US embassy cable - 04GUATEMALA2415

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUATEMALA 002415 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, ETRD, EAID, PHUM, SOCI, GT 
SUBJECT: CHILD LABOR UPDATE: GUATEMALA 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 163453 
 
     B. 03 GUATEMAL 02108 
     C. 02 GUATEMALA 2682 
 
 1.  Summary: Significant child labor developments in 
Guatemala over the past year include the introduction in 
Congress of legislation raising the minimum age to work and 
NGO efforts to help children leave the fireworks industry for 
less hazardous jobs.   ILO-IPEC programs launched since 2001 
aim to eliminate child labor in agriculture, one of the mayor 
industries for child labor.  The Interamerican Commission on 
Human Rights noted that, with ILO-IPEC backing, the GOG 
offered scholarships and free meals in late 2003 to encourage 
families to send children to school instead of into the work 
force.  US DOL is also providing almost $8.3 million in 
grants to eliminate child labor in the agriculture sector and 
fireworks industry.  Still an ILO-IPEC report on child labor 
in Guatemala, released in July 2004, reveals that 23.8% of 
children between ages 10-14 participate in the workforce. End 
Summary 
 
Legislation introduced on minimum age to work 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2.    On November 19, 2003, then-President Alfonso Portillo 
sent Congress legislation to approve ILO Convention 138 on 
the minimum age for employment.  Once approved, the new law 
will raise the minimum age for employment from 14 to 15 years 
old.  The bill stipulates that children under 14 can only 
work under extraordinary circumstances.  If the source of 
employment involved hazardous conditions or questionable 
morality (i.e. prostitution, which is legal in Guatemala), 
minimum age would be 18. 
 
3.  These regulations are especially applicable in mines, 
gravel production factories, sweatshops, construction sites, 
electricity, gas and water supplier businesses, warehouses, 
agriculture activities and transportation.  The bill is still 
in the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee. 
 
ILO-IPEC programs to eradicate child labor in Guatemala 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
4.  From September 2003 to June 2005, an ILO-IPEC project is 
working to prevent and eradicate child labor in the fireworks 
industry in San Juan and San Raymundo, Guatemala.  The 
objective involves persuading children and teenagers to stay 
in school and launching community projects to help families 
avoid resorting to putting their children to work. 
 
5.  Another ILO-IPEC project, which runs from September 2001 
to November 2004, focuses on eradicating child labor in 
gravel production in Retalhuleu.  An ILO-IPEC project, 
spanning from October 2000 to December 2003, was designed to 
eliminate child labor in broccoli production in Baja Verapaz 
by providing the children with education and other 
alternatives to work.  The coffee sector is also being 
covered by a similar project. 
 
Children, major work force in firecracker industry 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
6.  In 2004, the Ministry of Labor approved a set of 
technical safety regulations to operate fireworks factories. 
The norms will go into effect in 2005.  The Ministry of 
Education also initiated a program to facilitate educational 
materials for minors who do not attend school and are 
employed in fireworks factories. 
 
7.  Children of seven years of age and younger are still 
employed in fireworks factories, many of which are 
underground firms.  One case reported by AFP indicates that 
some of these children study in the morning and work in the 
afternoon (though most work fulltime).  According to Boris 
Galvan, coordinator for the Integral Support Association 
(ASI),a child could earn a total of $6.40 dollars per week 
working part-time and producing 25 pounds of firecrackers a 
week. 
 
8.  According to press reports, this business is profitable 
for employers, generating approximately $4 million USD a 
year, but dangerous for employees.  Galvan states that most 
children work fulltime, and estimates that some 30 children 
die each year in incidents related to fireworks manufacturing. 
 
9.  In San Juan Sacatepequez, 50 kilometers from Guatemala 
City, an estimated 3,500 homes (mostly indigenous households 
with five to six children) serve as workshops where some 
10,000 people (including 5,000 children, according to some 
NGOs) manufacture fireworks.  Many work on 12-hour shifts, or 
longer, because they are paid per product, not by the hour. 
However, Galvan pointed out the success of ASI in persuading 
at least 400 families since late 2001 to abandon this 
business and to engage in less hazardous productive 
activities, after helping them gain access to small loans 
with ILO support. 
10.  Other press reports indicate that only 46 fireworks 
producers are legally registered, an estimated 1.31 per cent 
of all operating factories.  In factories, minors are exposed 
to toxic, flammable, and explosive materials, aside from poor 
hygiene and safety conditions. 
 
 
IACHR highlights GOG,s efforts to fight child labor 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
11.  In its 2003 country report, the Interamerican Commission 
on Human Rights (IACHR) noted that, with ILO-IPEC backing, 
the GOG offered scholarships and free meals in 2003 and 2004 
to encourage families to send children who had formerly 
worked in broccoli, coffee, gravel and fireworks industries 
to school instead of into the work force (in San Marcos, 
Retalhuleu, and other municipalities).  The GOG did not 
provide the IACHR with the number of children benefited by 
this plan.  Minors engaged in child labor attend school an 
average of 1.78 years, which is half the average for the 
children who are not employed.  According to the Ministry of 
Education, 89% of children from ages 7-12 attended public 
school in 2003.  However, only 30% of children 13-15 and 16% 
of children 16-18 were registered in the public school 
system. 
 
12.  In 2003, the Ministry of Labor, along with other state 
institutions and NGOs, joined the National Network to 
Eliminate Child Labor in Dangerous Work Environments. 
However, the IACHR noted in December 2003 that the GOG does 
not fully comply with internal legislation or international 
agreements. 
 
13.  In 2003, the GOG launched the Educational Program for 
Working Boys and Girls (PENNAT) in markets, parks, and 
streets in both urban and rural areas.  As part of this 
program, the Ministry of Education distributes 
educational/teaching materials to working children on topics 
normally covered in primary school. 
 
 
USDOL grants aimed at eliminating child labor 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
14.  In FY 2003, US DOL provided $3 million to the ILO/IPEC 
to carry out a project in Guatemala and other Central 
American countries to combat child labor in the agricultural 
sector. 
 
15.  In FY 2003, the US DOL provided $307,000 to ILO/IPEC to 
implement phase II of a project targeting children working in 
the fireworks industry in Guatemala. 
 
16.  With FY 2003 funds, and through the Child Labor 
Education Initiative grant program, USDOL is exploring the 
possibility of funding a $5 million USD regional project 
aimed at providing basic, prevocational, vocational, and 
technical education to children working or at-risk of working 
in the worst forms of child labor.  The regional program 
included Guatemala, among other Central American countries. 
The allocation of funds per country will depend on the 
individual needs of each country.  USDOL anticipates funding 
this project by September 30, 2004. 
 
17.  Letters conveying DOL's interest in this regional 
project were sent to the Ministers of Education and Labor in 
Central America.  A DOL representative visited Guatemala in 
October 2003 to meet with Ministry of Education and Labor 
officials to discuss this possible project.  The GOG 
expressed interest in this project. 
 
Much Remains To Be Done 
----------------------- 
 
18.  An ILO study indicates that 23.8% of Guatemalan children 
between ages 10 to 14 are employed.  Bruce Harris, head of 
Casa Alianza, indicates that official Guatemalan GDP figures 
rest on results produced by a workforce that includes 
children as young as 12 years old. 
 
19.  In July 2004, the ILO-IPEC (International Labor 
Organization-International Program on the Elimination of 
Child Labor) published the results of the Child Labor Survey 
in Guatemala covering statistics compiled from July to 
December 2000.  According to the ILO,s data, 23.4% of 
children aged 5-17 years work (a total of 937,530 children). 
The survey notes that 91.7% of working children claim that 
they began working before they turned 15 years old.  Seventy 
three per cent of working children live in rural areas.  The 
agricultural, hunting, forestry and fishing industries 
include 55.8% of child labor.  Working children spend an 
average of 39.6 hours per week at work.  Children engaged in 
child labor have a school non-attendance rate of 54%. 
HAMILTON