VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #0901/01 1292057
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 092057Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2670
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 4250
RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0832

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000901 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL FOR ILAB TINA MCCARTER 
DEPT FOR DRL/IL TU DANG 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PGOV PHUM SOCI ECON GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA'S CHILD LABOR UPDATE 
 
REF: A. 06 STATE 184972 
 ¶B. 05 GUATEMALA 2014 
 
¶1.  Post submits the following update to 2005 information (ref B) on 
child labor.  Delay in submission was due to unavailability of 
official government statistics on child labor until April 26. 
Responses are keyed to Ref A. 
 
¶A. Laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of child labor 
 
Two Executive Orders concerning child labor were signed by the 
president in 2006: 
-- Executive Order 112-2006, Labor Protection of Child and 
Adolescent Workers, which outlines the rules, based on the Labor 
Code, governing the employment of child and adolescent workers, 
including a requirement that employers guarantee them the right to 
not be the object of any form of negligence, discrimination, 
exploitation, violence, cruelty, or oppression, and protection from 
all forms of maltreatment; and 
-- Executive Order 250-2006, Application of ILO Convention 182 
regarding the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Immediate Action for 
its Elimination, which defines the scope of application and lists 
the worst forms of child labor. 
 
The Labor Inspectorate issued 2,689 work permits to adolescents aged 
14-17 in 2006.  Of the 2,689 permits, 1,864 were issued to teenage 
boys, while 825 were issued to teenage girls.  All were provided 
information on their labor rights.  Additionally, 1,733 secondary 
school students were educated on their labor rights and obligations. 
 
 
¶B. Regulations for implementation and enforcement of proscriptions 
against the worst forms of child labor 
 
The Child Workers Protection Unit of the Ministry of Law (MOL) has 
responsibility for implementing and enforcing child labor laws; 
however, like most Guatemalan government entities, the Unit lacks 
resources to effectively carry out its mandate.  The extent to which 
complaints are investigated and violations addressed is limited due 
to Guatemala's weak labor inspection and labor court systems. 
Guatemala has less than 300 labor inspectors and less than 30 labor 
courts nationwide.  In 2006, the Labor Inspectorate handled 4 cases 
involving children under the age of 14 and 247 cases involving 
adolescents aged 14 to 17. 
 
The 2006 budget for the Child Workers Protection Unit was Q329,740 
(approx. USD 43,400).  The government allocated Q50,000 (approx. USD 
6,600), which was supplemented with donations from Save the 
Children-Norway (Q60,000) and UNICEF (Q219,740). 
 
The Ministry of Labor has provided awareness raising and training 
activities for officials responsible for enforcing child labor laws. 
 In addition, in 2006, the Child Workers Protection Unit provided 
information on labor rights to 2,689 adolescents who requested work 
permits, and 1,733 secondary school students. 
 
¶C. Social programs to prevent and withdraw children from the worst 
forms of child labor 
 
In 2006, a total of 8,524 educational scholarships, totaling 
Q2,557,200 (approx. USD 336,500), were awarded to school-aged 
children in the department of Guatemala. 
 
In addition, the Child Workers Protection Unit undertook various 
preventive and protective efforts, including: 
 
-- conducted 23 visits to pyrotechnic manufacturing plants, in 
coordination with the MOL Directorate of Capacity and Education, to 
promote certification of pyrotechnic specialists and to inspect work 
conditions; 
-- implemented a pilot program of vocational training for 28 
adolescent workers; 
-- implemented a plan of action to prevent child labor in indigenous 
populations in the municipality of Santa Cruz Comitancillo in the 
department of San Marcos; 
-- created a UNICEF-funded program of assistance to adolescent 
workers, including development of workshops to train labor 
inspectors on detection of child and adolescent labor; 
-- coordinated with the Executive Secretariats for the Eradication 
of Child Labor in the departments of Huehuetenango, El Quiche, and 
San Marcos; and 
-- worked with other government agencies to draft a work plan to 
address the problem of children working in the waste industry, 
particularly in the Guatemala City dump. 
 
¶D. Comprehensive policy aimed at the elimination of the worst forms 
of child labor 
 
The inter-institutional National Commission for the Prevention and 
Eradication of Child Labor and Protection for the Adolescent Worker 
is responsible for overseeing implementation of the national plan of 
action on child labor.  The plan was originally a five-year (2001 - 
2004) plan but has been extended.  The GOG has made a public 
commitment to eradicate the worst forms of child labor and is taking 
action to achieve its goals.  The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, 
with the support of the National Commission, plans to develop a 
monitoring system to track progress on the national plan in each 
municipality. 
 
¶E. Progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor 
 
Guatemala is making slow but continual progress toward eliminating 
the worst forms of child labor.  The problem is linked to the 
country's widespread and pervasive poverty, especially in the rural 
areas.  According to the most recent estimates of the Center for 
National Economic Investigation, based on a 2004 survey conducted by 
the National Institute of Statistics, 75.4 percent of Guatemala's 
workforce is employed in the informal sector. 
DERHAM