Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 6/9/1999 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 5/6/2002 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
X |
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
X |
| Sector Action Plan |
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Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The ILO estimated that 8.3 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years were working in Egypt in 2002.[1425] Studies have suggested that rural children and children from poor households account for the overwhelming majority of working children,[1426] with many children working in the agricultural sector.[1427] Children in urban areas work in leather tanneries, pottery kilns,[1428] glassworks,[1429] blacksmith, metal and copper workshops, battery and carpentry shops,[1430] auto repair workshops, and textile and plastics factories.[1431]
Reports indicate a widespread practice of poor rural families making arrangements to send daughters to cities to work as domestic servants in the homes of wealthy citizens.[1432] Urban areas are also host to large numbers of street children who have left their homes in the country-side to find work, and often to flee hostile conditions at home.[1433] Street children work shining shoes, collecting rubbish, begging, cleaning and directing cars into parking spaces, and selling food and trinkets.[1434] Street children are particularly vulnerable to becoming involved in illicit activities, including stealing, smuggling, pornography, and prostitution.[1435] In particular, the commercial sexual exploitation of children is greatly under-acknowledged given that Egyptian cities (Alexandria and Cairo in particular) are reported destinations for sex tourism.[1436] Egypt is a country of transit for child trafficking, particularly for underage girls from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union who are trafficked into Israel and for forced labor and sexual exploitation.[1437] It is a common practice for underage girls from poor and rural areas to be forced to marry men from the Gulf States, often at the behest of their families.[1438] Although the legal age of consent to marriage in Egypt is 16, falsification of documents enables brokers to sell underage girls into circumstances amounting to forced sexual servitude.
The Constitution guarantees free and compulsory basic education for children ages 6 to 15 who are Egyptian citizens.[1439] Despite the constitutional guarantees to universal education, in practice, education is not free, and parents are increasingly responsible for both the direct and indirect costs of education. In fact, Egyptian law allows for public schools to charge fees for services, insurance, and equipment.[1440] In 2000, the gross primary enrollment rate was 96.6 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 89.9 percent.[1441] Girls’ enrollment and attendance still lags behind that of boys. In 2000, the gross primary enrollment rate for girls was 93.1 percent, compared to 99.9 percent for boys. The net primary enrollment rate was 87.5 percent for girls, compared to 92.2 percent for boys.[1442] 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. In 2000, the gross primary attendance rate was 102 percent and the net primary attendance rate was 85 percent.[1443] A 2000 national survey of children ages 6 to 15 years found that 14 percent of girls were not currently attending school, compared to 8 percent of boys who were also not attending school.[1444] Working children are predominantly school dropouts or have never been enrolled in school.[1445] The 2000 Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey of children ages 8 to 10 found that 3.4 percent of boys had never attended school, compared to 8.4 percent of girls in that age group.[1446]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
Article 99 of the Labor Law of 2003 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 or those not reaching the age of complete elementary education, whichever is older.[1447] The law also prohibits juveniles ages 14 and above from working more than 6 hours per day, requires at least a 1 hour break, and prohibits juveniles from working overtime, on holidays, more than 4 consecutive hours, or between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.[1448] However, the labor law does not apply to children working in the agricultural sector.[1449] This shortcoming is partially compensated for in ministerial decrees complementing the labor law, especially Decree No. 118 of 2003, which prohibits children below 16 from working in 44 hazardous professions, including agricultural activities involving the use of pesticides.[1450] The labor law also stipulates penalties pertaining to the employment of children, which include fines that range from 500 to 1,000 Egyptian pounds (about USD 85 to 170) per employee.[1451] Children ages 12 to 18 are permitted to participate in apprenticeship training for a period of up to 3 years provided the work complies with the provisions stipulated for employment of children or juveniles in Law No. 12 of 2003.[1452]
Although Egypt lacks an anti-trafficking law,[1453] it does prohibit forced labor and prostitution.[1454] The Penal Code makes it illegal for a person to entice or assist a male under the age of 21 or a female of any age to depart the country to work in prostitution or other lewd activities. Violations of this law are punishable with imprisonment for 1 to 7 years and fines from 100 to 500 pounds (USD 16 to 81).[1455]
The Ministry of Manpower and Migration (MOMM) is the government agency responsible for enforcing child labor laws.[1456] The Child Labor Unit within the MOMM coordinates investigations of reports of child labor violations and ensures enforcement of the laws pertaining to child labor.[1457] The U.S. Department of State reported that in state-owned enterprises, enforcement is adequate while enforcement in the private and informal sectors is inadequate.[1458] There is a shortage of labor inspectors trained to identify and intervene in cases involving child labor. However, over the past year, a number of cases involving MOMM’s enforcement of child labor infractions were reported by the local press. In most of the cases, underage children were withdrawn from the work environment and sanctions were imposed on the employers who were found in violation of child labor laws.[1459] In the past year, the MOMM has trained labor inspectors to more effectively deal with child labor and the new regulations and ministerial decrees pertaining to child labor. The MOMM has also worked with the Ministry of Education to identify governorates with high dropout rates, and has increased child labor inspection in those areas.[1460] There were no reported arrests or prosecutions for trafficking crimes during the last year, and no trafficking victims were identified.[1461]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) is implementing the Second Decade of Protection and Welfare of Children action program that includes a component to reintegrate working children into schools, their families, and the community.[1462] The NCCM continues to collaborate with the MOMM, Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF), ILO, UNICEF, and the Ministries of Social Affairs, Agriculture, Education, Health, and Interior to formulate a national strategy to combat child labor and to implement action programs to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.[1463] While the action programs began under the support of ILO-IPEC, the NCCM, ETUF, AFL-CIO Solidarity Center, UNICEF, and MOMM now operate the projects independently without support from ILO-IPEC.[1464] The Ministries of Manpower and Migration and Agriculture are cooperating to prevent underage children from working in the cotton farming season and to provide children working legally with the necessary protection while engaging in agricultural activities.[1465] The NCCM is also implementing projects in the governorates of Sharkia, Menofia, Menya, and Damietta to shift working children into non-hazardous activities and gradually eliminate all forms of child labor.[1466]
The World Bank’s Education Enhancement Program Project is working to ensure universal access to basic education, with an emphasis on girls, and to improve the quality of education.[1467]
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