No. 10 - Minimum Age (Agriculture), 1921

Provisions

• Children under the age of 14 are prohibited from working in agriculture during school hours.
• Outside school hours they may undertake only light work that cannot affect their health, or their attendance at school.
• Children in technical schools are exempt if their work is approved and supervised by the public authority.

Administered by

Department of Labour

• Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992
• Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995

Ministry of Education

• Education Act 1989

How New Zealand implements it

• Sections 20 and 25, of the Education Act require the compulsory enrolment and attendance at school of every child between the ages of 6 and 16. There are some provisions for exemption provided arrangements are made for the child to be taught at least as regularly and well as in a registered school.
• Section 30, of the Education Act prohibits the employment of school age children at any time within school hours, or at any other time which would prevent or interfere with:
  • attendance at school;
  • the ability to do correspondence schooling; or
  • (for exempted children) their ability to be taught at least as regularly and well as in a registered school.
• The Health and Safety in Employment Act requires employers to ensure the safety of all employees at work.
• The Health and Safety in Employment Regulations place additional duties on employers to ensure that employees under 15 years of age do not work in areas that are likely to cause harm to their health and safety.
• Under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, employers must also ensure that children under 15 years are not required to:
  • lift any weight, or perform any task that may be injurious to their health; or
  • work at machinery; or
  • drive or ride upon a tractor, or self-propelled mobile mechanical plant.
• Furthermore, the Health and Safety in Employment Act requires employers to take steps to ensure children under 16 years are not required to work between 10pm and 6am, unless the employment meets an approved code of practice for children under 16 years, for the kind of work the employee is doing. However, there are no such approved codes of practice currently in effect.

This Convention is not applicable to Tokelau.

Ratified - 8 July 1947

Total ratifications - 5