ILO Conventions 138 and 182 on Child Labour

Start with the big picture. Then read what Convention 138 actually requires.

1. Why does the ILO have child labour conventions at all?

Child labour has been a core concern of the ILO since its founding in 1919. Its first Director, Albert Thomas, called the exploitation of childhood an evil most unbearable to the human heart.

The ILO does not treat all work by children as child labour. Its topic page defines child labour as work that is hazardous to a child’s health and development. It also covers work that demands too many hours, or work done by children who are too young. Child labour usually interferes with a child’s right to education and play.

Two conventions turn this idea into treaty law. They are Convention 138 on Minimum Age and Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Both are fundamental conventions. Under the 1998 ILO Declaration, every member State must respect, promote and realize the abolition of child labour. That duty holds even where a State has not ratified these conventions.

2. What does Convention 138 say about the minimum age?

Convention 138 was adopted at Geneva on 26 June 1973. It came into force on 19 June 1976. Article 1 asks each country to pursue a national policy for the effective abolition of child labour. The country must also raise its minimum age step by step.

Each ratifying country must declare a minimum age for work. That age must not be below the age of finishing compulsory schooling. In any case it must not be below 15 years.

Article 2 has one flexibility clause. A country whose economy and schools are not yet well developed may start with 14 years. It must first consult employers’ and workers’ organisations. It must then tell the ILO in its reports whether its reason still holds, or when it gives up the option.

3. Which age limits apply to light work and hazardous work?

The convention sets more than one age. The table gathers them in one place.

Light work must not harm health or development. It must also not disturb school attendance or approved training. Hazardous work means work likely to jeopardise health, safety or morals. National law may allow it from 16 years, after consulting employers’ and workers’ organisations. The young person must then be fully protected. He or she must also have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training.

The convention also lets authorities grant individual permits. Artistic performances are the example it names.

Convention 182 works on a different logic. It does not set a working age. It names the work that no child may do.

4. What does Convention 182 ban?

Convention 182 was adopted at Geneva on 17 June 1999. It came into force on 19 November 2000. It uses one age for everyone. The term child covers every person under 18.

Each ratifying country must take immediate and effective measures. The aim is to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. Article 3 names four types.

• Slavery and similar practices. The text lists sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom. It also lists forced labour, including forced recruitment for armed conflict.
• Sexual use. This means using or offering a child for prostitution or pornography.
• Illicit activities. The text singles out the production and trafficking of drugs.
• Harmful work. This is work likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.

5. What must countries do to remove the worst forms?

Convention 182 asks for action, not only a ban. Four articles spell out the duties.

• Article 4. National laws or the competent authority decide which hazardous work is covered. The list must be reviewed from time to time.
• Article 5. Each country sets up mechanisms to monitor how the convention is applied.
• Article 6. Each country designs programmes of action to remove the worst forms as a priority.
• Article 7. Each country applies penal or other sanctions. It also takes time-bound steps. These include removing children from such work and giving them free basic education. The special situation of girls must be considered.

Recommendation 190 helps decide what counts as hazardous. It names work that exposes children to abuse. It names work underground, underwater, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces. It also names dangerous machinery, heavy loads, harmful substances, long hours and night work.

6. How do Conventions 138 and 182 differ?

The table sets the two side by side.

The ILO says Convention 182 put the spotlight on urgent action. It did so without giving up the long-term goal of ending all child labour. One convention sets the age at which work may begin. The other bans the most harmful work for every person under 18.

The numbers move over time, so each count below carries its date.

7. Why is Convention 182 called the first universally ratified ILO convention?

On 4 August 2020 the Kingdom of Tonga deposited its ratification of Convention 182. The ILO says this made it the first international labour convention ratified by all member States. It also calls the convention the most rapidly ratified in ILO history. Most ratifications came within three years of its adoption in 1999.

NORMLEX, as archived on 23 October 2025, shows 187 ratifications and no denunciations.

Mind the wording. The ILO speaks of all of its member States, not of every United Nations member state. In March 2017 the Government of India noted that the ILO had 187 members.

When India ratified in June 2017, the ILO said six member States were still to ratify Convention 182.

8. How many countries have ratified Convention 138?

Convention 138 is widely ratified, but not universally. NORMLEX, as archived on 21 August 2025, shows 177 ratifications. India was the 170th member State to ratify it, in June 2017. In March 2017 the Indian Government gave the counts as 169 for Convention 138 and 180 for Convention 182.

The ILO said India’s step changed the coverage figures. Convention 138 coverage rose from 60 per cent to 80 per cent of the world’s children. For Convention 182, it said almost all children were now covered.

The ILO adds that a majority of countries now restrict child employment by law. It notes that much of this legislation followed ratification.

9. Is child labour actually falling?

The ILO reported in 2020 that child labour and its worst forms fell by almost 40 per cent between 2000 and 2016. It said this came as ratification of both conventions rose. It added that countries adopted effective laws and policies. The same note counted 152 million children in child labour, 73 million of them in hazardous work. It said 70 per cent of child labour is in agriculture.

The latest joint ILO-UNICEF estimate is for 2024. Nearly 138 million children were in child labour. Around 54 million were in hazardous work. That is a fall of over 22 million since 2020. The ILO also says the world missed its target of ending child labour by 2025. Agriculture accounts for 61 per cent of cases.

The 2020 note gives no reference year for its 152 million. The 22 million fall uses a different 2020 base, so the two numbers do not add up. Do not combine them. The ILO marks World Day Against Child Labour on 12 June, with a Red Card campaign.

India ratified in 2017, with its amended child labour law already in force.

10. When did India ratify the two conventions?

The Union Cabinet approved ratification on 31 March 2017. India deposited both instruments with the International Labour Office on 13 June 2017. Minister of State for Labour Bandaru Dattatreya handed them to ILO Director-General Guy Ryder at the International Labour Conference in Geneva.

India was the 170th member State to ratify Convention 138. It was the 181st to ratify Convention 182. NORMLEX gives 13 June 2017 as India’s date for both.

India is a founder member of the ILO, which began in 1919. The Minister said the step reaffirmed India’s commitment to a child labour free society. Mr Ryder welcomed India among the States party to both conventions.

11. Which minimum age did India declare under Convention 138?

Each ratifying country must declare a minimum age. 14 years is the age India declared. NORMLEX lists 14 for India but does not say which basis India used. Article 2 lets countries with less developed economies and schools start at 14.

Indian law uses the same number. In March 2017 the Government said the 1986 Act, as amended, completely prohibits work by children below 14 in any occupation or process. The convention’s general floor is 15 years. Keep the two numbers apart.

India had worked with the ILO on this issue well before 2017. An ILO Director-General joined Indian schoolchildren at a pledge ceremony against child labour in New Delhi in January 2004.

12. What did India's 2016 amendment change?

Parliament passed the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016. It is Act No. 35 of 2016. The President gave assent on 29 July 2016, and the Gazette published it on 30 July. The ILO’s 2017 note says the amendment took effect on 1 September 2016.

The Act renamed the 1986 law as the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. It defines two groups. A child is a person who has not completed 14 years. The age set in the Right to Education Act, 2009 applies instead if it is higher. An adolescent has completed 14 years but not 18.

Section 3 bans work by any child in any occupation or process. It has two exceptions. A child may help the family or a family enterprise after school hours or in vacations, outside hazardous work. A child may also work as an artist in audio-visual entertainment or sport, except the circus. Such work must not affect schooling.

Section 3A bans adolescents from hazardous occupations and processes. The new Schedule lists three groups. They are mines, inflammable substances or explosives, and hazardous processes as defined in the Factories Act, 1948.

13. What penalties and rehabilitation does the Act provide?

The 2016 Act sets these penalties. An employer who breaks section 3 or 3A faces prison for six months to two years. The fine is Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000. The penalty can also be both. A repeat offender faces one to three years in prison. These offences are cognizable.

Parents are treated more gently. They are not liable for a first offence. They are also not punished unless they let the child work for commercial purposes. A parent convicted again may face a fine of up to Rs 10,000.

The Act also creates a Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund for each district or group of districts. Fines from employers are credited to it. The government adds Rs 15,000 for each child or adolescent for whom an employer’s fine has been credited. The money is later paid to that child or adolescent. A rescued child must be rehabilitated under the laws in force.

In 2017 the Labour Minister also pointed to the National Child Labour Project. He described it as a scheme with bridge education and vocational training for adolescents.

The exam asks which subject the two numbers belong to. Know that one link cold. Then learn why each decoy fails.

14. What did UPSC ask in 2018?

UPSC asked about the conventions in the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018. It was question 30 of General Studies Paper I in the Series A booklet. The question paper is on the UPSC website.

Only one option matches the subject of the two texts. The ILO calls them the two conventions on child labour. Convention 138 sets a minimum age. Convention 182 targets the worst forms. The quiz below lists the same options in a different order.

15. Why do the other three options fail?

Test each option against the two texts. Convention 138 is about the minimum age for work. Convention 182 is about the worst forms of child labour.

• Climate adaptation in farming. Neither text deals with climate adaptation or farming practices. Convention 138 names agricultural undertakings only to set its scope.
• Food prices and food security. Neither text deals with prices or food supply.
• Gender parity at work. Among the ILO’s fundamental principles, child labour is one area. Workplace discrimination is a separate one.

The lesson for the exam is simple. When a question names ILO convention numbers, ask what each convention is about. Do not guess from the word “labour” alone.

16. What is a one-glance table of the two conventions?

Revise the table row by row before the exam.