The ILO Convention Concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment C138, is a convention adopted in 1973 by the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

. It requires ratifying states to pursue a national policy designed to ensure the effective abolition of

child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

and to raise progressively the minimum age for admission to employment or work. It is one of eight

ILO fundamental conventions The Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work was adopted in 1998, at the 86th International Labour Conference. It is a statement made by the International Labour Organization "that all Members, even if they have not ratified the ...

. Convention C138 replaces several similar ILO conventions in specific fields of labour.

Minimum ages

Countries are free to specify a minimum age for labour, with a minimum of 15 years. A declaration of 14 years is also possible when for a specified period of time. Laws may also permit light work for children aged 13–15 (not harming their health or school work). The minimum age of 18 years is specified for work which "is likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of young persons". Definitions of the type of work and derogations are only possible after tripartite consultations (if such a system exists in the ratifying country).

Effect on other conventions

The convention is a revision of several conventions for workers in specific areas. Upon entry into force, some of these conventions were closed for ratification and becoming a party to this convention automatically resulted in denunciation of the older ones. An overview of older minimum age conventions of ILO is shown below:

Ratifications

ILO Convention C138 entered into force one year after deposition of the first two ratifications (Cuba and Libya). As of October 2022 175 countries have ratified Convention C138. Initially, however, the pace of ratification of this convention was extremely slow. Therefore, an alternative Convention with a more limited scope was initiated in 1999. p. 74 referring to 1999 ILO Convention C182:

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1 ...

(Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour), 2133 United Nations Treaty Series, p. 163 It concerns ILO Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Convention C138 enters into force for a ratifying country one year after ratification. This can be denounced every 10 years in the year after 10 years have passed (e.g. – ).

References

External links

Minimum Age Convention

List of Ratifications

Text of the Convention
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706211140/http://www.worldinbalance.net/intagreements/1973-ilo-minimumage.php , date=6 July 2010 at the Center for a World in Balance International Labour Organization conventions Treaties concluded in 1973 Treaties entered into force in 1976 Child labour treaties Minimum ages Treaties of Albania Treaties of Algeria Treaties of Angola Treaties of Antigua and Barbuda Treaties of Argentina Treaties of Armenia Treaties of Austria Treaties of Azerbaijan Treaties of the Bahamas Treaties of Bahrain Treaties of Barbados Treaties of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Belize Treaties of Benin Treaties of Bolivia Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina Treaties of Botswana Treaties of Brazil Treaties of Brunei Treaties of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Treaties of Burkina Faso Treaties of Burundi Treaties of Cambodia Treaties of Cameroon Treaties of Cape Verde Treaties of the Central African Republic Treaties of Chad Treaties of Chile Treaties of the People's Republic of China Treaties of Colombia Treaties of the Comoros Treaties of the Republic of the Congo Treaties of Costa Rica Treaties of Ivory Coast Treaties of Croatia Treaties of Cuba Treaties of Cyprus Treaties of the Czech Republic Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Treaties of Denmark Treaties of Djibouti Treaties of Dominica Treaties of the Dominican Republic Treaties of Ecuador Treaties of Egypt Treaties of El Salvador Treaties of Equatorial Guinea Treaties of Eritrea Treaties of Estonia Treaties of Ethiopia Treaties of Fiji Treaties of Finland Treaties of France Treaties of Gabon Treaties of the Gambia Treaties of Ghana Treaties of Georgia (country) Treaties of West Germany Treaties of Greece Treaties of Grenada Treaties of Guatemala Treaties of Guinea Treaties of Guinea-Bissau Treaties of Guyana Treaties of Haiti Treaties of Honduras Treaties of Hungary Treaties of Iceland Treaties of Indonesia Treaties of Ba'athist Iraq Treaties of Ireland Treaties of Israel Treaties of Italy Treaties of Jamaica Treaties of Japan Treaties of Jordan Treaties of Kazakhstan Treaties of Kenya Treaties of Kiribati Treaties of South Korea Treaties of Kuwait Treaties of Kyrgyzstan Treaties of Laos Treaties of Latvia Treaties of Lebanon Treaties of Lesotho Treaties of the Libyan Arab Republic Treaties of Lithuania Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties of North Macedonia Treaties of Madagascar Treaties of Malawi Treaties of Malaysia Treaties of the Maldives Treaties of Mali Treaties of Malta Treaties of Myanmar Treaties of Mauritania Treaties of Mauritius Treaties of Mexico Treaties of Moldova Treaties of Montenegro Treaties of Mongolia Treaties of Morocco Treaties of Mozambique Treaties of Namibia Treaties of Nepal Treaties of the Netherlands Treaties of Nicaragua Treaties of Niger Treaties of Nigeria Treaties of Norway Treaties of Oman Treaties of Pakistan Treaties of Panama Treaties of Papua New Guinea Treaties of Paraguay Treaties of Peru Treaties of the Philippines Treaties of the Polish People's Republic Treaties of Portugal Treaties of Qatar Treaties of the Republic of Afghanistan Treaties of Rwanda Treaties of Saint Kitts and Nevis Treaties of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Treaties of Samoa Treaties of San Marino Treaties of São Tomé and Príncipe Treaties of Senegal Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro Treaties of Seychelles Treaties of Sierra Leone Treaties of Singapore Treaties of Slovakia Treaties of Slovenia Treaties of the Socialist Republic of Romania Treaties of the Solomon Islands Treaties of South Africa Treaties of South Sudan Treaties of the Soviet Union Treaties of Spain Treaties of Sri Lanka Treaties of the Republic of the Sudan (1985–2011) Treaties of Eswatini Treaties of Sweden Treaties of Switzerland Treaties of Syria Treaties of Tajikistan Treaties of Tanzania Treaties of Thailand Treaties of Togo Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago Treaties of Tunisia Treaties of Turkey Treaties of Turkmenistan Treaties of Uganda Treaties of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Treaties of the United Arab Emirates Treaties of the United Kingdom Treaties of Uruguay Treaties of Uzbekistan Treaties of Venezuela Treaties of Vietnam Treaties of Yemen Treaties of Vanuatu Treaties of Zambia Treaties of Zimbabwe Treaties extended to Aruba Treaties of Yugoslavia 1973 in labor relations