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

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1997)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that it is preparing a social protection and prevention programme for children and young persons under 14 years engaged in work.

The Committee notes that, according to the ILO’s Harmonized Microdata: (1) the rate of children involved in child labour in 2021 was 25.1 per cent for children aged 12 to 14, and 8.65 per cent for those aged 15 to 17; and (2) the rate of children involved in child labour in 2023 was 21.5 per cent for children aged 12 to 14, and 7.1 per cent for those aged 15 to 17. The Committee requests the Government to take the relevant measures to ensure that child labour in the country continues to decline. The Committee also requests the Government to report on the progress made in the development and implementation of the social protection and prevention programme for children and youngpersons,and to provide updated statistical information on the nature, scope and trends of child labour in the country.

Article 6. Apprenticeships. With regard to sections 28 and 58 of the General Labour Act, which allow children below the age of 14 years to work in apprenticeships, the Government indicates that: (1) the minimum age for admission to work is 14 years, in accordance with section 129(I) of the Code for Children and Young Persons; (2) ruling No. 0025/2017 of the Constitutional Court of 21 July 2017 declared section 129(II) of the Code for Children and Young Persons and related sections unconstitutional, and thus the minimum age for admission to work or employment is 14 years old; and (3) for these reasons, it is not necessary to amend the General Labour Act, as it is already in conformity with Article 6 of the Convention.

The Committee recalls that: (1) sections 28–30 of the General Labour Act do not prescribe a minimum age for signing an apprenticeship contract; (2) section 58 prohibits work for children under the age of 14 years, except for cases of apprenticeships; and (3) none of these provisions make any reference to section 129(II) of the Code for Children and Young Persons on the minimum age for admission to work, which was derogated by ruling No. 0025/2017. In this context, recalling that it has been bringing this question to the attention of the Government for many years, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to harmonize the provisions of the national legislation with Article 6 of the Convention so as to set, without delay, the minimum age for admission to employment or work in apprenticeships at 14 years.

Article 7(1),(3) and (4). Minimum age for light work and determination of light work activities. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the Convention has constitutional status through Supreme Decree No. 15549 of 16 June 1978, and it is therefore not necessary to establish an internal legal provision to establish a minimum age for light work.

The Committee notes that, according to the ILO’s Harmonized Microdata, 21.5 per cent of children aged 12 to 14 were engaged in child labour in 2023. Given the high number of children under the age of 12 to 14 who are engaged in child labour in the country, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to: (i) set a minimum age for admission to light work in order to ensure better protection for children who work despite not having reached the minimum age to do so; and (ii) determine the light work that children between the ages of 12 and 14 may perform, and establish the number of hours during which and conditions in which such work may be undertaken, in accordance with Article 7(3) of the Convention.

Article 9(3). Keeping of registers. The Committee recalls that under Act No. 1139, establishing the minimum age at 14, the Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents is in charge of delivering work authorizations for children, and that under section 138 of the Code for Children and Young Persons this Ombudsperson is responsible for keeping the register of work authorizations for children aged between 14 and 18 years who are engaged in work. 

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Labour Inspection Report form used during inspections includes a check that the enterprise or workplace has the work registration and authorization form issued by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents. While noting this information, the Committee observes that, in accordance with section 138 of the Code for Children and Young Persons, as amended by Act No. 1139, the obligation to keep a registry rests with the Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents. In this respect, the Committee recalls that Article 9(3) of the Convention establishes that it is the employer who must keep and make available to the competent authority a register of all the persons whom they employ who are less than 18 years of age. In this context, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that all employers keep a register of the persons whom they employ who are less than 18 years of age, in accordance with Article 9(3) of the Convention, and to provide information on any progress achieved in this regard.

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