Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 4/27/1990 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 10/11/2001 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
|
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
X |
| Sector Action Plan (Commercial Sexual Exploitation) |
X |
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The Guatemalan National Institute of Statistics estimated that 16.3 percent of children ages 6 to 14 years in Guatemala were working in 2000.[1784] Of this population, more males (66 percent) than females (34 percent) were working, and 77 percent of children were employed in rural areas.[1785] Labor force participation rates of children are highest in areas with a large indigenous population.[1786] On average, working children ages 5 to 14 years work 6.5 hours per day and 5 days per week.[1787] Children help harvest commercial crops such as coffee[1788] and broccoli.[1789] Children are also employed in family businesses,[1790] in the fireworks[1791] and stone quarries sectors,[1792] and as domestic servants[1793] and garbage pickers.[1794]
Street children tend to be especially vulnerable to sexual exploitation and other forms of violence, constituting a serious problem in Guatemala.[1795] In general, child prostitution is on the rise.[1796] Guatemala is considered a source, transit, and destination country for trafficked children. There is also evidence of internal trafficking.[1797] Children from poor families in Guatemala tend to be drawn into trafficking for purposes of prostitution through advertisements for lucrative foreign jobs or through personal recruitment.[1798]
Education is free and compulsory in Guatemala up to grade 6, or from ages 7 to 14.[1799] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 103.0 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 85.0 percent.[1800] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Recent primary school attendance statistics are not available for Guatemala. As of 2000, 55.8 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.[1801] The inflexibility and irrelevancy of the education system, insufficient academic coverage, and low quality of services have been cited as some of the reasons children leave Guatemalan schools. Economic activity and poor health contribute to the fact that 76 percent of rural children who enter first grade to drop out before completing primary school.[1802] Children who do not attend school are concentrated in rural areas, and a disproportionate number of them are girls in indigenous communities.[1803] Sixty-two percent of working children attend school compared to 78 percent of non-working children. Working children tend to complete only 1.8 years of schooling, roughly half the average years completed by non-working children.[1804]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years.[1805] In some exceptional cases, the Labor Inspection Agency can provide work permits to children under the age of 14, provided that the work is related to an apprenticeship, is light work of short duration and intensity, is necessary due to conditions of extreme poverty within the child’s family, and enables the child to meet compulsory education requirements.[1806] Minors age 14 to 17 are prohibited from working at night, overtime, in places that are unsafe and dangerous, or in bars or other establishments where alcoholic beverages are served.[1807] The workday for minors under the age of 14 years is limited to 6 hours; minors age 14 to 17 may work 7 hours.[1808] In July 2003, the Law for Integrated Protection of Children and Adolescents entered into force, which called for the establishment of a National Commission on Children and Adolescents and outlined laws governing the protection of children from trafficking and economic and sexual exploitation.[1809]
Article 188 of the Penal Code prohibits child pornography and prostitution.[1810] Procuring and inducing a person into prostitution are crimes that can result in either fines or imprisonment, with heavier penalties if victims under 12 years old are involved.[1811] Trafficking for the purpose of prostitution is punishable by imprisonment of 1 to 3 years and a fine, again, with enhanced penalties if the victim is a minor.[1812] The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children.[1813]
The Child Workers Protection Unit within the Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing restrictions on child labor as well as educating children, parents, and employers on the rights of minors in the labor market. According to the U.S. Department of State, labor laws governing the employment of minors are not well enforced because of the ineffectiveness of labor inspection and labor court systems.[1814] The Defense of Children’s Rights unit in the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office and the newly established Minor Victims Section of the Prosecutor’s Office investigate trafficking cases.[1815] The Minors Section of the National Civilian Police’s Criminal Investigative Service successfully apprehended child traffickers. Rescued underage victims were provided with rehabilitative services primarily run by NGOs, but some shelters were operated by the government.[1816]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Guatemala, through its National Commission for the Elimination of Child Labor, is implementing the 2001 National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor and the Protection of the Adolescent Worker.[1817] The government included in its 2000-2004 agenda for social programs the goal of decreasing the number of child workers by 10 percent.[1818] The Secretariat of Social Welfare has also published a National Plan of Action focusing specifically on the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.[1819] As mandated by the Law for Integrated Protection of Children and Adolescents of 2003, a National Commission of Childhood and Adolescence was established in May 2004.[1820] In addition, an anti-trafficking unit was created in the Public Ministry’s Office of the Special Prosecutor for Women to lead trafficking investigations.[1821]
The Government of Guatemala is collaborating with ILO-IPEC on eight projects aimed at eliminating child labor in various sectors and geographical areas.[1822] ILO-IPEC is assisting the government to include child labor in curriculum review and teacher trainings at the national level, as well as in proposed reforms to the Labor Code.[1823] Guatemala is currently participating in two USDOL-funded ILO-IPEC regional projects aimed at combating commercial sexual exploitation of children[1824] and child labor in commercial agriculture.[1825] The government is also collaborating with ILO-IPEC on USDOL-funded projects aimed at combating child labor in the fireworks,[1826] coffee,[1827] broccoli,[1828] and stone quarrying[1829] sectors. In addition, ILO-IPEC is carrying out a project aimed at raising awareness, collecting information, and providing direct attention to children involved in domestic work in the homes of third parties.[1830] The Ministry of Labor, the Unit for the Protection of Minors at Work, UNICEF, and ILO-IPEC have joined efforts to empower local leaders to monitor and run child labor action programs.[1831] In April 2004, the Solicitor General announced an agreement with the mayor of Guatemala City to develop a plan to rescue street children from exploitation.[1832] The Government of Guatemala is participating in a USD 5.5 million USDOL-funded regional project implemented by CARE, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services, to combat child labor through education.[1833]
The Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) addresses child labor by providing scholarships to children in need,[1834] administering extracurricular programs,[1835] and implementing school feeding programs in rural areas.[1836] MINEDUC continues to implement a bilingual education project[1837] and to reduce the indirect costs of education by providing school supplies to all children in primary school and eliminating their matriculation fees.[1838] MINEDUC’s National Self-Management Program for Educational Development provides legally organized communities, particularly in rural, indigenous, and hard to reach areas, with funding to increase access to and improve the quality of primary education.[1839] The World Bank is supporting a Universalization of Basic Education project through 2006, which seeks to improve the coverage, equity, and quality of primary education.[1840] USAID’s 2004-2008 Country Plan for Guatemala is focusing on improving public and private educational investments and promoting policies to increase educational quality, reduce drop out and repetition rates, and to close the educational gaps between rural indigenous communities and the rest of Guatemala.[1841] In August 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will provide funds for agricultural commodities for school meals in Guatemala.[1842]
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