Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 4/23/1980 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 7/28/2000 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Associated Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
X |
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
X |
| Sector Action Plan (Commercial Sexual Exploitation) |
X |
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
Official statistics on the number of working children under the age of 15 years in Bulgaria are unavailable.[657] Children engage in paid work outside of the home in the commercial and service sectors. Children also work in agriculture, forestry, transportation, communications, construction, and industry.[658] Children also engage in unpaid work for family businesses or farms, and in their households.[659]
Children are involved in the distribution of drugs and in prostitution, sometimes working with organized crime rings.[660] Many victims of child prostitution are ethnic Roma children.[661] Bulgaria is a transit country and, to a lesser extent, a country of origin and destination for trafficking in girls for sexual exploitation. Bulgarian citizens are also internally trafficked for sexual exploitation. Victims are primarily trafficked from Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Russia, and Central Asia through Bulgaria into Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe. Ethnic Roma children are disproportionately represented among victims.[662]
Education is free and compulsory up to the age of 16 under the National Education Act of 1991, with children typically starting school at the age of 6 or 7.[663] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 99.4 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 90.4 percent.[664] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Recent primary school attendance statistics are not available for Bulgaria. Roma children tend to have low attendance and high dropout rates.[665]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at 16 years. Exceptions in the Labor Code provide that children ages 13 to 16 years may engage in light work and perform certain jobs approved by the government. Children younger than 16 years must undergo a medical examination and have government approval in order to work.[666] Children under 18 are required to work reduced hours and are prohibited from hazardous, overtime, and night work.[667] April 2004 amendments to the Penal Code stipulate 6 months imprisonment and a fine for illegally employing a child under 18 years.[668] The Family Code establishes legal protections for children working in family businesses.[669] The Child Protection Act prohibits the involvement of children in activities that might harm their development.[670] The Act was amended in 2003 to strengthen protections for adopted children or children deprived of the care of their families, pursuant to Article 20 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.[671] The Constitution prohibits forced labor.[672] The Law on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, which entered into force in January 2004, includes measures for the protection and assistance of child victims of trafficking, and created the National Anti-Trafficking Commission to coordinate and construct policy on trafficking.[673] Bulgarian law penalizes trafficking a minor with 2 to 10 years imprisonment and fines. Inducement to prostitution, which is often associated with trafficking, is punishable by 10 to 20 years imprisonment, if the victim was a minor.[674]
The Chief Labor Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing all labor laws, including those covering child labor. As of August 2004, the inspectorate had 440 inspectors, an increase from 271 inspectors in 2002.[675] According to the U.S. Department of State, child labor laws are generally well enforced in the formal sector.[676] In 2003, the inspectorate found 226 violations of child labor laws.[677] In 2004, five regional labor inspectorates identified child labor as a priority.[678]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Bulgaria has adopted a National Action Plan Against the Worst Forms of Child Labor, which aims to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by focusing on such issues as education and new legislation.[679] Bulgaria also has an Action Plan against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children for 2003-2005 and a National Strategy for Children on the Street.[680]
Legislative amendments adopted in 2003 established a Migration Directorate within the Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for administrative control over the stay or removal of foreign nationals.[681] The Ministry of Interior is represented on the National Anti-Trafficking Commission, and two police units, one within the National Border Police and the other within the National Service for Combating Organized Crime, specifically focus on trafficking issues.[682] IOM supports seven counter-trafficking projects in Bulgaria, and a regional effort on the trafficking of women and children in the Balkans, including Bulgaria.[683] A USAID-funded pilot project using education to combat child prostitution and trafficking is being implemented in Bulgaria along the Romanian border.[684]
Several Bulgarian localities established programs integrating children of Roma ethnicity into schools. In order to increase Roma attendance, the government and NGOs provide subsidies for schooling expenses such as school lunches, books, and tuition fees.[685] With support from USAID, the Government of Bulgaria conducts additional ethnic integration efforts.[686] The government has also provided funding for additional teaching assistants, usually from minority ethnic groups, to be placed in classrooms with Roma and Turkish students.[687] The World Bank is funding a child welfare reform project in Bulgaria, which aims to prevent child abandonment and identify sub-projects targeting street children.[688]
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