LABOR MONITORING AND ENGAGEMENT WITH EL SALVADOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 SAN SALVADOR 000156

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ELAB ECON AID ES
SUBJECT: LABOR MONITORING AND ENGAGEMENT WITH EL SALVADOR

REF: 09 STATE 129631; 10 SAN SALVADOR 45

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Summary

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1. (U) Labor rights in El Salvador are generally respected but
suffer from inadequate enforcement, and labor discrimination and
violations of worker's rights do occur. However, El Salvador's new
FMLN government has favored greater enforcement of labor rights
than have prior administrations, and has taken steps to improve its
labor inspection system as well as enforcement of labor laws.
USAID sponsors a number of regional programs for CAFTA-DR
countries, including El Salvador. The U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL) and the Department of State fund other labor-related
programs, including programs in conjunction with the International
Labor Organization (ILO). Future programs should focus on
strengthening the rule of law in the labor area, migrant worker
issues, and expediting the labor justice system. End summary.



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Labor Environment

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2. (U) El Salvador's labor force of approximately 1.72 million is
perceived as hard working and receptive to training and advanced
study. The general educational level is low, and the skilled labor
pool is shallow, which may pose problems for investors needing
skilled, educated labor. According to many large employers, there
is a lack of middle management-level talent, which sometimes
results in foreigners being brought in to perform such tasks.
Employers have expressed concern with more aggressive government
efforts to expand unionization inside the private sector. In
addition, business leaders have been affected by inefficient
government processing of applications to export machinery, which
are required by the Ministry of Labor to ensure that wages owed to
workers are paid by companies before they downsize or leave the
marketplace.




3. (U) In March 2009, voters elected Carlos Mauricio Funes
Cartagena of the (left-leaning) Farabundo Marti National Liberation
Front (FMLN) as president for a five-year term in generally free
and fair elections. The FMLN government has historically had
strong ties to many of the country's labor organizations, and the
Ministry of Labor under the Funes administration has made important
steps to strengthen labor rights, including facilitating the
registration of unions, and allowing government workers to
unionize.




4. (U) Although hard-line elements of the FMLN aspire to establish
Chavista-style socialism, President Funes has maintained a
commitment to economic development through a free-market system.
Minister of Labor Victoria Marina Vel????squez de Avil????s and Vice
Minister Calixto Mejia Hern????ndez have emphasized their support for
rule of law in labor disputes. They have also embraced the themes
of corporate social responsibility and social dialogue, following
the ILO's tripartite framework and its "White Book"
recommendations. The Salvadoran government (GOES) and the Ministry
of Labor (MOL) have stated their desire to work cooperatively with
the private sector to encourage economic growth.




5. (U) The U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA-DR),implemented between El Salvador and the
United States on March 1, 2006, provides El Salvador preferential
access to U.S. markets. Information on CAFTA-DR and other labor
programs can be found in paragraphs 16 through 18.




6. (U) In 2006, the Government of El Salvador and the Millennium

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Challenge Corporation (MCC) signed a five-year, $461 million
anti-poverty Compact to stimulate economic growth and reduce
poverty in the country's northern region through investments in
education, public services, enterprise development, and
transportation infrastructure.



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Labor Rights

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7. (U) The constitution permits public and private sector workers
to form unions. The only restriction on forming unions affects the
public sector and specifically the police force, the army and the
members of the judiciary, as well as all high-level public
officials. While the law prohibits anti-union discrimination,
discrimination does occur. Employers are free to hire union or
non-union labor. Closed shops are illegal. The constitution
recognizes the right to strike, which is freely practiced by labor
unions, despite cumbersome regulatory requirements which are
ignored in practice.




8. (U) There have historically been problems with employers who
illegally retain workers' social security and pension benefits,
violate labor safety conditions, practice labor discrimination, and
commit violations against the freedom of association and the right
to strike. Although the law prohibits discrimination on the basis
of race, gender, disability, language, or social status, in
practice the government does not effectively enforce these
prohibitions. There is discrimination against women, persons with
disabilities, gay and lesbian persons, and indigenous people.
Gender-based wage disparity also remains a problem. There have
been allegations of corruption among labor inspectors in the
apparel assembly industry.




9. (U) The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, as well as
the employment of children under the age of 14, but child labor
remains a serious and widespread problem. There have been
allegations of trafficking of persons for forced commercial sexual
exploitation and apparel assembly labor.




10. (U) The MOL is responsible for setting workplace safety
standards, and the law on occupational health and safety standards
establishes a tripartite committee to review the standards. The
MOL has 159 labor inspectors distributed nationwide. The
government passed a new occupational health and safety law in
January.




11. (U) The MOL enforces minimum wage laws, which are set by
executive decree, based on recommendations from a tripartite
committee comprising representatives from labor, government, and
business. There is no national minimum wage; the minimum wage is
determined by sector. The minimum daily wage in 2009 was $6.92 for
retail and service employees, $6.77 for industrial laborers, and
$5.79 for apparel assembly workers. The agricultural minimum wage
was $3.24. The minimum wage did not provide a sufficient standard
of living for a worker and family. Although during 2009 basic
subsistence costs for food were $169.34 per month, the highest
monthly minimum wage nationally was $207.60. The MOL recently said
it would like to raise the minimum wage in the textile sector.




12. (U) The law sets a maximum normal workweek of 44 hours,
limited to no more than six days, and requires bonus pay for
overtime. The law mandates that full-time employees be paid for an
eight-hour day of rest in addition to the 44-hour normal workweek.
The law prohibits compulsory overtime. The government's gender and
labor discrimination unit reported that assembly plants generally
respect the laws on overtime. However, most of these plants
require workers to work extra days in order to meet production
goals, with a promise of incentive pay in addition to overtime.

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13. (U) Sources:



-- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/



-- El Salvador Post Report: (
http://mmsweb.a.state.gov/asp/postreport/view /pr_view.asp?CntryID=4
8
)



-- Background Note: El Salvador (September 2009): (
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2033.htm
)



-- 2009 Investment Climate Statement - El Salvador:
http://www.state.gov/e/eeb/rls/othr/ics/2009/ 117666.htm




-- Labor regulations, Ministry of Labor: http://www.mtps.gob.sv





14. (U) Key Organizations involved in labor rights issues:



-- Ministry of Labor and Social Provision

-- International Labor Organization (ILO)

-- National Council for Disabled Persons (CONAIPD)

-- Survivors Network (Disability advocacy NGO)

-- The Salvadoran Institute for the Development of Women (ISDEMU)

-- The Salvadoran Network Against Trafficking, made up of the ILO,
Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, the Anglican Church of
El Salvador, CARECEN International, Caritas, and the Salvadoran
National Women's Commission.




15. (U) Point of contact for FTA labor matters in the host
country's labor ministry: Michelle Garc????a, Legal Advisor on Free
Trade Labor Agreements. Tel. 2209-3734.



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Current Programs

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16. (U) USAID estimates that there are approximately 87 labor
programs operating in the CAFTA-DR countries. The most salient of
those affecting El Salvador are listed below.




17. (U) USAID Programs: USAID's current labor justice programs
are regional programs, and the areas of assistance listed below
generally apply to all the CAFTA-DR countries:



-- Strengthening Labor Justice Program for CAFTA-DR aims at
transparent and efficient labor justice through the use of
electronic case tracking and management systems in all CAFTA-DR
countries, the raising of professional standards in the judiciary
and labor-related sectors, and the use of alternative dispute

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resolution in labor justice cases.



-- Citizens' Access to Labor Justice Program for CAFTA-DR works
with civil society organizations to increase access to labor
justice. The components of the program are: strengthening public
defense (free legal aid),civil society monitoring of labor
justice, training of the ombudsman's offices in labor
discrimination, and interest-based bargaining for labor conflicts.



-- Modernization of Labor Ministries Program for CAFTA-DR supported
the use of information communication technology (ICT) by Ministries
of Labor throughout the region in order to deliver services to
workers and employers, as well as to the ministries' civil
servants. The project assisted the Labor Ministries to upgrade
antiquated systems, hire and train professional personnel,
reorganize to better utilize management information, and identify
dedicated financing needed for sustainability. The project ended
in December 2009.



-- More information on USAID programs is available at
http://www.usaid.gov/sv/development.html.




18. (U) Other programs of note include the following:



-- The GOES, in conjunction with the ILO, operated child labor
awareness programs supported by the Department of Labor to
encourage school attendance, and developed a "Road Map" in
conjunction with the ILO for the elimination of child labor in its
worst forms by 2015 and in its totality by 2020. The private
sector also provides support for efforts to combat child labor.



-- Cumple y Gana, a Department of Labor (DOL)-funded NGO, recently
completed a training program for MOL inspectors, assisting in the
building of more effective and reliable Labor Ministry Inspection
Systems to enforce labor laws.



-- Solidarity, an AFL-CIO outreach organization funded in part by
DRL, also works with local NGO Centro de Estudios y Apoyo Laboral
(Center for Labor Studies and Support, abbreviated CEAL) to train
labor organizations about basic labor law and international labor
instruments that protect the rights of workers.



-- Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) - in partnership with
the Center for Latin American Competitiveness and Sustainable
Development (CLACDS) at the INCAE business school - conducts a
Responsible Competitiveness program that targets companies,
executives, and investors throughout the region to promote
corporate social responsibility (CSR).



-- Improving Employer Compliance with Social Security Laws, a
Department of Labor project implemented through Alexius
International, is creating a communications platform that will
allow the GOES to forward social security payment receipt
notifications to workers to allow them to notify the Social
Security Institute in case of an anomaly, e.g., nonpayment of
benefits by an employer.



-- In January, Department of Labor (DOL) Deputy Undersecretary for
International Affairs Sandra Polaski met with GOES officials to
promote the Better Work Program and to initiate discussions on a
new child labor program (ref B). The DOL plans further meetings
with GOES officials to implement these programs.



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Recommendations

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19. (U) El Salvador's foremost co-operation needs at this time are
guidance in the rule of law regarding the administration of labor
law, contract enforcement, and mediation. Post's recommendations
and suggestions for further cooperation assistance for El Salvador
are the following:



-- Improvement of labor sentences enforcement (including design and
implementation of preventive measures);



-- Linkage of administrative (Ministry of Labor) and judicial
(labor court) labor processes, including enforcement of
administrative decisions, and rules of evidence;



-- Restructuring and strengthening bar associations;



-- Legal reforms, including reforms to the procedural labor code
and occupational safety requirements.



-- Studies on migratory workers and working conditions for migrants
in El Salvador.




20. (U) POC for USAID Labor Programs in El Salvador is Regional
Labor Justice Programs Manager Ivan Seassal. Contact:
iseassal@usaid.gov; phone:(503) 2501-3382.




21. (U) Embassy POC is Labor Officer Michael Roth. Contact:
rothmr@state.gov; phone: (503) 2501-2050.
McGEE