DOL VISIT HIGHLIGHTS U.S. FIGHT AGAINST CHILD LABOR

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000151 SIPDIS SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y CHANGES THROUGHOUT TEXT WHA/CAR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID DR SUBJECT: DOL VISIT HIGHLIGHTS U.S. FIGHT AGAINST CHILD LABOR ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On January 14 and 15, Department of Labor Deputy Undersecretary Charlotte Ponticelli traveled to the Dominican Republic to attend the launch of the second phase of a DOL-funded child labor project, meet the Secretaries of Labor and Education, civil society and business leaders as well as Embassy staff, and visit project sites in Capotillo and Haina. The launch and the meeting highlighted the various stakeholders' commitment to fighting child labor and support for other labor and education issues. It also showed that issues remain and more needs to be done. End Summary. ¶2. (U) DevTech systems in collaboration with EDUCA, a local NGO, and Instituto Tecnologico Santo Domingo (INTEC),a private university, launched a $4 million DOL funded project aimed at preventing hazardous child labor through public-private partnerships. Ambassador Fannin, and representatives from the Secretariats of Labor, Education, and Youth attended. Several local newspapers and TV stations covered the event. -------------- Government Officials -------------- --Secretariat of Labor ¶3. (SBU) Dep. U/S Ponticelli held separate meetings with various leaders from the Secretariat of Labor (SET) including Secretary Jose Ramon Fadul and Director of Labor Washington Gonzalez. Though Fadul pledged continued support for child labor programs, he said this would be hard because many Dominican households face extreme poverty, and eliminating child labor may result in decreased household income. In a separate meeting, Gonzalez stated there needs to be alternatives to the lost income of child labor, otherwise children will continue working. Project implementers and business sector representatives contended that most parents want to send their children to school, and that the main disincentive for doing so is not financial, but the fact that the school day is so short and that parents would prefer to take their children to work with them rather than leave them uncared for during the day. ¶4. (SBU) Fadul stated the government needs to create an environment to improve and increase employment through private sector involvement as it is not the government's role to create new jobs. In an earlier meeting, Gonzalez admitted there is no coherent national policy on employment, especially an adequate policy on increasing employment or training individuals to enter the workforce. Many Dominicans still perceive the government as the generator and provider of jobs. ¶5. (U) Gonzalez acknowledged the first step is to have hard, solid data on employment such as labor pool demographics, labor industries and sectors, and compensation and salaries. Though the Central Bank presently has some statistics on unemployment rates and labor sectors, they remain inadequate. --Secretariat of Education ¶6. (U) In her meeting with Dep. U/S Ponticelli, Education Secretary Alejandrina German expressed concern about the SIPDIS quality of education. Despite a high enrollment rate, (the Secretary stated that only eight percent of children are not SIPDIS enrolled in school),she is aware of the poor quality of education. Some of the problems that plague the educational system are very limited actual classroom time (avg. 2.5 hours/day),overcrowding, inadequate facilities, dismal school attendance, inadequate pedagogic methods (e.g., no grading system),a system of political patronage, a lack of a merit system to ensure quality teachers, and the role of the teachers' unions and their frequent strikes. German noted that Dominican culture prevents some women, both professional and non-professional, from being more involved in education programs. Nonetheless, German strongly supports the after school program, Espacios para Crecer (EpC),that is being implemented by the DOL-funded child labor project and would like to replicate the model throughout the DR, but she acknowledged difficulties in doing so. -------------- Civil Society -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Sonia Pierre, director of the Movement of Dominican-Haitian Women (MUDHA) in her meeting with Dep. U/S Ponticelli stated that the lack of identity documents is a serious issue for Haitian migrant workers. Though the Registry of Foreigners ("Pink Book" or Libro de Extranjeria) provides for registration of children born in the country of non-Dominican parents, the government's implementation is inadequate. Moreover, the Central Elections Board (JCE) has taken steps to retroactively rescind previously issued birth certificates or national ID and voting cards (cedulas) to persons whom they suspect to be of Haitian descent. Pierre said that the lack of documentation has rendered these migrant workers functionally stateless, many left in bateyes (settlements where most present and previous sugar cane workers live) without many economic opportunities and with living conditions rife for child labor and exploitive child labor. ¶8. (SBU) Pierre stated that these dire conditions persist in the bateyes owned by the government's Consorcio Estatal de Azucar (CEA). In contrast, the owners of Consorcio Azucarero de Empresas Industriales (CAEI) bateyes have invested in improvements in living conditions that she wished could be expanded to other bateyes. -------------- Business Leaders -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Members of the Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada (CONEP),a local business organization, told Ponticelli that the business community has stepped up in funding education and labor programs. However, despite the increasing involvement of the private sector, CONEP members emphasized the need for the government to likewise implement programs that will both eliminate child labor and improve education. ¶10. (SBU) William Malamud, an Executive Vice President of the local American Chamber of Commerce, agreed about the dismal state of education in the country. He has advocated for the GODR to increase its budget to improve the quality of education. The severely deficient educational system is a competitiveness issue acutely felt by the business community. With CAFTA-DR, potential for economic growth is enormous; however, without a trained and educated labor force, this growth will be limited. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Comment: Deputy Undersecretary Ponticelli's visit was very helpful in highlighting the assistance that the United States, through DOL funding, is providing to fight child labor. The visit was also an opportunity to see first-hand the progress of the ongoing Espacios para Crecer (Rooms to Grow) project, as well as to meet with a variety of interlocutors where progress is being made and to see what challenges remain. In entering the second phase, Rooms to Grow has demonstrated that public/private partnership is a viable model and political will exists to combat child labor in the Dominican Republic. 12 (U) Deputy Undersecretary Ponticelli has cleared this report. FANNIN