The Chamber of Deputies yesterday approved ratification of the international Minimum Age for Employment Convention. Since the Senate already approved ratification in February, the measure now merely awaits official transmittal and deposit by the Dominican Government with the Geneva-based International Labor Organization (ILO), which originated the convention and oversees its proper implementation. The Convention, No. 138 in the ILO series, calls on ratifying states to set a minimum age for work no lower than 15 years of age and then progressively raise it. Under certain conditions, including regular reporting/justification to the ILO, a developing nation may adopt a minimum age of 14 years old. The DR has opted for this exclusion. The DR has also decided that the Convention’s provisions will not apply to children working in their family’s businesses. The Convention was originally open for signature in 1973; currently is ratified by 71 countries, including 14 Latin American and Caribbean states [notable for their continued absence: Brazil, Colombia and Mexico]. Ratification and application of the Convention are two steps envisioned in the ILO’s technical assistance program for the DR to eliminate child labor.
