EL SALVADOR: CHILD LABOR REPORT 2008

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000063

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DOL/ILAB AND DRL/TU DANG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI ES
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: CHILD LABOR REPORT 2008

REF: STATE 127448


1. (U) Summary: Pursuant to ref A, 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),the Government of El
Salvador (GOES) supports efforts to eliminate the worst forms
of child labor. During 2008, the Government of El Salvador,
in conjunction with various non-governmental organizations
(NGOs),conducted seventeen programs specifically designed to
reduce child labor. There were no new laws promulgated in
2008 relating to child labor. End Summary.

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Laws and Regulations Proscribing
the Worst Forms of Child Labor
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2. (U) The Salvadoran Constitution 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 permission from the Ministry of Labor (MOL)
to work, but only where such employment is indispensable to
the sustenance of the minor and his or her family. However,
according to 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. 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.


3. (U) El Salvador defines the worst forms of child labor or
hazardous work in the same fashion the ILO defines those
terms. Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited by the
Constitution, except in cases of public calamity and other
instances specified by the law. All forms of slavery or
practices similar to slavery are forbidden under a general
provision of El Salvador's Constitution, as well as the
Criminal Code. The sale and trafficking of children, debt
bondage, and serfdom are specifically penalized in the
Criminal Code. 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.


4. (U) Military recruitment of children is not permitted.
However, voluntary service can begin at age 16.


5. (U) The use, procurement, or offering of a child for
prostitution, for the production of pornography, or for
pornographic performances is penalized in the Constitution.
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. The law that regulates
drug-related activities penalizes the use of children for
illicit activities.


6. (U) The Labor Code prohibits 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. There were no new
laws promulgated in 2008 relating to child labor. The
information provided in ref B, pertaining to the goods
produced by child labor, is still accurate.

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Regulations for Implementation and Enforcement of
Proscriptions against the Worst Forms of Child Labor
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7. (U) Enforcement of child labor law 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 increasing legal oversight and labor
inspections to prevent and eradicate hazardous job conditions.


8. (U) The National Civilian 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 they refer to child labor violations, are
different from criminal activities such as trafficking,
offering a child for pornographic or prostitution services,
and others. However, if the child labor violation is
considered a crime, the Attorney General's Office, in
conjunction with the PNC, is in charge of enforcing child
labor laws.


9. (U) In general, the legal remedies for trafficking are
adequate to punish violations, but likely provide little
deterrence, due to economic, cultural, and social conditions.
The legal remedies for child labor are rarely enforced,
providing little punishment or deterrence.


10. (U) The Ministry of Labor provided no report of child
labor complaints. However, child labor is culturally
acceptable in El Salvador, and historically, there have been
few complaints. The Ministry of Labor has 159 labor
inspectors conducting inspection programs, but none work
specifically on child labor issues. However there is
evidence that children are used in the production of coffee,
sugar, fish, mollusks, and fireworks.


11. (U) During the year, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) reported
that it conducted 26,865 inspections in the commerce and
service sectors, where child labor is rare, and 1,449
inspections in agriculture, where child labor is common. It
did not report on the number of children found. (Comment:
These numbers are not supported by statistics from other
sources or post's observations. End Comment.)

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Social Programs to Prevent and Withdraw Children
from the Worst Forms of Child Labor
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12. (U) The ILO and other non-governmental organizations,
with the support of the Ministry of Labor, are currently
implementing the third stage of the National Plan for the
Eradication of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The MOL did
not report a budget for these activities.


13. (U) In 2008, the GOES, in conjunction with six NGOs,
conducted seventeen programs designed to reduce child labor.
In 2008, the GOES and Spanish NGO Intervida, expected to
withdraw 520 children from child labor activities in the
sugar and agricultural fields in the departments of San
Vicente, La Paz, and Usulutan. The Salvadoran Sugar
Foundation (FUNAZUCAR) is conducting programs to combat child
labor in San Miguel and Usulutan, and expected to withdraw
394 children from the harvesting and production of sugar
cane. The Salvadoran Association for Rural Health
(ASAPROSAR) conducted a program intended to withdraw 527
children who work in the municipal market of Sonsonate.
(Note: Child labor is prevalent in the municipal markets and
continues to be ignored by the GOES.)


14. (U) The Council for the Development of the Communities of
Morazan and San Miguel (PADECOMS) expected to withdraw 482
children involved in fishing activities in La Union in 2008.
The Salvadoran Foundation for Health and Human Development
(FUSAL),conducted three programs to remove over 2800
children involved in fishing and sugar cane production. The
Business-Women Organization (OEF) expects to remove 200
children involved in hazardous activities in the sugar cane
industry in San Vicente and Cabanas Departments.

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Comprehensive Policy Aimed at the Elimination
of the Worst Forms of Child Labor
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15. (U) In 2006, the government 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 Development of
Children and Adolescents, 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 government reports that it is
currently in Phase III of the National Plan.


16. (U) On June 25, 2008 the Legislative Assembly unanimously
amended article 56 of the Salvadoran constitution to declare
education free and compulsory through high school. However,
this amendment must be ratified by the next Legislative
Assembly (2009-2012).


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Country's Continual Progress Toward
Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor
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17. (U) According to the 2007 Multiple Household Survey
conducted by the Ministry of Economy, El Salvador has reduced
the percentage of working children from 10.2 in 2003 to 5.9
in 2007. (Comment: As child labor is often considered
socially acceptable, the reliability of these numbers is
uncertain.)
BLAU