Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05GUATEMALA2014
2005-08-22 22:50:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Guatemala
Cable title:  

GUATEMALA'S CHILD LABOR UPDATE

Tags:  ELAB ECON PGOV PHUM SOCI EAID ETRD GT 
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222250Z Aug 05
UNCLAS GUATEMALA 002014 

SIPDIS

DOL/ILAB:TINA MCCARTER
DRL/IL FOR LAUREN HOLT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON PGOV PHUM SOCI EAID ETRD GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA'S CHILD LABOR UPDATE

REF: STATE 143552

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 002014

SIPDIS

DOL/ILAB:TINA MCCARTER
DRL/IL FOR LAUREN HOLT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON PGOV PHUM SOCI EAID ETRD GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA'S CHILD LABOR UPDATE

REF: STATE 143552


1. The information below is keyed to the reftel paragraphs:


A. The Guatemalan Labor Code sets the minimum age for
employment at 14 years. In exceptional cases, the Labor
Inspectorate can provide work permits to children under the
age of 14, although the practice has diminished
significantly. The Inspectorate issued 20 permits in 2004,
primarily for apprenticeships. The workday for these
children is capped at six hours per day, and they are
prohibited from working at night, overtime, and in dangerous
occupations. The age limit is consistent with completing
mandatory educational requirements. Guatemala's laws on
child labor are consistent with the International Labor
Organization (ILO) standards. The Government of Guatemala
(GOG) ratified Convention 182 and has developed a list of
occupations considered to be the worst forms of child labor.


B. The GOG designated the Child Workers Protection Unit of
the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to implement and enforce child
labor laws. The judiciary can impose criminal penalties,
civil fines, or court orders based on recommendations from
the MOL. Laws governing the employment of minors were not
enforced effectively due to the weakness of the labor
inspection and labor court systems. More than 70 percent of
Guatemala's economy, however, is in the informal sector,
where the MOL has little influence. The ILO estimated that
23 percent of children under the age of 18 worked in 2004;
virtually all in the informal sector. The MOL is engaged in
on-going training programs regarding child labor and other
forms of labor exploitation.


C. The Defense of Children's Rights Unit in the Human Rights
Ombudsman's Office and the Social Welfare Secretariat of the
President's Office are charged with the responsibility to
prevent and withdraw children from exploitative situations.
The GOG has, through cooperation with the ILO's International
Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC),enacted
programs to combat child labor in the fireworks industry, in
the production of gravel, in the growing of coffee and
broccoli, in domestic service, in trash picking, and in the
commercial sex industry. One of the programs offers
scholarships and free meals during the year to encourage
families to send children to school instead of work. The
Constitution provides for compulsory education for all
children up to the sixth grade; this is widely ignored.


D. The GOG established a National Commission for the
Elimination of Child Labor in 2002 which supervises a
comprehensive operational plan. Much further effort will be
required for the GOG to achieve its goals. The GOG has
publicly committed to eradicate the worst forms of child
labor.


E. Guatemala has made slow but continual progress toward
eliminating the worst forms of child labor. While child
labor is still common (note the 23 percent figure above),the
underlying causes are linked to the country's endemic
poverty. As economic and social development has been slow to
reach underdeveloped areas, child labor indicators hold
steady.
WHARTON