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Panama

Government Programs and Policies to Eliminate the WorstForms of Child Labor

The Government of Panama has been a member of ILO-IPEC since1996.[3343] With funding from USDOL, the Department of Statistics and Census of the GeneralAudit Office of Panama conducted a national child labor survey with technicalassistance from ILO-IPEC’s SIMPOC.[3344] ILO-IPEC, with USDOL funding, supported a baseline survey on child labor in thecoffee sector in Panama that was completed in 2002.[3345] Panama is also participating in a USDOL funded ILO-IPEC program aimed atinstitutional capacity building, strengthening of law enforcement mechanisms,awareness raising, and combating child labor in the rural and urban informalsectors,[3346]as well as a regional project aimed at combating commercial sexualexploitation.[3347] A Canadian-funded ILO-IPEC project gathered information on child domestic laborin Panama.[3348] Under this project, the National Committee for the Eradication of Child Laborand Protection for Working Minors and the Ministry of Labor are coordinatingwith ILO-IPEC to develop action programs aimed at raising awareness andremoving children from domestic work.[3349]

The Committee for the Eradication of Child Labor andProtection for Working Minors was established in 1997 by the Government ofPanama in order to create a National Plan for the Progressive Elimination ofChild Labor.[3350] The Ministry of Youth, Women, Children, and Family has created training andassistance centers for children living in urban areas such as Panama City andColón, and for those living in rural areas including Chiriquí, Veraguas, andCoclé. The centers provide health care, education opportunities, andvocational and social skills training to children and their families in aneffort to prevent child labor. [3351] Members of the Ministry of Labor’s Child Labor Unit, NGOs, and other governmentagencies have participated in courses and workshops aimed at raising awarenesson domestic labor, commercial sexual exploitation, data measurement on childlabor, the development of a plan of action to prevent child work on Panama Citystreets, and forced child labor.[3352]In July 2003, the Panamanian Declaration Against the Commercial SexualExploitation and Non-Commercial Exploitation of Children and Adolescents wassigned by government agencies, NGOs, international organizations, and otherpublic and private institutions.[3353]

Through its Education for All efforts and its 10-yearstrategy for education (1997-2006), the government seeks to provide greateropportunity, access and services to groups such as marginalized rural and urbanpopulations, indigenous populations and the disabled.[3354] In 2000, the World Bank approved a loan of USD 35 million to help thegovernment improve the quality and efficiency of basic education in a projectthat is expected to benefit about 60 percent of Panama=s children attending primary and secondaryschool. The funds are being used to upgrade, expand and rehabilitate run-downor inadequate school buildings; provide textbooks and instructional materialsand poverty-based scholarships at public schools, including scholarshipstargeted toward indigenous children; enhance teacher training in rural and marginal urbancommunities; expand early childhood and pre-school education programs; andstrengthen the Ministry of Education’s capacity and decentralization efforts.[3355] In 2002, the Ministry of Education’s Basic Education Unit developed a plan andprograms of study for its primary education centers and is working to improvethe quality of basic education.[3356] The Ministry of Youth, Women, Children, and Family began a small program ofroving classrooms in an effort to educate rural children during the harvest.[3357]

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

In 2003, the National Child Labor Survey results estimatedthat 57,524 children ages 5 to 17 years in Panama were working (7.9 percent ofthis age group).[3358] Children are found working in rural areas during the harvesting periods forsugar cane, coffee, bananas, melons, and tomatoes.[3359] While most working children in Panama are engaged in agricultural activities,especially among the indigenous population, such work is usually dismissed aspart of the local culture.[3360] Children from indigenous communities in Panama also accompany their parents towork in Costa Rica during the coffee harvest.[3361] Children in Panama also work as domestic servants.[3362] Child labor exists in urban areas,[3363]especially in the informal sector.[3364] A 1998 study of Panama City=sjuvenile detention center found that the vast majority of detainees had beenworking as street vendors, car washers, and supermarket packers when they werearrested for delinquency.[3365] Urban supermarkets reportedly allow children as young as 9 years old to baggroceries in return for tips. Although not formally employed by a firm, these childrenconform to schedules, wear uniforms, comply with codes of conduct, and takeorders from supermarket employees.[3366] The commercial sexual exploitation of children has been reported, and childtrafficking within Panama is a problem.[3367]

In Panama, education is free and compulsory through theequivalent of ninth grade.[3368] In 2000, the gross primary enrollment rate was 111.6 percent, and the netprimary enrollment rate was 100.2 percent.[3369] Attendance rates are not available for Panama. While enrollment rates indicatea level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children’sparticipation in school.[3370] In 1999, 92 percent of children enrolled in primary school persisted to grade5.[3371]

The proportion of primary school dropouts is higher in ruraland indigenous areas combined, than in urban areas.[3372] Many rural areas do not have access to secondary education and thegovernment does not cover transportation costs.[3373] Children from poor families often do not attend school due to lack of transportationand the need to migrate with their families during the harvesting season.[3374] School attendance is a particular problem in the Darien province and inindigenous communities.[3375] About one-third of children from the indigenous communities miss the first 3months of the academic year to work in the coffee harvest.[3376] According to the Ministry of Youth, Women, Children and Family, 82 percent ofthe children in rural areas are absent from school during the harvest season.[3377]

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The Labor Code and the Constitution set the minimum age foremployment at 14 years of age. However, the Labor Code allows children lessthan 15 to work only if they have completed primary school.[3378] According to the 1995 Law on Education, no child under 15 years of age isallowed to engage in work that interferes with his or her school attendance.[3379] Further, Article 119 of the Labor Code permits minors aged 12 to 15 to performfarm or domestic labor as long as the work is light and does not interfere withschooling.[3380] The Labor Code also stipulates that minors under the age of 18 are prohibitedfrom working in nightclubs, bars or other places where the consumption ofalcoholic beverages is allowed; in transportation and electric energy;underground work; and the handling of explosives and flammables.[3381] With the exception of work in nightclubs, these provisions may be waived if aminor performs the job as part of vocational training and work is conductedunder the supervision of competent authorities.[3382] Children younger than 16 may work no more than six hours a day or 36 hours perweek, and children under 18 may work no more than seven hours a day or 42 hoursper week.[3383] Children under the age of 18 may not work between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8a.m.[3384]

The Labor Code also prohibits forced labor by children.[3385] Article 501 of the Family Code[3386]and Article 215C of the Penal Code criminalize child prostitution and childpornography for minors.[3387] Trafficking in children is prohibited under the Penal Code.[3388] The Penal Code calls for prison sentences of two to six years for the promotionor facilitation of entry or exit of a person to or from Panama for the purposeof prostitution.[3389]

The Superior Tribunal for Minors and the Superior Tribunalfor Families are the judicial bodies responsible for overseeing the protectionand care of children. The Ministry of Youth, Women, Children, and Familyproposes and reviews laws and monitors government performance with regard tochildren=s issues.[3390] The Ministry of Labor has 12 staff members, including seven newly hired childlabor inspectors.[3391] The Ministry of Labor responds to child labor complaints and has the authorityto order the termination of unauthorized employment; however, it lackssufficient staff to enforce some child labor provisions in rural areas.[3392] Businesses that employ an underage child are subject to civil fines, whileemployers who endanger the physical or mental health of a child can faceimprisonment.[3393] Although Panama has developed a strong legal framework to combat the worstforms of child labor and has conducted several child labor inspections in thecoffee, sugar, melon, and tomato sectors,[3394]child labor violations continue to occur, especially on commercial coffee andsugar farms and in the informal sector.[3395]

The Government of Panama ratified ILO Convention 138 and ILOConvention 182 on October 31, 2000.[3396]

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