VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKV #0953/01 1411105
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201105Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY KYIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5621
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0121

UNCLAS KYIV 000953 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT OF LABOR FOR DOL/ILAB - RACHEL RIGBY 
STATE FOR DRL/ILCSR (MMITTELHAUSER), G/TIP (SSTEINER), AND 
EUR/UMB (RBMARCUS) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: INCIDENCE OF FORCED/CHILD LABOR IN THE 
PRODUCTION OF GOODS NOT SIGNIFICANT 
 
REFS: A) STATE 41381 
      B) 2007 KYIV 2925 
 
¶1. Summary: Cases of adult forced labor are extremely rare 
in Ukraine, and child labor, while still in existence, is 
not prevalent.  The GOU has adopted standards on child 
labor in line with international norms and has made some 
progress in recent years in tackling the problem.  Most 
child labor is involved in the service sector, particularly 
petty commerce, and illegal activities, like prostitution 
and pornography.  Child labor is also used at some 
unsanctioned coal mines, but the effect on Ukraine's total 
production of coal is insignificant.  Some children are 
likewise found working on small, family farms, but in most 
cases such work does not constitute exploitative child 
labor as defined by ILO Convention 182, and regardless has 
no significant impact on the national production of any 
particular agricultural commodities.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. Post recently provided detailed information on child 
labor in Ukraine as part of last year's Trade and 
Development Act (TDA) reporting requirement (ref B).  As 
requested by ref A, below Post provides updated information 
on child labor and forced labor issues. 
 
¶3. Post will also send this information via email to USDOL 
POC Rachel Rigby.  Post's POC is Christian Yarnell, 
Economic Officer - Email: yarnellc@state.gov; Phone: 011- 
380-44-490-4276; Fax: 011-380-44-490-4277). 
 
Overview: Forced/Child Labor Not Endemic in Ukraine 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶4. Conditions of slavery or practices similar to slavery 
are essentially nonexistent in Ukraine.  Cases of adult 
forced labor within the country are also extremely rare. 
(Note: Ukraine is, however, a source country and transit 
route for international trafficking-in-persons.  End note.) 
In addition, as established by the Constitution of Ukraine, 
child labor is also formally prohibited. 
 
¶5. Yet despite the formal prohibition, child labor was an 
integral part of the Soviet educational system, considered 
valuable experience in preparing children for the 
workplace, and has continued in independent Ukraine.  The 
collapse of the Ukrainian economy in the early 1990s 
fostered the emergence of a large shadow economy in which 
child labor became widely used.  Ukraine's Law "On 
Childhood Protection," however, provides the primary legal 
framework for combating child labor in line with 
International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 182, 
ratified by Ukraine in 2000.  The government investigates 
complaints and attempts to address violations, and has made 
significant progress in combating child labor in recent 
years. 
 
¶6. Through 563 spot inspections held during one month of 
2007, the State Labor Inspectorate, which enforces child 
labor laws in the formal sector, found 1500 cases in which 
adolescents under 18 years old were working.  Inspectors 
passed 62 cases to law enforcement bodies to pursue 
criminal prosecution.  Authorities filed administrative 
charges with the courts in 257 cases.  Information on how 
these cases concluded is not available.  Fifteen employers 
faced administrative liability for refusal to cooperate 
with labor inspectors. 
 
Sectors Involving Child Labor 
----------------------------- 
 
¶7. Petty commerce appears to be the most common occupation 
in which children are engaged, with approximately one third 
of working children selling products on the streets or in 
unofficial markets.  Indeed, child labor in Ukraine exists 
most often in the informal sector, and frequently where the 
activities children are engaged in are illegal.  Common 
examples include sex services and pornography, although 
there is no reliable data as to the extent of child abuse 
in these areas. 
 
Coal 
---- 
 
¶8. One sector where child labor could result in the 
production of legal goods is unsanctioned coal mining. 
Experts suspect that unsanctioned coal mines continue to 
 
employee children, and, indeed, in 2007 Ukrainian police 
announced an investigation in the eastern oblast of Donetsk 
of a boarding school for disabled children that allowed a 
group of underage orphans to sift and load coal for a 
nearby company.  Recent surveys conducted by the ILO 
indicate that enhanced GOU enforcement efforts have at 
least eliminated child labor underground at unsanctioned 
coal mines, although children continued to work on the 
surface at such mines. 
 
¶9. Because child labor is limited to unsanctioned coal 
mines, and because none of the 165 legitimate mines 
operating in Ukraine are believed to use child labor, the 
incidence of child labor in the production of coal in 
Ukraine is not significant.  Coal extracted from 
unsanctioned coal mines likely accounts for only a very 
small portion of the national total. 
 
Agriculture 
----------- 
 
¶10. Child labor continues to be used on some small, family 
farms throughout Ukraine as well.  Children working in the 
agricultural sector are typically engaged in weeding, 
working as shepherds, fruit picking, caring for domestic 
livestock, working with fertilizers, and repairing 
agricultural equipment.  Ukrainian law, however, permits 
underage children from 14 years old to do some forms of 
agricultural work on a short-term basis, with the consent 
of one parent, meaning that such work would not be 
considered exploitative child labor as defined by ILO 
Convention 182.  In addition, the incidence of any child 
labor, legal or otherwise, is likely insignificant in terms 
of Ukraine's total agricultural production.  It is also 
unlikely that child labor is used to produce any particular 
agricultural commodities, since working children tend to be 
found on family farms, not specialized agricultural 
enterprises. 
 
TAYLOR