Comments adopted by the CEACR: Brazil

Adopted by the CEACR in 2022

C138 - Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

The Committee notes the joint observations of the Single Confederation of Workers (CUT), the National Forum for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour (FNPETI) and the National Union of Labour Inspectors (SINAIT) received on 23 October 2020, and the Government’s replies to these observations. It also notes the observations of the National Association of Labour Justice Magistrates (ANAMATRA) received on 6 December 2021.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy towards the elimination of child labour and application of the Convention in practice.With regard to its previous comments the Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that the Third National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour and the Protection of Working Adolescents was finalized and is currently in force. The Plan includes among its objectives: (i) prioritizing prevention and elimination of child labour in political and social agendas; (ii) ensuring quality and free education for all children; (iii) protecting the health of children and adolescents against exposure to work-related risks; and (iv) fostering knowledge about the reality of child labour in Brazil. The Committee also notes that according to the National Continuous Household Survey (PNAD Contínua) (2016–2019) conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), a total of 1,768,000 children and adolescents were engaged in child labour in 2019. The survey also shows that the number of children and adolescents (5 to 17 years of age) engaged in child labour fell from 5.3 per cent (2,100,000) in 2016 to 4.6 per cent (approximately 1,800,000) in 2019. The Committee further notes that the ANAMATRA highlights that, according to the data of the IBGE, of the total number of children engaged in child labour in 2019, 66.1 per cent were Afro-Brazilian children.

The Committee notes that in response to the observations of the CUT, FNPETI and SINAIT related to the abolition of the National Council for the Elimination of Child Labour (CONAETI), the Government indicates that the CONAETI was re-established by the Decree No. 10.574 of 14 December 2020, as one of the thematic committees of the National Labour Council tasked with monitoring, evaluating and proposing policies on child labour. The composition of the CONAETI is tripartite, with the participation of six representatives of the Federal Government, six representatives of employers and six representatives of workers. The Committee also notes that the CUT, FNPETI and SINAIT observe that no measures have been taken to ensure the continuity of the Programme of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour (PETI). In this regard, the Government indicates that the PETI was redesigned with the aim of enhancing existing social welfare services and to align actions with other public policies to create a multisectoral child labour eradication agenda; and that its redesign did not affect the provision of cash transfers or social work carried out with families, but strengthened management and collaboration in five key areas: information and mobilization, identification, protection, advocacy and empowerment and monitoring. The Government adds that even though the COVID-19 pandemic has made it extremely difficult to keep social welfare services and programmes operational and the social protection network active, 8,843 activities have been carried out throughout Brazil at the state and municipal level under all five PETI areas of focus. The Committee encourages the Government to continue taking measures towards the elimination of child labour, including within the framework of the PETI, and requests it to continue providing information on the results achieved. In this respect, the Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to reduce child labour among Afro-Brazilian children. Finally, it requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the CONAETI, particularly in relation to the monitoring and evaluation of child labour policies.

Article 2(1). Scope of application. Children working in family enterprises. Following its previous comments, the Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication that section 402 of the Consolidated Labour Act, which excludes from its scope work undertaken by children and young persons in family enterprises, is not an exception authorizing child labour and that it in no way undermines the application of article 7 (XXXIII) of the Federal Constitution, which sets the minimum age at 16 years and prohibits hazardous work for young persons under 18 years. Furthermore, the Government refers to section 67 of the Statute of Children and Adolescent, according to which family workers shall not engage in night work, hazardous work, and work carried out during hours that prevent them from attending school. The Committee notes that, according to the statistical information provided by the Government, 30.9 per cent of children between 5 and 17 years engaged in child labour, work as helpers in family enterprises. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that, in practice, children working in family enterprises do not engage in child labour, including in hazardous work, and to provide information in this regard.

Articles 2(1) and 7(1) and (3). Minimum age for admission to employment or work, minimum age for admission to light work and regulation of light work activities. The Committee notes that the ANAMATRA refers to a legislative proposal to amend item XXXIII of Article 7 of the Federal Constitution (PC 18/2011), which aims at reducing the minimum age for admission to employment or work, by authorizing children above 14 years to undertake part-time work for up to 25 hours per week. The Committee notes that the rapporteur of the Parliament Commission of Constitution, Justice and Citizenship, in his report dated 18 August 2021, declared the admissibility of PC 18/2021 highlighting that the Convention permits children who have reached the age of 13 years to undertake light work that is not likely to affect their safety, health and education.

In these circumstances, the Committee emphasizes that the overall objective of the Convention is 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.Moreover, pursuant to Articles 1 and 2, paragraph 1 ofthe Convention, read together, once a minimum age for admission to employment has been specified upon ratification (16 years in the case of Brazil), the Convention provides for the possibility to raise it progressively, but does not allow the lowering of the minimum age once specified. While Article 7(1) of the Convention provides for an exception to the general minimum age by allowing children who have reached 13 years of age to carry out light work, such work cannot prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programmes and their capacity to benefit from the instruction received. Pursuant to Article 7(3) of the Convention, the competent authority shall determine the light work activities and prescribe the number of hours during which and the conditions in which such employment or work may be undertaken.

The Committee observes that the proposed constitutional amendment does not refer to specific light work activities permitted for children from the age of 14 years. Rather, it is broadly drafted so as to permit children to undertake any kind of work or occupation in any sector or in any occupation for up to 25 hours a week. Moreover, in giving effect to Article 7(3) of the Convention, special attention should be given to several key indicators, including the strict limitation of the hours spent at work in a day and in a week, the prohibition of overtime, the granting of a minimum consecutive period of 12 hours’ night rest, and the maintenance of satisfactory standards of safety and health and appropriate instruction and supervision (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 396). The Committee is of the view that authorizing children from the age of 14 to carry out part-time work under such conditions may have a negative impact on children’s school attendance and performance as the time needed for homework related to their education, as well as for rest and leisure could be considerably reduced and therefore may not be considered an authorized exception to the minimum age under the Convention. Therefore, the Committee expresses the firm hope that any legislative proposal to modify the minimum age for admission to employment or to regulate light work activities be considered in light of the above-mentioned provisions of the Convention.

Labour inspection. The Committee notes that the Government enumerates different measures taken by the labour inspectorate to combat child labour in both the formal and informal economy, which include: (i) training for labour inspectors on addressing the various types of child labour; (ii) development of appropriate intervention instruments, including in the informal economy; (iii) inspection operations in child labour hotspots, including in rural areas; and (iv) actions planned in coordination with social partners with a view to the sustainable elimination of child labour hotspots. The Government adds that, as a result of the measures taken, the labour inspectorate found 535 children and adolescents engaged in child labour in the first semester of 2021. A total of 185 children and adolescents were found in child labour in the informal economy during inspections conducted in Maranhão, Espírito Santo, Roraima, Paraíba and Bahia during the same period. The Committee observes, however, that these numbers are still low compared to the overall number of children engaged in child labour in the country (according to the National Continuous Household Survey there were 1,768,000 children). Therefore, while noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee strongly requests the Government to take the necessary additional measures to strengthen the capacities of the labour inspectorate to effectively detect situations of child labour, particularly in the informal economy, and to provide information about the impact of these additional measures. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of inspections related to child labour that have been carried out, the number and nature of violations detected, the sectors in which they were found, and the penalties applied.

C182 - Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted the adoption of the Law No. 13.344 of 2016, which amended the Penal Code to criminalize trafficking of children (section 149-A) and requested the Government to provide information on its application in practice. It also requested the Government to inform on the actions implemented under the Third National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The Committee notes that, in 2019, an Inter-ministerial Monitoring and Evaluation Group was created to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Third National Action Plan (Decree No. 9796 of 20 May 2019). However, it notes the absence of information on specific measures taken within the framework of the Action Plan to combat trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation, as well as on the number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions under section 149-A of the Penal Code. Therefore, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on: (i) measures taken with the aim of combatting trafficking of children for labour and sexual exploitation, including within the framework of the Third National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons; and (ii) the number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions and penalties imposed on the basis of section 149-A of the Penal Code regarding trafficking of children.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (c). Ensure access to free basic education, and whenever possible, vocational training for children removed from the worst forms of child labour. The Committee notes with interest that the Government has developed a methodology for inserting former child workers in vocational training programmes, and that it is being implemented in the states of Maranhão, and Espíritu Santo targeting children who were involved in street trading and garbage collection. The Committee notes that in the context of these interventions, 108 of 112 adolescents found to be working as street vendors have been enrolled in vocational training programmes. The Committee encourages the Government to continue taking measures in this regard and requests it to continue providing information on the results achieved.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Orphans and other vulnerable children due to HIV/AIDS. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to protect HIV/AIDS orphans and on the results achieved. The Committee notes that according to information of UNAIDS, the number of people infected with HIV increased by 21 per cent from 2010 to 2018. Noting the absence of information on this point, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS are prevented from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour.

C182 - Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

The Committee notes the observations of the National Association of Labour Court Judges (ANAMATRA) received on 6 December 2021 and requests the Government to provide its reply to them.

Articles 3(d), 5 and 7(1) of the Convention. Hazardous work, labour inspection and penalties. In relation to its previous direct request, the Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that, between January 2017 and July 2021, the labour inspectorate imposed 1,276 penalties on workplace supervisors for violating Decree No. 6481 of 12 June 2008 containing a list of hazardous work prohibited for children. During the same period, the labour inspectorate also issued 68 violation notices for subjecting children and adolescents to other working conditions (not included in the list) that were considered harmful to their physical, psychological, morals, and social development and 71 penalties for allowing workers under 18 years of age to perform night work. The Committee notes that information concerning the number of children found to be in hazardous work is continuously updated and made available through the Radar SIT (Labour inspection statistics and information dashboard) webpage on child labour.

While noting the results of the inspections undertaken to identify situations of children engaged in hazardous work, the Committee notes with concern that, according to the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD contínua) conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics for the period 2016-2019, a total of 706,000 children between 5 and 17 years of age are still in hazardous occupations (most of them within the age group of 5 to 13 years of age). Moreover, it notes that the ANAMATRA indicates that the number of children undertaking hazardous work who have been victims of accidents at the workplace increased by 30 per cent from 2019 to 2020. The Committee requests the Government to take, as a matter of urgency, all the necessary measures to ensure that children under the age of 18 years are not engaged in hazardous work, including in the informal economy, and that they benefit from the protection afforded by the Convention. It requests the Government to continue providing information in this regard, including on the number and nature of violations of the Decree No.6481 of 12 June 2008 that have been detected by the labour inspectorate and the penalties imposed.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. With regard to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Government refers to two programmes that address the issue of education in rural areas, namely: (i) The Way to School Programme, which supports access to education by students living in rural and riparian areas by providing buses, motorboats and bicycles designed specifically for safe transportation in such regions; and (ii) The Land School Programme, which aims at providing training opportunities for teachers in rural areas on a continuous basis and facilitating school enrolment and retention of rural and Afro-Brazilian students. In 2019, some 1,800 teachers in rural and Afro-Brazilian communities benefited from that programme.

The Committee notes that, according to the 2019 National Household Sample Survey – Education (PNAD Education), 99.7 per cent of children aged 6 to 14 were enrolled in school in 2019. School failure or dropout affected 12.5 per cent of children aged 11 to 14 and 28.6 per cent of the children aged 15 to 17. It further notes that, according to the 2021 UNICEF report entitled “Out-of-School Children in Brazil”, the highest out-of-school rates (children aged 6 to 14) are found in rural areas, particularly in the North and Northeast regions of the country. The UNICEF report also highlights that, in absolute numbers, Afro-Brazilian and indigenous children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 who are out of school total 781,577, corresponding to 71.3 per cent of all children and adolescents who are currently not attending school. The Committee further notes the ANAMATRA’s observations that many children who were excluded from distance learning during the pandemic, were taken to work in the countryside, to perform domestic work or to work on the streets. While noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on children’s access to school and recalling that education is key in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to ensure that all children complete free basic education, particularly those living in rural and riparian areas. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide information on specific measures taken to facilitate access to school for Afro-Brazilian and indigenous children and the results achieved, as well as updated statistical data on school enrolment, retention and drop-out rates disaggregated by age and gender.

Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and assistance for their removal, rehabilitation, and social integration. Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. In reply to previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the labour inspectorate is implementing measures to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, which include training on commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents for labour inspectorates and the designing of specific protocols on the subject. It also notes that the Government has put in place the Initial Support Project to improve the protection and assistance networks for child and adolescent victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The project involves the participation of different institutions including the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the National Coordination Office for Combating Child and Adolescent Labour. In addition, the Federal Traffic Police designed a Mapping Project to identify places along Brazil’s federal roads that lend themselves to the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. The information is consolidated in a document that serves as guidance in combating commercial sexual exploitation.

The Committee further notes that according to the National Report of the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety on Trafficking in Persons (2017-2020), within the period 2018-2020, 32 child and adolescent victims of trafficking in persons were registered by the Federal Police. Moreover, according to the Ministry of Health, 229 persons under 18 years of age were considered as possible victims of trafficking in persons within the same period. While noting the adoption of measures to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, the Committee observes that the Government does not provide information on the measures taken to provide child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation with rehabilitation services, including the establishment of shelters. Therefore, the Committee once again requests the Government to take all the necessary measures to ensure that child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation are removed from these worsts form of child labour, rehabilitated and socially reintegrated, and to provide information on the results achieved. It also requests the Government to continue providing updated statistical information on the number of child victims of trafficking in persons that have been identified, rehabilitated, and reintegrated.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Child domestic workers. The Committee notes that according to the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD contínua) for the period 2016–19, the number of children engaged in domestic work within the age group 5 to 17 was 125,528. It also notes the Government’s indication that the labour inspectorate has taken various measures to address child domestic labour, including awareness raising campaigns and the development of training materials for labour inspectors and specific protocols on the issue. Between January 2013 and July 2021, the labour inspectorate removed seven children and adolescents from domestic work and imposed seven penalties on individuals responsible for hiring persons under 18 years of age as domestic workers. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee observes that the number of child domestic workers remains significant, and that very few were identified and removed from this type of work over a period of eight years. Therefore, the Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that no person under 18 years of age is involved in domestic work, in conformity with Decree No. 6481 of 12 June 2008, and to provide information on the results achieved

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

Adopted by the CEACR in 2021

C098 - Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

The Committee notes the observations of the National Confederation of Workers in Teaching Establishments (CONTEE), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Single Confederation of Workers (CUT), received on 14 May and 1 and 2 September 2021, respectively.

The Committee notes that these observations contain, inter alia, allegations relating to: (i) the assassination of three trade union leaders in 2020 and several cases of death threats; and (ii) the worsening of violations of the right to collective bargaining in the context of the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Noting the seriousness of some of the allegations contained in the above-mentioned observations, the Committee considers it necessary to be able to examine the corresponding replies of the Government in 2022. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide its comments on the above-mentioned observations of the trade unions.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2022.]