Health and safety for women and children

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International
Labour Organization

Your health and safety at work

HEALTH AND SAFETY FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146)

This Recommendation, adopted by the General Conference of the ILO in 1973, supplements Convention No. 138. It expresses the desire of the Conference "to define further certain elements of policy which are the concern of the International Labour Organization". These relate to national policy, minimum age, hazardous employment or work, conditions of employment, and enforcement. The text of the operative part of the Recommendation follows.

"I. NATIONAL POLICY

1. To ensure the success of the national policy provided for in Article 1 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, high priority should be given to planning for and meeting the needs of children and youth in national development policies and programmes and to the progressive extension of the inter-related measures necessary to provide the best possible conditions of physical and mental growth for children and young persons.

2. In this connection special attention should be given to such areas of planning and policy as the following:

(a) firm national commitment to full employment, in accordance with the Employment Policy Convention and Recommendation, 1964, and the taking of measures designed to promote employment-oriented development in rural and urban areas;

(b) the progressive extension of other economic and social measures to alleviate poverty wherever it exists and to ensure family living standards and income which are such as to make it unnecessary to have recourse to the economic activity of children;

(c) the development and progressive extension, without any discrimination, of social security and family welfare measures aimed at ensuring child maintenance, including children's allowances;

(d) the development and progressive extension of adequate facilities for education and vocational orientation and training appropriate in form and content to the needs of the children and young persons concerned;

(e) the development and progressive extension of appropriate facilities for the protection and welfare of children and young persons, including employed young persons, and for the promotion of their development.

3. Particular account should as necessary be taken of the needs of children and young persons who do not have families or do not live with their own families and of migrant children and young persons who live and travel with their families. Measures taken to that end should include the provision of fellowships and vocational training.

4. Full-time attendance at school or participation in approved vocational orientation or training programmes should be required and effectively ensured up to an age at least equal to that specified for admission to employment in accordance with Article 2 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973.

5. (1) Consideration should be given to measures such as preparatory training, not involving hazards, for types of employment or work in respect of which the minimum age prescribed in accordance with Article 3 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, is higher than the age of completion of compulsory full-time schooling.

(2) Analogous measures should be envisaged where the professional exigencies of a particular occupation include a minimum age for admission which is higher than the age of completion of compulsory full-time schooling.

II. MINIMUM AGE

6. The minimum age should be fixed at the same level for all sectors of economic activity.

7. (1) Members should take as their objective the progressive raising to 16 years of the minimum age for admission to employment or work specified in pursuance of Article 2 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973.

(2) Where the minimum age for employment or work covered by Article 2 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, is still below 15 years, urgent steps should be taken to raise it to that level.

8. Where it is not immediately feasible to fix a minimum age for all employment in agriculture and in related activities in rural areas, a minimum age should be fixed at least for employment on plantations and in the other agricultural undertakings referred to in Article 5, paragraph 3, of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973.

III. HAZARDOUS EMPLOYMENT OR WORK

9. Where the minimum age for admission to types of employment or work which are likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of young persons is still below 18 years, immediate steps should be taken to raise it to that level.

10. (1) In determining the types of employment or work to which Article 3 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, applies, full account should be taken of relevant international labour standards, such as those concerning dangerous substances, agents or processes (including ionising radiations), the lifting of heavy weights and underground work.

(2) The list of the types of employment or work in question should be re-examined periodically and revised as necessary, particularly in the light of advancing scientific and technological knowledge.

11. Where, by reference to Article 5 of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, a minimum age is not immediately fixed for certain branches of economic activity or types of undertakings, appropriate minimum age provisions should be made applicable therein to types of employment or work presenting hazards for young persons.

IV. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

12. (1) Measures should be taken to ensure that the conditions in which children and young persons under the age of 18 years are employed or work reach and are maintained at a satisfactory standard. These conditions should be supervised closely.

(2) Measures should likewise be taken to safeguard and supervise the conditions in which children and young persons undergo vocational orientation and training within undertakings, training institutions and schools for vocational or technical education and to formulate standards for their protection and development.

13. (1) In connection with the application of the preceding Paragraph, as well as in giving effect to Article 7, paragraph 3, of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, special attention should be given to —

(a) the provision of fair remuneration and its protection, bearing in mind the principle of equal pay for equal work;

(b) the strict limitation of the hours spent at work in a day and in a week, and the prohibition of overtime, so as to allow enough time for education and training (including the time needed for homework related thereto), for rest during the day and for leisure activities;

(c) the granting, without possibility of exception save in genuine emergency, of a minimum consecutive period of 12 hours' night rest, and of customary weekly rest days;

(d) the granting of an annual holiday with pay of at least four weeks and, in any case, not shorter than that granted to adults;

(e) coverage by social security schemes, including employment injury, medical care and sickness benefit schemes, whatever the conditions of employment or work may be;

(f) the maintenance of satisfactory standards of safety and health and appropriate instruction and supervision.

(2) Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph applies to young seafarers in so far as they are not covered in respect of the matters dealt with therein by international labour Conventions or Recommendations specifically concerned with maritime employment.

V. ENFORCEMENT

14. (1) Measures to ensure the effective application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973, and of this Recommendation should include —

(a) the strengthening as necessary of labour inspection and related services, for instance by the special training of inspectors to detect abuses in the employment or work of children and young persons and to correct such abuses; and

(b) the strengthening of services for the improvement and inspection of training in undertakings.

(2) Emphasis should be placed on the role which can be played by inspectors in supplying information and advice on effective means of complying with relevant provisions as well as in securing their enforcement.

(3) Labour inspection and inspection of training in undertakings should be closely co-ordinated to provide the greatest economic efficiency and, generally, the labour administration services should work in close co-operation with the services responsible for the education, training, welfare and guidance of children and young persons.

15. Special attention should be paid —

(a) to the enforcement of provisions concerning employment in hazardous types of employment or work; and

(b) in so far as education or training is compulsory, to the prevention of the employment or work of children and young persons during the hours when instruction is available.

16. The following measures should be taken to facilitate the verification of ages:

(a) the public authorities should maintain an effective system of birth registration, which should include the issue of birth certificates;

(b) employers should be required to keep and to make available to the competent authority registers or other documents indicating the names and ages or dates of birth, duly certified wherever possible, not only of children and young persons employed by them but also of those receiving vocational orientation or training in their undertakings;

(c) children and young persons working in the streets, in outside stalls, in public places, in itinerant occupations or in other circumstances which make the checking of employers' records impracticable should be issued licences or other documents indicating their eligibility for such work.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), 1973, Vol. LVI, No.1, pp. 34-37.

Night work

Night Work of Children and Young Persons
(Agriculture) Recommendation, 1921 (No. 14)

Excerpt:

The General Conference of the International Labour Organization recommends:

I. That each Member of the International Labour Organisation take steps to regulate the employment of children under the age of fourteen years in agricultural undertakings during the night, in such a way as to ensure to them a period of rest compatible with their physical necessities and consisting of not less than ten consecutive hours.

II. That each Member of the International Labour Organisation take steps to regulate the employment of young persons between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years in agricultural undertakings during the night, in such a way as to ensure to them a period of rest compatible with their physical necessities and consisting of not less than nine consecutive hours.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), 1921, Vol. IV, No. 22, pp. 492-493.

Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial
Occupations) Convention, 1946 (No. 79)

Excerpts: Articles 1 to 6.

Article 1

1. This Convention applies to children and young persons employed for wages, or working directly or indirectly for gain, in non-industrial occupations.

2. For the purpose of this Convention, the term "non-industrial occupation" includes all occupations other than those recognised by the competent authority as industrial, agricultural or maritime occupations.

3. The competent authority shall define the line of division which separates non-industrial occupations from industrial, agricultural and maritime occupations.

4. National laws or regulations may exempt from the application of this Convention —

(a) domestic service in private households; and

(b) employment, on work which is not deemed to be harmful, prejudicial, or dangerous to children or young persons, in family undertakings in which only parents and their children or wards are employed.

Article 2

1. Children under fourteen years of age who are admissible for full-time or part-time employment and children over fourteen years of age who are still subject to full-time compulsory school attendance shall not be employed nor work at night during a period of at least fourteen consecutive hours, including the interval between eight o'clock in the evening and eight o'clock in the morning.

2. Provided that national laws or regulations may, where local conditions so require, substitute another interval of twelve hours of which the beginning shall not be fixed later than eight thirty o'clock in the evening nor the termination earlier than six o'clock in the morning.

Article 3

1. Children over fourteen years of age who are no longer subject to full-time compulsory school attendance and young persons under eighteen years of age shall not be employed nor work at night during a period of at least twelve consecutive hours, including the interval between ten o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning.

2. Provided that, where there are exceptional circumstances affecting a particular branch of activity or a particular area, the competent authority may, after consultation with the employers' and workers' organisations concerned, decide that in the case of children and young persons employed in that branch of activity or area, the interval between eleven o'clock in the evening and seven o'clock in the morning may be substituted for that between ten o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning.

Article 4

1. In countries where the climate renders work by day particularly trying, the night period may be shorter than that prescribed in the above articles if compensatory rest is accorded during the day.

2. The prohibition of night work may be suspended by the Government for young persons of sixteen years of age and over when in case of serious emergency the national interest demands it.

3. National laws or regulations may empower an appropriate authority to grant temporary individual licences in order to enable young persons of sixteen years of age and over to work at night when the special needs of vocational training so require, subject to the period of rest being not less than eleven consecutive hours in every period of twenty-four hours.

Article 5

1. National laws or regulations may empower an appropriate authority to grant individual licences in order to enable children or young persons under the age of eighteen years to appear at night as performers in public entertainments or to participate at night as performers in the making of cinematographic films.

2. The minimum age at which such a licence may be granted shall be prescribed by national laws or regulations.

3. No such licence may be granted when, because of the nature of the entertainment or the circumstances in which it is carried on, or the nature of the cinematographic film or the conditions under which it is made, participation in the entertainment or in the making of the film may be dangerous to the life, health, or morals of the child or young person.

4. The following conditions shall apply to the granting of licences:

(a) the period of employment shall not continue after midnight;

(b) strict safeguards shall be prescribed to protect the health and morals, and to ensure kind treatment of, the child or young person and to avoid interference with his education;

Article 6

1. In order to ensure the due enforcement of the provisions of this Convention, national laws or regulations shall —

(a) provide for a system of public inspection and supervision adequate for the particular needs of the various branches of activity to which the Convention applies;

(b) require every employer to keep a register, or to keep available official records, showing the names and dates of birth of all persons under eighteen years of age employed by him and their hours of work; in the case of children and young persons working in the streets or in places to which the public have access, the register or records shall show the hours of service agreed upon in the contract of employment;

(c) provide suitable means for assuring identification and supervision of persons under eighteen years of age engaged, on account of an employer or on their own account, in employment or occupations carried on in the streets or in places to which the public have access;

(d) provide penalties applicable to employers or other responsible adults for breaches of such laws or regulations.

2. There shall be included in the annual reports to be submitted under Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation full information concerning all laws and regulations by which effect is given to the provisions of this Convention and, more particularly, concerning —

(a) any interval which may be substituted for the interval prescribed in paragraph 1 of Article 2 in virtue of the provisions of paragraph 2 of that Article;

(b) the extent to which advantage is taken of the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 3;

(c) the authorities empowered to grant individual licences in virtue of the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 5 and the minimum age prescribed for the granting of licences in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of the said Article."

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), 1946, Vol. XXIX, No. 4, pp. 274-280.

Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention

(Revised), 1948 (No. 90)

Excerpts: Articles 1 to 6.

Article 1

1. For the purpose of this Convention, the term "industrial undertaking" includes particularly —

(a) mines, quarries, and other works for the extraction of minerals from the earth;

(b) undertakings in which articles are manufactured, altered, cleaned, repaired, ornamented, finished, adapted for sale, broken up or demolished, or in which materials are transformed, including undertakings engaged in shipbuilding or in the generation, transformation or transmission of electricity or motive power of any kind;

(c) undertakings engaged in building and civil engineering work, including constructional, repair, maintenance, alteration and demolition work;

(d) undertakings engaged in the transport of passengers or goods by road or rail, including the handling of goods at docks, quays, wharves, warehouses or airports.

2. The competent authority shall define the line of division which separates industry from agriculture, commerce and other non-industrial occupations.

3. National laws or regulations may exempt from the application of this Convention employment on work which is not deemed to be harmful, prejudicial, or dangerous to young persons in family undertakings in which only parents and their children or wards are employed.

Article 2

1. For the purpose of this Convention the term "night" signifies a period of at least twelve consecutive hours.

2. In the case of young persons under sixteen years of age, this period shall include the interval between ten o'clock in the evening and six o'clock in the morning.

3. In the case of young persons who have attained the age of sixteen years but are under the age of eighteen years, this period shall include an interval prescribed by the competent authority of at least seven consecutive hours falling between ten o'clock in the evening and seven o'clock in the morning; the competent authority may prescribe different intervals for different areas, industries, undertakings or branches of industries or undertakings, but shall consult the employers' and workers' organisations concerned before prescribing an interval beginning after eleven o'clock in the evening.

Article 3

1. Young persons under eighteen years of age shall not be employed or work during the night in any public or private industrial undertaking or in any branch thereof except as hereinafter provided for.

2. For purposes of apprenticeship or vocational training in specified industries or occupations which are required to be carried on continuously, the competent authority may, after consultation with the employers' and workers' organisations concerned, authorise the employment in night work of young persons who have attained the age of sixteen years but are under the age of eighteen years.

3. Young persons employed in night work in virtue of the preceding paragraph shall be granted a rest period of at least thirteen consecutive hours between two working periods.

4. Where night work in the baking industry is prohibited for all workers, the interval between nine o'clock in the evening and four o'clock in the morning may, for purposes of apprenticeship or vocational training of young persons who have attained the age of sixteen years, be substituted by the competent authority for the interval of at least seven consecutive hours falling between ten o'clock in the evening and seven o'clock in the morning prescribed by the authority in virtue of paragraph 3 of Article 2.

Article 4

1. In countries where the climate renders work by day particularly trying, the night period and barred interval may be shorter than that prescribed in the above Articles if compensatory rest is accorded during the day.

2. The provisions of Articles 2 and 3 shall not apply to the night work of young persons between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years in case of emergencies which could not have been controlled or foreseen, which are not of a periodical character, and which interfere with the normal working of the industrial undertaking.

Article 5

The prohibition of night work may be suspended by the government, for young persons between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years, when in case of serious emergency the public interest demands it.

Article 6

1. The laws or regulations giving effect to the provisions of this Convention shall —

(a) make appropriate provision for ensuring that they are known to the persons concerned;

(b) define the persons responsible for compliance therewith;

(d) provide for the maintenance of a system of inspection adequate to ensure effective enforcement; and

(e) require every employer in a public or private industrial undertaking to keep a register, or to keep available official records, showing the names and dates of birth of all persons under eighteen years of age employed by him and such other pertinent information as may be required by the competent authority.

2. The annual reports submitted by Members under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation shall contain full information concerning such laws and regulations and a general survey of the results of the inspections made in accordance therewith.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), 1948, Vol. XXXI, No. 1, pp. 24-31.

Hazardous employment

Lead Poisoning (Women and Children)
Recommendation, 1919 (No. 4)

Excerpt Operative: paragraphs 1 to 4

1. The General Conference recommends to the Members of the International Labour Organisation that, in view of the danger involved to the function of maternity and to the physical development of children, women and young persons under the age of eighteen years be excluded from employment in the following processes:

(a) in furnace work in the reduction of zinc or lead ores;

(b) in the manipulation, treatment, or reduction of ashes containing lead, and the desilvering of lead;

(d) in the manufacture of solder or alloys containing more than ten per cent. of lead;

(e) in the manufacture of litharge, massicot, red lead, white lead, orange lead, or sulphate, chromate or silicate (frit) of lead;

(f) in mixing and pasting in the manufacture or repair of electric accumulators;

(g) in the cleaning of workrooms where the above processes are carried on.

2. It is further recommended that the employment of women and young persons under the age of eighteen years in processes involving the use of lead compounds be permitted only subject to the following conditions:

(a) locally applied exhaust ventilation, so as to remove dust and fumes at the point of origin;

(b) cleanliness of tools and workrooms;

(d) periodic medical examination of the persons employed in such processes;

(e) provision of sufficient and suitable cloak-room, washing, and mess-room accommodation, and of special protective clothing;

(f) prohibition of bringing food or drink into workrooms.

3. It is further recommended that in industries where soluble lead compounds can be replaced by non-toxic substances, the use of soluble lead compounds should be strictly regulated.

4. For the purpose of this Recommendation, a lead compound should be considered as soluble if it contains more than five per cent of its weight (estimated as metallic lead) soluble in a quarter of one per cent solution of hydrochloric acid.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), April 1919 - August 1920, Vol. I, pp. 428-429.

White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13)

Excerpt:

Article 3

1. The employment of males under eighteen years of age and of all females shall be prohibited in any painting work of an industrial character involving the use of white lead or sulphate of lead or other products containing these pigments.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), December 1921, Supplement to Vol. IV, No. 23, pp. 13-16.

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115)

Excerpt:

Article 6

1. Maximum permissible doses of ionising radiations which may be received from sources external to or internal to the body and maximum permissible amounts of radioactive substances which can be taken into the body shall be fixed in accordance with Part I of this Convention for various categories of workers.

2. Such maximum permissible doses and amounts shall be kept under constant review in the light of current knowledge.

Article 7

1. Appropriate levels shall be fixed in accordance with Article 6 for workers who are directly engaged in radiation work and are —

(a) aged 18 and over;

(b) under the age of 18.

2. No worker under the age of 16 shall be engaged in work involving ionising radiations.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), 1960, Vol. XLIII, No. 2, pp. 41-46

Benzene Convention, 1971 (No. 136)

Excerpt:

Article 11. 1. ...

2. Young persons under 18 years of age shall not be employed in work processes involving exposure to benzene or products containing benzene: Provided that this prohibition need not apply to young persons undergoing education or training who are under adequate technical and medical supervision.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), 1971 Vol. LIV, No. 3, pp. 246-251.

Benzene Recommendation, 1971 (No. 144)

Excerpt:

20. Young persons under 18 years of age should not be employed in work processes involving exposure to benzene or products containing benzene, except where they are undergoing education or training and are under adequate technical and medical supervision."

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), 1971, Vol. LIV, No. 3, pp. 255-259.

Occupational Safety and Health (Dock Work)

Convention, 1979 (No. 152)

Excerpt:

Article 38. 1. ...

2. A lifting appliance or other cargo-handling appliance shall be operated only by a person who is at least 18 years of age and who possesses the necessary aptitudes and experience or a person under training who is properly supervised.

Source: Official Bulletin, Geneva, ILO, 1979, Vol. LXII, No. 2, Series A, pp. 70-76.

Maximum weight

Maximum Weight Convention, 1967 (No. 127)

Excerpts:

Article 1

For the purpose of this Convention — ... the term "young worker" means a worker under 18 years of age.

Article 7

1. The assignment of women and young workers to manual transport of loads other than light loads shall be limited.

2. Where women and young workers are engaged in the manual transport of loads, the maximum weight of such loads shall be substantially less than that permitted for adult male workers.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), July 1967 Vol. L, No. 3, Series I, pp. 1-4.

Maximum Weight Recommendation, 1967 (No. 128)

Excerpts.

1. For the purpose of this Recommendation —

B. Women Workers

15. Where adult women workers are engaged in the manual transport of loads, the maximum weight of such loads should be substantially less than that permitted for adult male workers.

16. As far as possible, adult women workers should not be assigned to regular manual transport of loads.

17. Where adult women workers are assigned to regular manual transport of loads, provision should be made —

(a) as appropriate, to reduce the time spent on actual lifting, carrying and putting down of loads by such workers;

(b) to prohibit the assignment of such workers to certain specified jobs, comprised in manual transport of loads, which are especially arduous.

18. No woman should be assigned to manual transport of loads during a pregnancy which has been medically determined or during the ten weeks following confinement if in the opinion of a qualified physician such work is likely to impair her health or that of her child.

C. Young Workers

19. Where young workers are engaged in the manual transport of loads, the maximum weight of such loads should be substantially less than that permitted for adult workers of the same sex.

20. as far as possible, young workers should not be assigned to regular manual transport of loads.

21. Where the minimum age for assignment to manual transport of loads is less than 16 years, measures should be taken as speedily as possible to raise it to that level.

22. The minimum age for assignment to regular manual transport of loads should be raised, with a view to attaining a minimum age of 18 years.

23. Where young workers are assigned to regular manual transport of loads, provision should be made —

(a) as appropriate, to reduce the time spent on actual lifting, carrying and putting down of loads by such workers;

(b) to prohibit the assignment of such workers to certain specified jobs, comprised in manual transport of loads, which are especially arduous.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), July 1967 Vol. L, No. 3, Series I, pp. 25-29.

Medical examinations

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Sea)

Convention, 1921 (No. 16)

Excerpt:

Article 2

The employment of any child or young person under eighteen years of age on any vessel, other than vessels upon which only members of the same family are employed, shall be conditional on the production of a medical certificate attesting fitness for such work, signed by a doctor who shall be approved by the competent authority.

Article 3

The continued employment at sea of any such child or young person shall be subject to the repetition of such medical examination at intervals of not more than one year, and the production, after each such examination, of a further medical certificate attesting fitness for such work. Should a medical certificate expire in the course of a voyage, it shall remain in force until the end of the said voyage.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), December 1921, Supplement to Vol. IV, No. 23, pp. 24-25.

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry)

Convention, 1946 (No. 77)

Excerpts:

Article 2

1. Children and young persons under eighteen years of age shall not be admitted to employment by an industrial undertaking unless they have been found fit for the work on which they are to be employed by a thorough medical examination.

Article 3

1. The fitness of a child or young person for the employment in which he is engaged shall be subject to medical supervision until he has attained the age of eighteen years.

2. The continued employment of a child or young person under eighteen years of age shall be subject to the repetition of medical examinations at intervals of not more than one year.

3. National laws or regulations shall —

(a) make provision for the special circumstances in which a medical re-examination shall be required in addition to the annual examination or at more frequent intervals in order to ensure effective supervision in respect of the risks involved in the occupation and of the state of health of the child or young person as shown by previous examinations; or

(b) empower the competent authority to require medical re-examinations in exceptional cases.

Article 4

1. In occupations which involve high health risks medical examination and re-examinations for fitness for employment shall be required until at least the age of twenty-one years.

2. National laws or regulations shall either specify, or empower an appropriate authority to specify, the occupations or categories of occupations in which medical examination and re-examinations for fitness for employment shall be required until at least the age of twenty-one years.

Article 5

The medical examination required by the preceding Articles shall not involve the child or young person, or his parents, in any expense.

Article 7

1. The employer shall be required to file and keep available to labour inspectors either the medical certificate for fitness for employment or the work permit or workbook showing that there are no medical objections to the employment as may be prescribed by national laws or regulations.

2. National laws or regulations shall determine the other methods of supervision to be adopted for ensuring the strict enforcement of this Convention.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), November 1946, Vol. XXIX, No. 4, pp. 254-261.

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Non-Industrial)
Occupations) Convention, 1946, (No. 78)

Excerpts:

Article 2

1. Children and young persons under eighteen years of age shall not be admitted to employment or work in non-industrial occupations unless they have been found fit for the work in question by a thorough medical examination.

Article 3

1. The fitness of a child or young person for the employment in which he is engaged shall be subject to medical supervision until he has attained the age of eighteen years.

2. The continued employment of a child or young person under eighteen years of age shall be subject to the repetition of medical examinations at intervals of not more than one year.

3. National laws or regulations shall —

(b) empower the competent authority to require medical re-examinations in exceptional cases.

Article 4

1. In occupations which involve high health risks medical examination and re-examinations for fitness for employment shall be required until at least the age of twenty-one years.

2. National laws or regulations shall either specify, or empower an appropriate authority to specify, the occupations or categories of occupations in which medical examination and re-examination for fitness for employment shall be required until at least the age of twenty-one years.

Article 5

The medical examinations required by the preceding Articles shall not involve the child or young person, or his parents, in any expense.

Article 7

2. National laws or regulations shall determine —

(a) the measures of identification to be adopted for ensuring the application of the system of medical examination for fitness for employment to children and young persons engaged either on their own account or on account of their parents in itinerant trading or in any other occupation carried on in the streets or in places to which the public have access; and

(b) the other methods of supervision to be adopted for ensuring the strict enforcement of the Convention.

Source: Official Bulletin (Geneva, ILO), Nov. 1946, Vol. XXIX, No. 4, pp. 261-268.

Appendix IV.
ILO Conventions and Recommendations for the protection
of children and young persons

Minimum age

Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 5)
Minimum Age (Industry) Convention (Revised), 1937 (No. 59)
Minimum Age (Sea) Convention, 1920 (No. 7)
Minimum Age (Trimmers and Stokers) Convention, 1921 (No. 15)
Minimum Age (Sea) Convention (Revised), 1936 (No. 58)
Minimum Age (Agriculture) Convention, 1921 (No. 10)
Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment) Convention, 1932 (No. 33)
Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment) Convention (Revised), 1937 (No. 60)
Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No. 112)
Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention, 1965 (No. 123)
Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)

Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment) Recommendation, 1932 (No. 41)
Minimum Age (Family Undertaking) Recommendation, 1937 (No. 52)
Minimum Age (Coal Mines) Recommendation, 1953 (No. 96)
Minimum Age (Underground Work) Recommendation, 1965 (No. 124)
Minimum Age Recommendation, 1973 (No. 146)

Night work

Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 6)
Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 90)
Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946 (No. 79)

Night Work of Young Persons (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1921 (No. 14)
Night Work of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Recommendation, 1946 (No. 80)

Medical examination

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Sea) Convention, 1921 (No. 16)
Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention, 1946 (No. 77)
Medical Examination of Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention, 1946 (No. 78)
Medical Examination of Young Persons (Underground Work) Convention, 1965 (No. 124)

Medical Examination of Young Persons Recommendation, 1946 (No. 79)

Source: Child labour: Law and practice, Conditions of Work Digest (Geneva, ILO), 1991 Vol. 10, No. 1,

Appendix V.
ILO Convention (No. 171) concerning night work

Convention No. 171 concerning night work (1990)

Operative Articles:

Article 1

(a) the term "night work" means all work which is performed during a period of not less than seven consecutive hours, including the interval from midnight to 5 a.m., to be determined by the competent authority after consulting the most representative organisations of employers and workers or by collective agreements;

(b) the term "night worker" means an employed person whose work requires the performance of a substantial number of hours of night work which exceeds a specified limit. This limit shall be fixed by the competent authority after consulting the most representative organisations of employers and workers or by collective agreements.

Article 2

1. This Convention applies to all employed persons except those employed in agriculture, stock raising, fishing, maritime transport and inland navigation.

2. A Member which ratifies this Convention may, after consulting the representative organisations of employers and workers concerned, exclude wholly or partly from its scope limited categories of workers when the application of the Convention to them would raise special problems of a substantial nature.

3. Each Member which avails itself of the possibility afforded in paragraph 2 of this Article shall, in its reports on the application of the Convention under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, indicate the particular categories of workers thus excluded and the reasons for their exclusion. It shall also describe all measures taken with a view to progressively extending the provisions of the Convention to the workers concerned.

Article 3

1. Specific measures required by the nature of night work, which shall include, as a minimum, those referred to in Articles 4 to 10, shall be taken for night workers in order to protect their health, assist them to meet their family and social responsibilities, provide opportunities for occupational advancement, and compensate them appropriately. Such measures shall also be taken in the fields of safety and maternity protection for all workers performing night work.

2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 above may be applied progressively.

Article 4

1. At their request, workers shall have the right to undergo a health assessment without charge and to receive advice on how to reduce or avoid health problems associated with their work:

(a) before taking up an assignment as a night worker;

(b) at regular intervals during such an assignment;

(c) if they experience health problems during such an assignment which are not caused by factors other than the performance of night work.

2. With the exception of a finding of unfitness for night work, the findings of such assessments shall not be transmitted to others without the workers' consent and shall not be used to their detriment.

Article 5

Suitable first-aid facilities shall be made available for workers performing night work, including arrangements whereby such workers, where necessary, can be taken quickly to a place where appropriate treatment can be provided.

Article 6

1. Night workers certified, for reasons of health, as unfit for night work shall be transferred, whenever practicable, to a similar job for which they are fit.

2. If transfer to such a job is not practicable, these workers shall be granted the same benefits as other workers who are unable to work or to secure employment.

3. A night workers certified as temporarily unfit for night work shall be given the same protection against dismissal or notice of dismissal as other workers who are prevented from working for reasons of health.

Article 7

1. Measures shall be taken to ensure that an alternative to night work is available to women workers who would otherwise be called upon to perform such work:

(a) before and after childbirth, for a period of at least sixteen weeks of which at least eight weeks shall be before the expected date of childbirth;

(b) for additional periods in respect of which a medical certificate is produced stating that it is necessary for the health of the mother or child:

(i) during pregnancy;

(ii) during a specified time beyond the period after childbirth fixed pursuant to subparagraph (a) above, the length of which shall be determined by the competent authority after consulting the most representative organisations of employers and workers.

2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may include transfer to day work where this is possible, the provision of social security benefits or an extension of maternity leave.

3. During the periods referred to in paragraph 1 of the Article:

(a) a woman worker shall not be dismissed or given notice of dismissal, except for justifiable reasons not connected with pregnancy or childbirth;

(b) the income of the woman worker shall be maintained at a level sufficient for the upkeep of herself and her child in accordance with a suitable standard of living. This income maintenance may be ensured by any of the measures listed in paragraph 2 of this Article, by other appropriate measures or by a combination of these measures;

(c) a woman worker shall not lose the benefits regarding status, seniority and access to promotion which may attach to her regular night work position.

4. The provisions of this Article shall not have the effect of reducing the protection and benefits connected with maternity leave.

Article 8

Compensation for night workers in the form of working time, pay or similar benefits shall recognise the nature of night work.

Article 9

Appropriate social services shall be provided for night workers and, where necessary, for workers performing night work.

Article 10

1. Before introducing work schedules requiring the services of night workers, the employer shall consult the workers' representatives concerned on the details of such schedules and the forms of organisation of night work that are best adapted to the establishment and its personnel as well as on the occupational health measures and social services which are required. In establishments employing night workers this consultation shall take place regularly.

2. For the purposes of this Article the term "workers' representatives" means persons who are recognised as such by national law or practice, in accordance with the Workers' Representatives Convention, 1971.

Article 11

1. The provisions of this Convention may be implemented by laws or regulations, collective agreements, arbitration awards or court decisions, a combination of these means or in any other manner appropriate to national conditions and practice. In so far as they have not been given effect by other means, they shall be implemented by laws or regulations.

2. Where the provisions of this Convention are implemented by laws or regulations, there shall be prior consultation with the most representative organisations of employers and workers.

Article 12

The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.

Appendix VI. ILO Convention No. 89 concerning night work of women employed in industry (Revised), 1948, and Protocol of 1990 to the night work (women) Convention (Revised), 1948

Protocol of 1990 to the night work (women) Convention

(Revised), 1948

Operative paragraphs:

The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour

Office, and having met in its 77th Session on 6 June 1990, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to night work,

which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of a Protocol to the

Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (hereinafter referred to as "the

Convention"),

adopts this twenty-sixth day of June 1990 the following Protocol, which may be cited as the Protocol of 1990 to the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948.

Article 1

1. (1) National laws or regulations, adopted after consulting the most representative organisations of employers and workers, may provide that variations in the duration of the night period as defined in Article 2 of the Convention and exemptions from the prohibition of night work contained in Article 3 thereof may be introduced by decision of the competent authority:

(a) in a specific branch of activity or occupation, provided that the organisations representative of the employers and the workers concerned have concluded an agreement or have given their agreement;

(b) in one or more specific establishments not covered by a decision taken pursuant to clause (a) above, provided that:

(i) an agreement has been concluded in the establishment or enterprise concerned between the employer and the workers' representatives concerned; and

(ii) the organisations representative of the employers and the workers of the branch of activity or occupation concerned or the most representative organisations of employers and workers have been consulted;

(c) in a specific establishment not covered by a decision taken pursuant to clause (a) above, and where no agreement has been reached in accordance with clause (b) (i) above, provided that:

(i) the workers' representatives in the establishment or enterprise as well as the organisation representative of the employers and the workers of the branch of activity or occupation concerned or the most representative organisations of employers and workers have been consulted;

(ii) the competent authority has satisfied itself that adequate safeguards exist in the establishment as regards occupational safety and health, social services and equality of opportunity and treatment for women workers; and

(iii) the decision of the competent authority shall apply for a specified period of time, which may be renewed by means of the procedure under sub-clauses (i) and (ii) above.

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph the term "workers' representatives" means persons who are recognised as such by national law or practice, in accordance with the Workers' Representatives Convention, 1971.

2. The laws or regulations referred to in paragraph 1 shall determine the circumstances in which such variations and exemptions may be permitted and the conditions to which they shall be subject.

Article 2

1. It shall be prohibited to apply the variations and exemptions permitted pursuant to Article 1 above to women workers during a period before and after childbirth of at least 16 weeks, of which at least eight weeks shall be before the expected date of childbirth. National laws or regulations may allow for the lifting of this prohibition at the express request of the woman worker concerned on condition that neither her health nor that of her child will be endangered.

2. The prohibition provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to additional periods in respect of which a medical certificate is produced stating that this is necessary for the health of the mother or child:

(a) during pregnancy; or

(b) during a specified time prolonging the period after childbirth fixed pursuant to paragraph 1 above.

3. During the periods referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article:

(a) a woman worker shall not be dismissed or given notice of dismissal, except for justifiable reasons not connected with pregnancy or childbirth;

(b) the income of a woman worker concerned shall be maintained at a level sufficient for the upkeep of herself and her child in accordance with a suitable standard of living. This income maintenance may be ensured through assignment to day work, extended maternity leave, social security benefits or any other appropriate measure, or through a combination of these measures.

4. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall not have the effect of reducing the protection and benefits connected with maternity leave.

Article 3

Information on the variations and exemptions introduced pursuant to this Protocol shall be included in the reports on the application of the Convention submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization.

Appendix VII.
ILO Convention No. 103 concerning Maternity Protection

Convention No. 103 concerning Maternity Protection (Revised 1952)

Excerpt:

Article 1

1. This Convention applies to women employed in industrial undertakings and in non-industrial and agriculture occupations, including women wage earners working at home.

2. For the purpose of this Convention, the term "industrial undertaking" comprises public and private undertakings and any branch thereof and includes particularly —

(a) mines, quarries, and other works for the extraction of minerals from the earth;

(b) undertakings in which articles are manufactured, altered, cleaned, repaired, ornamented, finished, adapted for sale, broken up or demolished, or in which materials are transformed, including undertakings engaged in shipbuilding, or in the generation, transformation or transmission of electricity or motive power of any kind;

(c) undertakings engaged in building and civil engineering work, including constructional, repair, maintenance, alteration and demolition work;

(d) undertakings engaged in the transport of passengers or goods by road, rail, sea, inland waterway or air, including the handling of goods at docks, quays, wharves, warehouses or airports.

3. For the purpose of this Convention, the term "non-industrial occupations" includes all occupations which are carried on in or in connection with the following undertakings or services, whether public or private:

(a) commercial establishments;

(b) postal and telecommunication services;

(d) newspaper undertakings;

(e) hotels, boarding houses, restaurants, clubs, caf�s and other refreshment houses;

(f) establishments for the treatment and care of the sick, infirm or destitute and of orphans;

(g) theatres and places of public entertainment;

(h) domestic work for wages in private households; and any other non-industrial occupations to which the competent authority may decide to apply the provisions of the Convention.

4. For the purpose of this Convention, the term "agricultural occupations" includes all occupations carried on in agricultural undertakings, including plantations and large-scale industrialised agricultural undertakings.

5. In any case in which it is doubtful whether this Convention applies to an undertaking, branch of an undertaking or occupation, the question shall be determined by the competent authority after consultation with the representative organisations of employers and workers concerned where such exist.

6. National laws or regulations may exempt from the application of this Convention undertakings in which only members of the employer's family, as defined by national laws or regulations, are employed.

Article 2

For the purpose of this Convention, the term "woman" means any female person, irrespective of age, nationality, race or creed, whether married or unmarried, and the term "child" means any child whether born of marriage or not.

Article 3

1. A woman to whom this Convention applies shall, on the production of a medical certificate stating the presumed date of her confinement, be entitled to a period of maternity leave.

2. The period of maternity leave shall be at least twelve weeks, and shall include a period of compulsory leave after confinement.

3. The period of compulsory leave after confinement shall be prescribed by national laws or regulations, but shall in no case be less than six weeks; the remainder of the total period of maternity leave may be provided before the presumed date of confinement or following expiration of the compulsory leave period or partly before the presumed date of confinement and partly following the expiration of the compulsory leave period as may be prescribed by national laws or regulations.

4. The leave before the presumed date of confinement shall be extended by any period elapsing between the presumed date of confinement and the actual date of confinement and the period of compulsory leave to be taken after confinement shall not be reduced on that account.

5. In case of illness medically certified arising out of pregnancy, national laws or regulations shall provide for additional leave before confinement, the maximum duration of which may be fixed by the competent authority.

6. In case of illness medically certified arising out of confinement, the woman shall be entitled to an extension of the leave after confinement, the maximum duration of which may be fixed by the competent authority.

Article 4

1. While absent from work on maternity leave in accordance with the provisions of Article 3, the woman shall be entitled to receive cash and medical benefits.

2. The rates of cash benefit shall be fixed by national laws or regulations so as to ensure benefits sufficient for the full and healthy maintenance of herself and her child in accordance with a suitable standard of living.

3. Medical benefits shall include pre-natal, confinement and post-natal care by qualified midwives or medical practitioners as well as hospitalisation care where necessary; freedom of choice of doctor and freedom of choice between a public and private hospital shall be respected.

4. The cash and medical benefits shall be provided either by means of compulsory social insurance or by means of public funds; in either case they shall be provided as a matter of right to all women who comply with the prescribed conditions.

5. Women who fail to qualify for benefits provided as a matter of right shall be entitled, subject to the means test required for social assistance, to adequate benefits out of social assistance funds.

6. Where cash benefits provided under compulsory social insurance are based on previous earnings, they shall be at a rate of not less than two-thirds of the woman's previous earnings taken into account for the purpose of computing benefits.

7. Any contribution due under a compulsory social insurance scheme providing maternity benefits and any tax based upon payrolls which is raised for the purpose of providing such benefits shall, whether paid both by the employer and the employees or by the employer, be paid in respect of the total number of men and women employed by the undertakings concerned, without distinction of sex.

8. In no case shall the employer be individually liable for the cost of such benefits due to women employed by him.

Article 5

1. If a woman is nursing her child she shall be entitled to interrupt her work for this purpose at a time or times to be prescribed by national laws or regulations.

2. Interruptions of work for the purpose of nursing are to be counted as working hours and remunerated accordingly in cases in which the matter is governed by or in accordance with laws and regulations; in cases in which the matter is governed by collective agreement, the position shall be as determined by the relevant agreement.

Article 6

While a woman is absent from work on maternity leave in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of this Convention, it shall not be lawful for her employer to give her notice of dismissal during such absence, or to give her notice of dismissal at such a time that the notice would expire during such absence.

Article 7

1. Any Member of the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention may, by a declaration accompanying its ratification, provide for exceptions from the application of the Convention in respect of —

(a) certain categories of non-industrial occupations;

(b) occupations carried on in agricultural undertakings, other than plantations;

(d) women wage earners working at home;

(e) undertakings engaged in the transport of passengers or goods by sea.

2. The categories of occupations or undertakings in respect of which the Member proposes to have recourse to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be specified in the declaration accompanying its ratification.

3. Any Member which has made such a declaration may at any time cancel that declaration, in whole or in part, by a subsequent declaration.

4. Every Member for which a declaration made under paragraph 1 of this Article is in force shall indicate each year in its annual report upon the application of this Convention the position of its law and practice in respect of the occupations or undertakings to which paragraph 1 of this Article applies in virtue of the said declaration and the extent to which effect has been given or is proposed to be given to the Convention in respect of such occupations or undertakings.

5. At the expiration of five years from the first entry into force of this Convention, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall submit to the Conference a special report concerning the application of these exceptions, containing such proposals as it may think appropriate for further action in regard to the matter.

Article 8

The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.

Appendix VIII.
ILO Recommendation No. 95 concerning maternity protection

Recommendation No. 95
Recommendation concerning Maternity Protection (Paragraphs 1-5)

I. MATERNITY LEAVE

1. (1) Where necessary to the health of the woman and wherever practicable, the maternity leave provided for in Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952, should be extended to a total period of 14 weeks.

(2) The supervisory bodies should have power to prescribe in individual cases, on the basis of a medical certificate, a further extension of the ante-natal and post-natal leave provided for in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of Article 3 of the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952, if such an extension seems necessary for safeguarding the health of the mother and the child, and, in particular, in the event of actual or threatening abnormal conditions, such as miscarriage and other ante-natal and post-natal complications.

II. MATERNITY BENEFITS

2. (1) Wherever practicable the cash benefits to be granted in conformity with Article 4 of the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952, should be fixed at a higher rate than the minimum standard provided in the Convention, equalling, where practicable, 100 per cent. of the woman's previous earnings taken into account for the purpose of computing benefits.

(2) Wherever practicable the medical benefits to be granted in conformity with Article 4 of the said Convention should comprise general practitioner and specialist out-patient and in-patient care, including domiciliary visiting; dental care; the care given by qualified midwives and other maternity services at home or in hospital; nursing care at home or in hospital or other medical institutions; maintenance in hospitals or other medical institutions; pharmaceutical, dental or other medical or surgical supplies; and the care furnished under appropriate medical supervision by members of such other profession as may at any time be legally recognised as competent to furnish services associated with maternity care.

(3)The medical benefit should be afforded with a view to maintaining, restoring or improving the health of the woman protected and her ability to work and to attend to her personal needs.

(4) The institutions or government departments administering the medical benefit should encourage the women protected, by such means as may be deemed appropriate, to avail themselves of the general health services placed at their disposal by the public authorities or by other bodies recognised by the public authorities.

(5) In addition, national laws or regulations may authorise such institutions or government departments to make provision for the promotion of the health of the women protected and their infants.

(6) Other benefits in kind or in cash, such as layettes or payment for the purchase of layettes, the supply of milk or of nursing allowance for nursing mothers, etc., might be usefully added to the benefits mentioned in subparagraph (1) and (2) of this paragraph.

III. FACILITIES FOR NURSING MOTHERS AND INFANTS

3. (1) Wherever practicable nursing breaks should be extended to a total period of at least one-and-a-half hours during the working day and adjustments in the frequency and length of the nursing periods should be permitted on production of a medical certificate.

(2) Provision should be made for the establishment of facilities for nursing or day care, preferably outside the undertakings where the women are working; wherever possible provision should be made for the financing or at least subsidising of such facilities at the expense of the community or by compulsory social insurance.

(3) The equipment and hygienic requirements of the facilities for nursing and day care and the number and qualifications of the staff of the latter should comply with adequate standards laid down by appropriate regulations, and they should be approved and supervised by the competent authority.

IV. PROTECTION OF EMPLOYMENT

4. (1) Wherever possible the period before and after confinement during which the woman is protected from dismissal by the employer in accordance with Article 6 of the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952, should be extended to begin as from the date when the employer of the woman has been notified by medical certificate of her pregnancy and to continue until one month at least after the end of the period of maternity leave provided for in Article 3 of the Convention.

(2) Among the legitimate reasons for dismissal during the protected period to be defined by law should be included cases of serious fault on the part of the employed woman, shutting down of the undertaking or expiry of the contract of employment. Where works councils exist it would be desirable that they should be consulted regarding such dismissals.

(3) During her legal absence from work before and after confinement, the seniority rights of the woman should be preserved as well as her right to reinstatement in her former work or in equivalent work paid at the same rate.

V. PROTECTION OF THE HEALTH OF EMPLOYED WOMEN DURING THE MATERNITY PERIOD

5. (1) Night work and overtime work should be prohibited for pregnant and nursing women and their working hours should be planned so as to ensure adequate rest periods.

(2) Employment of a woman on work prejudicial to her health or that of her child, as defined by the competent authority, should be prohibited during pregnancy and up to at least three months after confinement and longer if the woman is nursing her child.

(3) Work falling under the provisions of subparagraph (2) should include, in particular —

(a) any hard labour involving —

(i) heavy weight-lifting, pulling or pushing; or

(ii) undue and unaccustomed physical strain, including prolonged standing;

(b) work requiring special equilibrium; and

(4) A woman ordinarily employed at work defined as prejudicial to health by the competent authority should be entitled without loss of wages to a transfer to another kind of work not harmful to her health.

(5) Such a right of transfer should also be given for reasons of maternity in individual cases to any woman who presents a medical certificate stating that a change in the nature of her work is necessary in the interest of her health and that of her child.