EL SALVADOR: 2006 WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 002960

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER
DOL/IL FOR TU DANG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EIND ELAB ES ETRD PHUM SOCI
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: 2006 WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR
REPORT

REF: STATE 184972


1. SUMMARY: Pursuant to reftel, this cable provides
information on the worst forms of child labor in El Salvador.
As a country eligible for trade benefits under the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP),El Salvador has
implemented steps to eliminate the worst forms of child
labor, including the comprehensive USDOL-funded ILO/IPEC
Timebound Program. Information is keyed to sections within
reftel paragraph #8. END SUMMARY.


2. INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR

A) Laws and Regulations Proscribing the Worst Forms of Child
Labor:

The Salvadoran Constitution (Article 38.10) prohibits child
labor under the age of 14. It also prohibits child labor for
older children while they are still receiving compulsory
education through the ninth grade. Minors, age 14 or older,
may receive special Labor Ministry permission to work, but
only where such employment is indispensable to the sustenance
of the minor and his or her family. However, according to
article 114 of the Labor Code, children aged 12 to 14 can be
authorized to perform light work, as long as it does not harm
their health and development or interfere with their
education. To do so, they may receive special Labor Ministry
permission. Children under 16 years of age are prohibited
from working more than 7 hours per day, and 34 hours per
week. Children under the age of 18 are prohibited from
working at night.

El Salvador defines the worst forms of child labor or
hazardous work as the ILO defines those terms. Forced or
compulsory labor is prohibited by the Constitution, except in
cases of public calamity and other cases specified by the
law. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery
are forbidden under a general provision of El Salvador's
Constitution (Article 9),as well as under Article 367-B of
the Criminal Code. The sale and trafficking of children,
debt bondage, and serfdom are specifically penalized in
Article 367-B of the Criminal Code. This last reform
(Article 367-B) was approved in October 2004, but entered
into force in January 2005. Criminal penalties for
trafficking range from 4 to 8 years of imprisonment, and
increase by one-third if the victim is under the age of 18
years. On April 29, 2006, the Government of El Salvador,
through the Ministry of Governance, opened a shelter for
victims of trafficking, and as of October, 58 victims had
been sheltered. Some were minors, but usually repatriated to
their country of origin. As of December 13, twelve victims
were sheltered. The Embassy through the INL program
supported this Government of El Salvador shelter financially
and logistically through its INL program.

Article 215 of the Salvadoran Constitution authorizes
compulsory military recruitment for those between 18 and 30
years old; recruitment of children is not permitted.
However, voluntary service can begin at age 16. The use,
procurement, or offering of a child for prostitution, for the
production of pornography, or for pornographic performances
are penalized in Articles 170, 170-A, 172, 173, 173-A, and
173-B. Although the Criminal Code does not criminalize
prostitution per se, it penalizes the inducement,
facilitation, or promotion of prostitution of a person
younger than 18 years old. The Penal Code considers the
commercial sexual exploitation of children, trafficking of
children, and child pornography forms of organized crime, and
provides harsher penalties for such crimes. Article 54 of
the law that regulates drug-related activities penalizes the
use of a child for illicit activities. Articles 105, 106,
and 107 of the Labor Code prohibit types of work that will
likely harm the safety or morals of children. In 1999, the
Government of El Salvador submitted to the ILO a document
identifying hazardous forms of work prohibited for minors
under Convention 182 and Convention 138.

Additionally, El Salvador continues to focus on the Timebound
Program for identification of the worst forms of child labor:
fireworks production, fishing, sugarcane harvesting,
commercial sexual exploitation, and garbage-dump scavenging.

B) Regulations for Implementation and Enforcement of
Proscriptions Against the Worst Forms of Child labor:

Enforcement of child labor law, when it refers to
administrative rather than criminal procedures such as those
that derive from trafficking, is the responsibility of the
Ministry of Labor, but labor inspectors usually tend to focus
on the formal sector where child labor is less frequent, and
as a result, few complaints are presented. The 2006-2010
National Plan to Eradicate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
places the Ministry of Labor in charge of reviewing,
updating, and modernizing the legal framework related to
child labor, as well as to increase legal oversight and labor
inspections to prevent and eradicate hazardous job
conditions. The Civilian National Police (PNC),the
Immigration Office, and the Office of the Attorney General
(FGR) are the government agencies responsible for enforcing
trafficking laws. Administrative complaints presented before the
Ministry of Labor, when it refers to child labor violations different
from criminal activity such as trafficking, offering a child
for pornographic or prostitution services and others. The
Ministry of Labor could impose fines. However, if the child
labor violation is considered a crime, then the Attorney
General Office in conjunction with the National Civilian
Police are in charge of enforcing child labor laws. In
general, such legal remedies are adequate to punish
violations but it may be difficult to deter them, due to
Salvadoran economic, cultural and social conditions, which
can not be addressed merely through legal remedies.
The Ministry of Labor invests USD $107,200 annually in the
investigation of child labor cases. This amount covers
salaries, transportation and meal allowances.

The Ministry of Labor has 163 labor inspectors distributed in
different regions and departments, 24 of whom work
specifically on child labor issues. During the year, the
Government of El Salvador concentrated on monitoring and
inspection of sugarcane plantations, with the following
results:
Special inspections: 10
Programmed inspections: 36
Re-Inspections: 6
Monitoring: 202
Number of workers who were covered by these inspections:
9,755
Number of children who were removed from child labor: 149
Awareness campaigns: 33 which covered 13,287 workers

The Ministry of Labor imposed three fines during 2006. In
2006, the Attorney General prosecuted 35 cases of
trafficking, and in 4 cases there were adjudications that
involved 7 traffickers. Traffickers received sentences of 3
to 20 years imprisonment.

During 2006, the Ministry of Labor in conjunction with the
ILO trained and provided awareness training, including
prevention of child labor, combating child labor, and
re-insertion of children, as follows:
-- 102 inspectors for elimination of child labor. (The
training program included domestic and international
legislation such as ILO Conventions 138, 182, 77 and 78.)
-- 60 PNC agents of the trafficking and alien smuggling
division, 280 officers, 21 agents of the prevention unit,
and 1800 agents from other units. (Also, in coordination
with the National Academy of Public Security, 62 new PNC
agents were trained on child labor issues.)
-- 75 psychologists of the Ministry of Education.
-- 90 employers of the National Institute for Women's
Development (ISDEMU)
-- 90 judges
-- 145 agents of the Immigration Directorate

Also, the Salvadoran Sugar Producers Association
(FUNDAZUCAR),Coca Cola Company, and Telefonica company have,
as part of their social responsibility programs, sponsored
public awareness campaigns against child labor in sugarcane
plantations.

C) Social Programs to Prevent and Withdraw Children from the
Worst Forms of Child Labor:

The Ministry of Labor, in coordination with the ILO,
conducted social programs to prevent and withdraw children
from the worst forms of child labor including:

-- Academic reinforcement post-regular classes (Salas de
Nivelaci"n),to prevent children from engaging in
exploitative work situations. From October 2003 to August
2005, a total of 10,909 children received these classes. --
Vocational training for children: From October 2003 to
August 2005, a total of 2,788 children received such
training.

-- Psychological counseling: From October 2003 to August
2005, a total of 294 children received counseling.
-- Health Services: From October 2003 to August 2005, a
total of 1,368 children and 618 parents received health
services.
-- Nutrition Services: From October 2003 to August 2005, a
total of 4,946 children received nutrition services.
-- School Materials: From October 2003 to August 2005, a
total of 29,337 children received school supplies.
-- Other services: From October 2003 to August 2005, a
total of 5,935 children participated in the "Dreaming to
Become" program. Under this program, at-risk children and
adolescents explore what it would be like to become a nurse,
teacher, doctor, firefighter, etc.
-- Vocational training for parents: From October 2003 to
August 2005, a total of 1,857 parents received vocational
training.
-- Literacy training: From October 2003 to August 2005, a
total of 914 parents received literacy training.

In addition, the 2005-2009 "Solidarity Net" national
anti-poverty program, which aims to reduce extreme poverty
and benefits 100,000 families of the poorest municipalities
of the country, assists in withdrawing children from work
activities.

Other projects, such as the IDB's four-and-a-half-year Social
Peace Program Support Project, target 200,000 children and
adolescents, operating in municipalities with the highest
rates of crime affecting young people--both as victims and
offenders. The project includes provision of services to
child victims of violence, efforts to prevent violence among
adolescents, and efforts to rehabilitate young offenders
through job-training scholarships and enhancement of the
educational system.

Article 56 of the Salvadoran Constitution establishes that
education is free and compulsory through the 9th grade.
A September 2006 DOL-sponsored MOL publication titled
"Advances in the Elimination of Child Labor in El Salvador,
2005-2006", established that, according to the Ministry of
Education's 2004-2005 school attendance census, approximately
15 percent of students between 5 and 17 years old work.
Children from 10 to 15 years old in rural areas are most
likely to work. For every working girl, there are 2.33
working boys. However, girls' work is usually less visible,
because of girls' employment in households, which the girls'
families often do not consider child labor. The Ministry of
Education also reported that the proportion of children who
attend school but also work had decreased 25.7 percent during
2004-2005, in part because of awareness programs on this
subject. (Note: In 2004, 14.5 percent of children (235,528)
attended school and worked, while in 2005, only 10.7 percent
(175,108) did so. End note.)

Although laws prohibit impeding childrenQ,s access to schools
for being unable to pay school fees or wear uniforms, some
school continued to charge school fees to cover budget
shortfalls.

D) Comprehensive Policy Aimed at the Elimination of the
Worst Forms of Child Labor:

On September 20, The Government of El Salvador launched its
first National Plan for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of
Child Labor. The Ministries of Labor, Education, Health,
Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Governance, Economy,
and the National Secretariat for the Family, the National
Secretariat for Youth, the National Institute for the

SIPDIS
Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA),in
conjunction with the Small and Medium Enterprises Committee,
the National Superior Labor Council, the National Round Table
Against Sexual Commercial Exploitation, and the National
Committee For the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child
Labor, joined efforts with the ILO/IPEC International Program
on the Elimination of Child Labor to launch a four-year
national plan to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.
The plan aims to continuously reduce at least 10% of the
targeted population of 288,221 children from 5 to 17 years
old who work.

The general principles of the plan are to promote gender
equity; a culture of lawfulness; involvement of parents,
children, and employers; and empowerment of community and
families relating to child labor. This global strategy
includes, among other things, strengthening governmental
capacity to assume the plan's responsibilities effectively
and efficiently, and promoting international cooperation.
The strategic areas involve strengthening the legal and
institutional framework, education and health care, culture
and sports, and increasing family income and public awareness
campaigns. The Plan will be presented to the international
community and donors during the next month. The Plan's
initial steps include a budget of USD $27,720.

The Government has made public statements and commitments to
eradicate the worst forms of child labor on several
occasions. The most significant public statement occurred
during the launching of the National Plan, which was attended
by high-level officials from all relevant ministries, as well
as the First Lady.

E) Country's Continual Progress Toward Eliminating the Worst
Forms of Child Labor:

Nature: El Salvador defines child labor as any economic
activity (according to the National Accounting System of the
United Nations) performed by children between 5 and 17 years
old. However, not all economic activity can be considered as
exploitative work. This definition of child labor does not
include domestic households, which are non-economic
activities. In spite of that, the consequences and
implications of domestic household work performed by children
are similar to that of child labor.

Magnitude: An estimated 10.2 percent of children ages 5-14
were counted as working in El Salvador in 2003.
Approximately 13.7 percent of all boys 5 to 14 were working,
compared to 6.5 percent of girls in the same age group. The
majority of working children were found in the agricultural
sector (51.2 percent),followed by services (35.3 percent),
manufacturing (12.4 percent),and other (1.1 percent).
Barclay