VENEZUELA: INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD

UNCLAS CARACAS 000865 DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) DOL/ILAB (RRIGBY) DRL/ILCSR (MMITTELHAUSER) G/TIP (SSTEINER) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EIND ELAB ETRD PHUM SOCI VE SUBJECT: VENEZUELA: INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF GOODS REF: STATE 43120 ¶1. SUMMARY. This cable responds to reftel request for information on forced labor and child labor in the production of goods in Venezuela. Venezuela, a high volume, oil producing nation, is largely dependent on imports, and as a result does not have a tradition of child labor in the production of goods. Child laborers predominately work in the agricultural sector or in small-to-medium sized businesses. Incidents of forced labor in the production of goods are uncommon in the formal and informal sectors of the Venezuelan economy. Local organizations promoting the rights of children, however, speculate that two-thirds of child laborers, in legal and illegal employment activities, are working in the informal sector. Post does not have information regarding child labor in the production of any specific good. END SUMMARY. -------------- NARRATIVE -------------- ¶2. Venezuelan law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, but enforcement is often lacking. Venezuelan law permits children between the ages of 12 and 14 to work only with special government permission. Children between the ages of 14 and 16 may not work without the permission of their legal guardians. Children under 16 may work not more than six hours per day or 30 hours per week. Minors may work only between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. ¶3. With respect to economic exploitation, including child labor, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child noted October 2007 that the Venezuelan government has a National Program of Protection of Child Workers (PRONAT),but regretted the lack of information about the "reality and extent" of children engaged in all forms of labor activities. The Committee recommended that the Venezuelan government evaluate its National Program and "determine the numbers and categories of children working informally or formally in the economy and take all necessary measure to protect children from economic exploitation." ¶4. The Community Center for Apprenticeship and Promotion of the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CECODAP),a local NGO promoting the rights of children and adolescents, noted that it is unaware of specific incidents of forced or child labor in the production of goods in Venezuela. Instead, child laborers predominantly work in the agricultural sector or in small-to-medium sized businesses. A representative from CECODAP said that children working in the commercial sex trade, particularly in mining areas, are at greater risk for exploitation. The same official added that the number of minors working in the formal sector had decreased, while those working in the informal sector has steadily increased in recent years. -------------- Incidence -------------- ¶5. Post notes that incidence statistics provided by government agencies do not distinguish between voluntary, forced labor, or exploitative labor as defined by cable guidance (Reftel). A representative from CECODAP told Poloff that the lack of reliable statistical data on the working conditions of child laborers makes it difficult for government agencies and NGOs alike to design programs that address the needs of this population. The CECODAP official noted that more information is needed on the types of industries that seek child laborers, the living and family conditions of these children, and whether the children attend school while working. ¶6. The Bolivarian Government of Venezuela (BRV) Statistics Office categorizes labor by children under the age of 16 into different sectors, but does not detail what specific goods children are producing. In 2006, according to the BRV, 131,902 boys and 10,196 girls worked in the agricultural sector, 3,772 boys and 10,285 girls worked in industrial manufacturing, and 36,106 boys and 746 girls worked in construction. Downes