TEENAGERS between the ages of 15 and 18 aren’t protected by employment laws and have no legal protection when it comes to health and safety.
A draft law prepared by the Labour Ministry and Child Commissioner Leda Koursoumba should tighten these existing loopholes, the Commissioner said yesterday.
Back in October, Koursoumba had called on the Labour Minister to update the laws surrounding children and teenagers in employment.
“The Ministry has made substantial and systematic efforts to regulate many aspects that concern the employment of underage persons, such as the suitability of working conditions and the time table, so that the underage workers’ health and safety are ensured to the maximum,” said Koursoumba.
Koursoumba spotted a few gaps in the relevant law, especially when it comes to the participation of under 18s in televised events, whether these are cultural, sporting or advertising.
Furthermore, there is no legal framework to offer protection for children who are working at relatives’ business or carrying out other seasonal work.
According to Koursoumba, the law gets confusing when referring to the terms “child”, “youth” and “teenager”. Instead of anyone under the age of 18 being called a child – as is the case in the Convention on the Rights of the Child – the existing law categorises a child as anyone under the age of 15, while a youth is anyone under the age of 18. A teenager is between the ages of 15 and 18.
“The aforementioned terminology creates confusion in regards to the protection offered during the employment of children, due to the many and differing regulations for each term and age of the child,” said Koursoumba.
She suggested that the law uses the term “child” for anyone aged 18 or under and then amend legislation on their employment according to age.
This is where the insufficient legal coverage for minors comes in regarding their employment in cultural, sporting or advertising events.
“Chapter 7 of the law, which regulates this matter, covers only the employment of the child in the aforementioned activities, which means only children under 15 years old are covered,” Koursoumba pointed out.
This means there is no legal framework to cover such activities for teenagers between 15 and 18 years old.
On Thursday, Koursoumba submitted her specifications to the House Labour Committee, which decided to postpone the discussion until next week, when government officials will be present.
Koursoumba told MPs that Cyprus had an obligation as a state, based on the Convention, to ensure children’s rights were being protected in all areas, whether these have to do with entertainment or any form of employment.
Speaking after the meeting, DISY’s Maria Kyriacou said the Children’s Parliament had mentioned in 2004 that many schoolchildren were working in family businesses and missing school, resulting in their health and education being affected.
“So apart from the fact that they are not given equal opportunities in their education, they are not given equal opportunities in their health,” said Kyriacou.
The Labour Ministry’s bill, she added, failed to refer to children working in family businesses.
“The provision of the law must be altered so that their education and health isn’t affected,” said Kyriacou. “We have a duty to give our children equal opportunities to education and health.”
