In Geneva, 1973, the first attempt after Fifty years from 1919 to set standards for child employment, although there are strengths to the convention, limitations took place as well.

1. Outline
• Minimum age convention 138 1973
• Introduction
• Convention Strength points
• Convention Limitation points
• Mihta v Tamilnadu 1996 Case study
• Conclusion

2. Introduction
• Fifty year after the first attempt in 1919 to set standards for child employment, the
convention took place in Geneva, June 6, 1973.
• 169 countries have ratified the convention.
• ILO Minimum Age Convention 138 (1973), consists of 18 articles.
• ILO Minimum Age convention objective is reducing and eventual eliminating of
dangerous labour practices that cause threat to the child health, safety or morals, and
• The convention aims of eradication of child labour from increasing.
• Compulsory education is more important for the child than work and collect money.

3. Strengths
•The convention done well for requiring the member states to stipulate in their domestic laws the
minimum age for working of the child in all fields of work as industry, agriculture.
•The convention used phrases as work and employment which are inclusiveness to both self-
employed child and employed with contract.
• It has been stated that the Convention stresses the significance of obligatory education than the
child to work, as the child should complete compulsory schooling.
• The convention distinguished between developed countries and developing countries in the
minimum age.
• The convention is acclaimed for the flexibility and adaptability in considering education and
economic factors in determining the minimum age in developing country.
• Myers claims that Convention 138 was adopted not only as to serve for the needs of children but
also as a response to the fear that the participation of children in work undermines adult jobs and
incomes.

4. CONT’D
• It is stated that providing the phrase ‘Initially’ under Article 2 (4), emphasis that
improvement of education and economic level would allow the developing countries to
increase the minimum age.
• Allowing children starts from 16 years old to have work but under full protection,
instruction and guidance, but 18 years old is the minimum age for hazardous works in
general.
• The convention mandatory applied on economic sectors provided in article 5 (3), but
any member state could eliminate activities that small holdings as family farm.
• ILO statistics shows that child labour decreased to 168 million children, and hazardous
works to 85 million children.

5. Limitations
• The convention did not expressly declare a definition for the child labour ,and what kind
of jobs which the member states ought to exclude, as
• That would affect the enactment of the convention as each country will define child
labour in a different way.
• It has been stated that phrasing and drafting of the articles need more clarity in
obligations for the member states as in Articles 4 (1) and 5 (1).
• Smolin argues that the Convention has a deterrence approach to child labour, but
unfortunately does not define the works that need to be abolished.
• It has been criticized that the convention should concern about implementation of
policies as most of children who work have no school especially rural regions where
illiteracy is high.

6. CONT’D
• it is been stated that the convention should prohibits the harmful or dangerous works not any
work for child, as the safe works, and to give mandatory examples not just to mention in the
Recommendation as it is not binding.
• Under Article 4(2), every member state shall report the categories ought to be excluded in the
initial report, short period of time, which gave impression of inflexibility of the convention.
• However, the exclusion option has not been applied by any member state because the member
states have no power to amend or add any other works to comply with the economic and social
changes afterwards.
• Implementing this convention would adversely affect some families which depends on their
children work, so they will enforce them to work in the worst forms of child labour that illegal or
involve with unlawful conducts.

7. CONT’D
• It is argued that Article 5(1) is not clear in determining which articles could be excluded
in case of lack of economical and administrative facilities.
• It is been argued that the convention excluded agriculture from protection of the
convention, while many children need protection in this field specially in developing
countries.
• Although the convention excluded the school and institution activities from minimum
age, these organisations may exploit the students to do much work than that of
educational aim, in which the convention ought to give more guiding principles under this
exception.

8. Mehta v Tamilnadu 1996
• In India 1995, child labour both in official and unofficial had exceeded 100 million.
• The claimant, Mehta, a public-spirited lawyer, sought a petition against State of Tamilnadu, for
violating the constitutional exclusion under Article 24 of child labour in harmful works in factories
or mines.
• Furthermore, investigations and recommendations took place by a committee, and the report
sent to the court for dealing with the problem.
• The court held that based on the constitutional prohibition of child labour, which guarantees free
universal education, and each offender is ought to pay 20,000 rupee for each child working for
breaching the law.
• Different states are also obliged to aware the families not to employ their children, and in case
there are no adults from the same family to replace the child at the same hazardous work, 25,000
rupee should be funded to that family for the hazardous work of the child as alternate income and
to be directed to the education of the child.

9. Conclusion
• Not only in drafting policies but also in spreading the awareness by t.v, radio, posters is crucial.
• Minimum age convention is significant step for deterring any child labour, but in fact
implementing such regulation is not always easy to observe.
• Minimum Age Convention done well in admitting and adopting different minimum age in
developed countries and developing countries.
•The convention did not express or give example about what could be harmful works that affect
the safety, moral and health, then the Recommendations R146 gives examples for these works.
• Worst forms of child labour 182 1999 came into force to fill in the loopholes of the prohibitions
and avoiding children not to involve in worst forms illegal activities.
• ILO International Labour Conference helps the member states to adopt any updated criteria for
minimum age to their domestic laws.
• International Labour Conference the 106, will be held on June 2017.