2002 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Estonia

Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

The Government of Estonia was cooperating with governments in the region, including Finland, Russia, Sweden, and Germany, to implement a European Commission anti-trafficking initiative called the STOP-Project in 2002. This project aimed to develop the means to record and exchange information on international trafficking, uncover the organized crime activity surrounding regional trafficking networks, and explore the social consequences of trafficking and organized prostitution.¹³⁶³ The project included a component to prevent the commercial exploitation of children.¹³⁶⁴

In early 2002, a study on children involved in drug trafficking was carried out by ILO-IPEC SIMPOC with funding from USDOL.¹³⁶⁵ In partnership with government agencies, IOM launched a counter-trafficking project aimed at establishing a coordinated system of assistance for trafficking victims from the Baltic Republics.¹³⁶⁶ In cooperation with the Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs, the Nordic Council of Ministers has initiated a large-scale anti-trafficking campaign, focused on prevention, for 2002-2003.¹³⁶⁷

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

Statistics on the number of working children under the age of 15 in Estonia are unavailable. A 1999 labor survey indicates that employees aged 16 to 17 make up 0.2 percent of the total labor force, and no exploitation of children has been noted.¹³⁶⁸ In some instances, children peddle goods and beg on the streets.¹³⁶⁹ There are reports that children engage in prostitution,¹³⁷⁰ and there have been reports that women and girls are trafficked internally and to Nordic countries and Western Europe.¹³⁷¹ There is also evidence that children are involved in drug trafficking, and there is a connection between drug use and children engaged in prostitution.¹³⁷² In 1999, an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 children were found to be in the streets; this estimate includes children who are deprived of parental care and children evading school. However, the number of children without a home and living in the streets is estimated at 100 to 200.¹³⁷³

The Constitution states that education is compulsory and free for children.¹³⁷⁴ The Education Act of 1992¹³⁷⁵ and the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act of 1993 make nine years of basic education compulsory and free for children.¹³⁷⁶ In 1998, the gross primary enrollment rate was 101 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 96.2 percent.¹³⁷⁷

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The Employment Contract Act sets the minimum age for employment at 18 years, although children 15 to 17 years old may work with the consent of a parent or guardian, and children 13 to 15 years old may work with the consent of a parent or guardian and a labor inspector.¹³⁷⁸ Children under 18 years may not perform hazardous or dangerous work.¹³⁷⁹ The Working and Rest Time Act limits the hours that children under 18 years old can work and prohibits overtime or night work.¹³⁸⁰ The Occupational Health and Safety Act gives enforcement responsibilities for labor laws to the Labor Inspector Service.¹³⁸¹ No cases of child labor violations have been submitted to the courts.¹³⁸²

Articles 133 and 134 of the Penal Code, which took effect on September 1, 2002, criminalize trafficking in persons. The code provides for increased penalties if the crime is committed against a person of less than 18 years of age.¹³⁸³ The code provides for fines or imprisonment of up to three years for persons found guilty of disposing or aiding minors to engage in prostitution. The code also provides for fines or imprisonment of up to one year for persons found guilty of using minors in the production, manufacture or distribution of child pornography.¹³⁸⁴ The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Social Affairs are responsible for matters relating to trafficking.¹³⁸⁵ The Constitution prohibits forced or bonded labor, except in the Defense Forces or alternative service, work required in times of natural disasters or catastrophes, or when fulfilling a court sentence.¹³⁸⁶

The Child Protection Act of 1992 is the primary law guiding the protection of children and in all cases, places the child's interests first, and the Ministry of Social Affairs coordinates the protection of children in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Police Board and other state agencies.¹³⁸⁷

The Government of Estonia has not ratified ILO Convention 138, but ratified ILO Convention 182 on September 24, 2001.¹³⁸⁸

1363 European Commission Stop-Project, Building up a Network for Monitoring, Analyzing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children, [cited August 30, 2002]; available from http://www.stakes.fi/sexviolence/stop/.

1364 UNICEF, Estonian National Report on Follow-up to the World Summit for Children, 2000, [cited August 30, 2002]; available from http://unicef.org/specialsession/how_country/index.htm.

1365 The study questioned 40 children and 19 young adults (i.e., 18 years and older) who were either currently involved in or had previously been involved in worst forms of child labor. Nelli Kalikove, Aljona Kurbatova, and Ave Talu, Estonia Children and Adolescents Involved in Drug Use and Trafficking: A Rapid Assessment, ILO-IPEC, Geneva, June 2002, [cited August 30, 2002]; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/simpoc/ra/index.htm.

1366 The project takes place in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and is partnered with the Ministries of Interior, Border Guards, Departments of Investigating Organized Crime and Ministries of Foreign Affairs. IOM, Online Project Compendium, [online] [cited August 29, 2002]; available from http://www.iom.int/iomwebsite/Project/ ServletSerachProject?event+detail&id+FI1Z045.

1367 For background information on the Nordic Council's efforts, see Nordic Council and Council of Ministers, Nordic Gender Equality: Projects, November 20, 2002 [cited February 5, 2003]; available from http://www.norden.org/gender/ projekt/uk/index.asp?lang=6. The first seminar of the Nordic and Baltic countries against trafficking in women took place in May 2002. See Nordic Council of Ministers, First Joint Seminar of the Nordic and Baltic Countries against Trafficking in Women, [cited February 5, 2003]; available from http://www.nmr.ee/women/.

1368 UNICEF, Estonian National Report.

1369 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2001: Estonia, Washington, D.C., March 4, 2002, 1433-34, Section 6d [cited December 27, 2002]; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/ 8247.htm.

1370 Iris Pettai, "Prostitution and Trafficking Women as Assessed by the Tallinn Police" (paper presented at the Joint seminar of the Nordic and Baltic countries, May 29-31, 2002); available from http://www.nmr.ee/women/presentations/ IirisPettaiIngl.pdf.

1371 Statistics on the scope of the child sexual exploitation and trafficking problems are not widely available. In 2002, there were reports that girls had been trafficked internally and abroad for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. See U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report – 2002: Estonia, Washington, D.C., June 5, 2002, 47 [cited October 8, 2002]; available from http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/10815.pdf.

1372 Nelli Kalikove, Kurbatova, and Talu, Estonia Children and Adolescents Involved in Drug Use and Trafficking: A Rapid Assessment, 57.

1373 Child homelessness is more problematic in the cities of Tallinn, Tartu, and Narva. See UNICEF, Estonian National Report. According to a 2000 report of the European Commission, 170 street children were registered in shelters in Estonia and the number of neglected children in the country is 500-600; more than half of these children reside in Tallinn. See U.S. Department of State official, electronic communication to USDOL official, February 2003.

1374 Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, Article 37 [cited August 30, 2002]; available from http://www.legaltext.ee/ en/andmebaas/ava.asp?m=0221.

1375 UNESCO International Bureau of Education, World Data on Education, [online] 2001 [cited August 26, 2002]; available from http://nt5.scbbs.com/cgi-bin/ om_isapi.dll?clientID=406181&infobase=inodoc.nfo&softpage=PL_srchframe.

1376 Government of Estonia, Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act of 1993, Article 17 [cited August 30, 2002]; available from http://www.legaltext.ee/en/andmebaas/ava.asp?m=0221.

1377 World Bank, World Development Indicators 2002 [CD-ROM], Washington, D.C., 2002. In the school year 19992000, the primary school attendance rate was 95.3 percent. See U.S. Department of State official, electronic communication.

1378 These allowances are made only if the work will not endanger the health, morality, or education of the minor. The Employment Contracts Act does not extend to work on a family farm, family enterprise, and household work. See Republic of Estonia Employment Contract Act of 1992, Article 2 (1,2) and Article 7 (4) [cited August 30, 2002]; available from http://www.legaltext.ee/en/andmebaas/ava.asp?m=0221.

1379 Hazardous or dangerous work includes heavy work, work which poses a health hazard or has dangerous working conditions, underground work, or work which endangers the morality of minors. A complete list of work that is prohibited for minors was determined by the government in regulation no. 214 of July 22, 1992. The following work is prohibited: work involving slaughter or destruction and processing of live animals and birds; work related to exploiting and promoting sex, violence, and gambling; and work where a minor is in contact with alcohol, narcotic, toxic, and psychotropic substances. Miko Haljas, Secretary, Embassy of Estonia, letter to USDOL official, November 26, 2001.

1380 Government of Estonia, Working and Rest Time Act of January 24, 2001, Articles 5, 8, 11, 15, 20, 21, and 22 [cited August 30, 2002]; available from http://www.legaltext.ee/en/andmebaas/ava.asp?m=0221.

1381 Government of Estonia, Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1999, Article 29 [cited August 30, 2002]; available from http://www.legaltext.ee/en/andmebaas/ava.asp?m=0221. Violations are provided for in the Government of Estonia Criminal Code, para. 135, as cited in ILO, Review of Annual Reports: The Effective Abolition of Child Labor, Estonia, GB.277/3/2, Geneva, March 2000, 272.

1382 U.S. Embassy – Tallinn, unclassified telegram no. 2353, September 2000.

1383 Penal Code, (September 1, 2002); available from http://www.bclo.ee/Seadused/ Penal_Code_(August%202002).htm.

1384 Ibid., Articles 175-79.

1385 Elmar Nurmela- Polva Police Prefect- President of the Union for Child Welfare, "Research, Information and Legislation on Trafficking in Women in the Estonia," in Trafficking in Women in the Baltic States: Legal Aspects, Research Report: Annex 2, ed. IOM, 2001.

1386 Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, Article 29.

1387 UNICEF, Estonian National Report.

1388 ILO, Ratifications by Country, in ILOLEX, [database online] [cited September 5, 2002]; available from http://ilolex.ilo.ch:1567/english/newratframeE.htm.