Which international labor standard sets 15 as the general minimum age for employment?

The ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973, sets 15 as the general minimum age for employment.

Adopted by the International Labour Organization in 1973, Convention No. 138 calls on ratifying countries to pursue policies that abolish child labor and progressively raise the minimum age for admission to employment. Its general standard is 15, although countries with less-developed economies may initially specify 14 under the Convention’s provisions.

The standard also links the minimum employment age to the age for completing compulsory schooling. Hazardous work must generally be limited to people aged at least 18, while some light work may be permitted for younger children under carefully defined conditions.

Convention No. 138 is different from the ILO’s 1999 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, which focuses on especially dangerous or exploitative forms of child labor. The two instruments are complementary: one sets a general age framework, while the other targets the worst practices.