P 181848Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO DEPT OF LABOR  PRIORITY
SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1345
INFO EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
LABOR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY

UNCLAS CARACAS 000865 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) 
DOL/ILAB (RRIGBY) 
DRL/ILCSR (MMITTELHAUSER) 
G/TIP (SSTEINER) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EIND ELAB ETRD PHUM SOCI VE
SUBJECT: VENEZUELA: INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD 
LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF GOODS 
 
REF: STATE 43120 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY.  This cable responds to reftel request for 
information on forced labor and child labor in the production 
of goods in Venezuela.  Venezuela, a high volume, oil 
producing nation, is largely dependent on imports, and as a 
result does not have a tradition of child labor in the 
production of goods.  Child laborers predominately work in 
the agricultural sector or in small-to-medium sized 
businesses.  Incidents of forced labor in the production of 
goods are uncommon in the formal and informal sectors of the 
Venezuelan economy.  Local organizations promoting the rights 
of children, however, speculate that two-thirds of child 
laborers, in legal and illegal employment activities, are 
working in the informal sector.  Post does not have 
information regarding child labor in the production of any 
specific good.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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NARRATIVE 
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¶2.  Venezuelan law protects children from exploitation in the 
workplace, but enforcement is often lacking.  Venezuelan law 
permits children between the ages of 12 and 14 to work only 
with special government permission.  Children between the 
ages of 14 and 16 may not work without the permission of 
their legal guardians.  Children under 16 may work not more 
than six hours per day or 30 hours per week.  Minors may work 
only between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. 
 
¶3.  With respect to economic exploitation, including child 
labor, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child 
noted October 2007 that the Venezuelan government has a 
National Program of Protection of Child Workers (PRONAT), but 
regretted the lack of information about the "reality and 
extent" of children engaged in all forms of labor activities. 
 The Committee recommended that the Venezuelan government 
evaluate its National Program and "determine the numbers and 
categories of children working informally or formally in the 
economy and take all necessary measure to protect children 
from economic exploitation." 
 
¶4.  The Community Center for Apprenticeship and Promotion of 
the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CECODAP), a local NGO 
promoting the rights of children and adolescents, noted that 
it is unaware of specific incidents of forced or child labor 
in the production of goods in Venezuela.  Instead, child 
laborers predominantly work in the agricultural sector or in 
small-to-medium sized businesses.  A representative from 
CECODAP said that children working in the commercial sex 
trade, particularly in mining areas, are at greater risk for 
exploitation.  The same official added that the number of 
minors working in the formal sector had decreased, while 
those working in the informal sector has steadily increased 
in recent years. 
 
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Incidence 
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¶5.  Post notes that incidence statistics provided by 
government agencies do not distinguish between voluntary, 
forced labor, or exploitative labor as defined by cable 
guidance (Reftel).  A representative from CECODAP told Poloff 
that the lack of reliable statistical data on the working 
conditions of child laborers makes it difficult for 
government agencies and NGOs alike to design programs that 
address the needs of this population.  The CECODAP official 
noted that more information is needed on the types of 
industries that seek child laborers, the living and family 
conditions of these children, and whether the children attend 
school while working. 
 
¶6.  The Bolivarian Government of Venezuela (BRV) Statistics 
Office categorizes labor by children under the age of 16 into 
different sectors, but does not detail what specific goods 
children are producing.  In 2006, according to the BRV, 
131,902 boys and 10,196 girls worked in the agricultural 
sector, 3,772 boys and 10,285 girls worked in industrial 
manufacturing, and 36,106 boys and 746 girls worked in 
construction. 
 
Downes