URUGUAY: RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON FORCED

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000327 SIPDIS DOL/ILAB FOR RACHEL RIGBY DRL/ILCSR FOR MARK MITTELHAUSER G/TIP FOR STEVE STEINER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI UY SUBJECT: URUGUAY: RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF GOODS FOR MANDATORY CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS REF: STATE 43120 ¶1. Per reftel request, post provides the following information regarding forced and child labor in the production of goods for mandatory congressional reporting requirements. ¶2. Uruguay has no significant incidence of forced or child labor. Uruguay exports primarily agricultural/raw materials, most notably meat, dairy products, rice, leather and wood. Embassy Economic and APHIS officers have traveled extensively and on various occasions in agricultural production areas, and have witnessed no indications of forced or child labor in the production of goods as defined by standards in ILAB's "Procedural Guidelines for the Development and Maintenance of the List of Goods from Countries Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor". ¶3. Our contacts in both the GOU and NGO communities have likewise not reported forced or child labor in the production of goods to be a major problem. A 2006 Uruguayan government survey of children between the ages of 5-17 found that a small fraction of children work outside the home. ¶4. Uruguayan law sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years. Adolescents between 15 and 18 years require government permission to work and must undergo physical exams to identify possible exposure to job-related physical harm. Permits are not granted for hazardous, fatiguing, and night work. The government grants work permission to minors only if they have finished 9 years of compulsory education or are enrolled in school and are completing compulsory education. An exception can be granted for minors ages 13 through 15 to engage in cultural or artistic activities. Minors are not allowed to work for more than 6 hours per day within a 36-hour work week. Minors have to rest 1 day a week, preferably Sunday, and cannot work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. ¶5. Violations of child labor laws are punishable by fines. Parents or adults responsible for working children may be subject to imprisonment of 3 months to 4 years. ¶6. In compliance with its ratification of ILO Convention 182, the GOU's National Committee for the Eradication of Child Labor (CETI) compiled and maintains a list of the fifty most hazardous jobs. The Ministry of Labor presides over CETI, and the National Institute for Adolescents and Children (INAU) bears primary responsibility for its Executive Secretariat. BAXTER