US embassy cable - 05GUATEMALA2014

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 002014 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB:TINA MCCARTER 
DRL/IL FOR LAUREN HOLT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, ECON, PGOV, PHUM, SOCI, EAID, ETRD, GT 
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA'S CHILD LABOR UPDATE 
 
REF: STATE 143552 
 
1. The information below is keyed to the reftel paragraphs: 
 
A. The Guatemalan Labor Code sets the minimum age for 
employment at 14 years.  In exceptional cases, the Labor 
Inspectorate can provide work permits to children under the 
age of 14, although the practice has diminished 
significantly.  The Inspectorate issued 20 permits in 2004, 
primarily for apprenticeships.  The workday for these 
children is capped at six hours per day, and they are 
prohibited from working at night, overtime, and in dangerous 
occupations.  The age limit is consistent with completing 
mandatory educational requirements.  Guatemala's laws on 
child labor are consistent with the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) standards.  The Government of Guatemala 
(GOG) ratified Convention 182 and has developed a list of 
occupations considered to be the worst forms of child labor. 
 
B. The GOG designated the Child Workers Protection Unit of 
the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to implement and enforce child 
labor laws.  The judiciary can impose criminal penalties, 
civil fines, or court orders based on recommendations from 
the MOL.  Laws governing the employment of minors were not 
enforced effectively due to the weakness of the labor 
inspection and labor court systems.  More than 70 percent of 
Guatemala's economy, however, is in the informal sector, 
where the MOL has little influence.  The ILO estimated that 
23 percent of children under the age of 18 worked in 2004; 
virtually all in the informal sector.  The MOL is engaged in 
on-going training programs regarding child labor and other 
forms of labor exploitation. 
 
C. The Defense of Children's Rights Unit in the Human Rights 
Ombudsman's Office and the Social Welfare Secretariat of the 
President's Office are charged with the responsibility to 
prevent and withdraw children from exploitative situations. 
The GOG has, through cooperation with the ILO's International 
Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), enacted 
programs to combat child labor in the fireworks industry, in 
the production of gravel, in the growing of coffee and 
broccoli, in domestic service, in trash picking, and in the 
commercial sex industry.  One of the programs offers 
scholarships and free meals during the year to encourage 
families to send children to school instead of work.  The 
Constitution provides for compulsory education for all 
children up to the sixth grade; this is widely ignored. 
 
D. The GOG established a National Commission for the 
Elimination of Child Labor in 2002 which supervises a 
comprehensive operational plan.  Much further effort will be 
required for the GOG to achieve its goals.  The GOG has 
publicly committed to eradicate the worst forms of child 
labor. 
 
E. Guatemala has made slow but continual progress toward 
eliminating the worst forms of child labor.  While child 
labor is still common (note the 23 percent figure above), the 
underlying causes are linked to the country's endemic 
poverty.  As economic and social development has been slow to 
reach underdeveloped areas, child labor indicators hold 
steady. 
WHARTON