking and statistics on the number of children or young persons working as apprentices.

Article 7, paragraph 3. In its previous comment, the Committee notes that section 173(2) of the Labour Code permits persons of 14 years of age or older to conclude a contract of work with a written consent from their parent or guardian. It recalls that the Convention requires the competent authority to determine the activities in which such young persons may be permitted to participate, and to prescribe the number of hours of work and the conditions of employment or work. In the absence of information on this point, the Committee requests the Government to indicate measures taken in this respect.

Point V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on the application in practice of the Convention, including, for instance, statistical data, extracts from official reports and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported. It asks the Government to include information also on work done outside an employment relationship, such as own-account work, which is not covered by section 173 of the Labour Code but falls within the scope of the Convention.