VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #0693/01 1542054
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 022054Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5456

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000693 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL FOR ILAB RACHEL RIGBY 
DEPT FOR DRL/ILCSR MARK MITTELHAUSER 
DEPT ALSO FOR G/TIP STEVE STEINER AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA: INFORMATION ON CHILD/FORCED LABOR IN 
THE PRODUCTION OF GOODS 
 
REF: STATE 43120 
 
Following is information on forced labor and exploitative 
child labor in the production of goods in Guatemala, as 
requested reftel.  Post obtained the information from 
Guatemalan government agencies, international organizations, 
research institutions and universities, NGOs, labor 
organizations, unions, and other USG agencies for use in 
preparing a list of goods produced with child labor, forced 
labor, or forced child labor, as mandated by the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005.  Copies of 
source materials will be sent separately per reftel. 
 
COFFEE/CORN 
----------- 
Type of exploitation:  exploitative child labor 
 
Source/year of information:  Monitoring and Evaluation 
Specialist, USG-funded regional "Primero Aprendo" Project 
(2008); Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados (2008) 
 
Description:  The "Primero Aprendo" project has documented 
cases of children under the legal working age of 14 who have 
worked or continue to work in agricultural crop production in 
violation of Guatemalan labor laws and international 
agreements to which Guatemala is a party.  It has also 
documented cases of adolescents between 14 and 17 years of 
age who have worked in excess of the maximum allowable hours. 
 Most were working illegally in the harvesting of coffee and 
cultivation and harvesting of corn.  Project implementers CRS 
and CARE reported 347 children and adolescents working in 
these sectors in the Departments of San Marcos, Quiche, and 
Baja Verapaz.  Most of these children and adolescents work in 
the informal sector, often on small family farms or in 
related family micro-enterprises.  The hours and work 
conditions violate Guatemalan labor laws and either keeps 
children out of school or adversely affects their studies. 
According to the project's Monitoring and Evaluation 
Specialist, illegal exploitation of children occurs even in 
cases where Guatemala exports so-called "Fair Trade" coffee 
under the certification that the coffee was produced by small 
farmers in an environmentally sustainable manner.  "Fair 
Trade" coffee certification does not include verification 
that children were not illegally exploited in the production 
chain. 
According to Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados social workers, 
children are employed to help pick coffee beans during the 
harvest season.  The children of farm laborers join their 
parents in the field.  Each family is paid by the pound or 
bucket of beans they collect.  The families put their 
children to work to increase their yield.  While working with 
poor families throughout the country, the social workers 
found families where every member was employed in the 
harvesting of coffee beans.  The farms pay by the pound, so 
children were removed from school, at times against their 
will, to help with the harvesting. 
 
Incidence:  Information indicates that the incidence of 
exploitative child labor in coffee and corn harvesting was 
widespread. 
 
Action:  To date, "Primero Aprendo" has registered 1,075 
children and adolescents in its programs and has withdrawn 
all but 81 of them from exploitative child labor conditions. 
It is working to withdraw the remaining 81 this year before 
termination of the project in March 2009. 
 
FIREWORKS 
--------- 
Type of exploitation:  exploitative child labor 
 
Source/year of information:  ILO Qualitative Study of Child 
Labor in Guatemala; Ministry of Labor, Unit of Protection of 
Adolescent Workers (2008); ILO/IPEC "Understanding Child 
QAdolescent Workers (2008); ILO/IPEC "Understanding Child 
Labor in Guatemala" Report Summary (2003); National Study of 
Child Labor in the Pyrotechnic Industry of Guatemala (2002, 
ILO); Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados (2008) 
 
Description:  The production of fireworks, considered one of 
the worst forms of child labor in Guatemala under government 
decree 250-2006 (Regulation of Application of ILO Convention 
182), generally takes place within family-run businesses. 
The 2002 "National Study of Child Labor in the Pyrotechnic 
Industry of Guatemala" estimated that more than 7,000 
workers, including 3,700 children, are involved in fireworks 
production in their homes.  The majority of the children 
involved in fireworks production are under 14 years of age. 
According to Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados social workers, 
 
children are employed in pulverizing and mixing chemicals, 
which are highly flammable and toxic.  The chemicals are 
often mixed in makeshift backyard operations with few, if 
any, safety precautions.  Often, these children are tricked 
into working in these facilities. 
 
According to ILO/IPEC, the production of fireworks is one of 
the most dangerous activities involving exploitative child 
labor.  Its principal raw material -- gunpowder -- makes it 
particularly explosive and toxic.  Children work in factories 
or in their own homes without benefit of any occupational 
safety or health measures, and risk damage to their skin and 
mucous membranes and injury or death from accidental 
explosions.  The great majority (96.6 percent) of these 
makeshift home workshops are located in the Department of 
Guatemala (capital region), in the municipalities of San Juan 
Sacatepequez and San Raymundo, while 3.4 percent are in 20 
other municipalities throughout the country. 
 
Incidence:  Information indicates that the incidence of 
exploitative child labor in the production of fireworks is 
not limited to a few factories or workshops, although it is 
reportedly less prevalent now as a result of targeted efforts 
to combat the practice. 
 
Action:  The GOG has focused serious efforts on combating the 
use of child labor in fireworks production.  In November 
2006, it developed and implemented an operational plan to 
address the situation.  The special unit of labor inspectors 
for cases of workers under 18 years of age requested 
authorization from the Inspector General to conduct 
inspections of workshops and factories located in the 
municipalities of San Raymundo, San Juan Sacatepequez, and 
Mixco to verify the presence of child or adolescent workers. 
In November 2007, the GOG improved its program with its 
implementation of "Operative Plan 2007," which extended its 
labor inspections to centers of fireworks distribution.  The 
Unit of Protection of Adolescent Workers conducted a seminar 
for vendors of pyrotechnic products, and the coordinator of 
the unit of labor inspections of minors gave a presentation 
on labor obligations to promote a safer work environment. 
 
GARMENTS 
-------- 
Type of exploitation:  forced labor 
 
Source/year of information:  Credible labor consultant who 
investigated and detected practices of forced labor (2008) 
 
Description:  According to the source, daily and weekly 
production quotas are impossible to meet under normal work 
conditions of eight hours per day.  In the maquila sector, 
production goals are often calculated by management using the 
base of 10 hours of work per day.  As a result, workers are 
forced to work extraordinary hours or face dismissal or a 
significant loss of pay for failure to meet the established 
quota. 
 
Incidence:  The source highlighted not only the depth of the 
situation, but also his concern over the climate of violence 
that threatens the workers as well as those who conduct 
investigations. 
 
Action:  See final para on overall GOG efforts. 
 
GRAVEL 
------ 
Type of exploitation:  exploitative child labor 
 
Source/year of information:  Ministry of Labor, Unit of 
Protection of Adolescent Workers (2008); ILO Qualitative 
Study of Child Labor in Guatemala; ILO/IPEC "Understanding 
Child Labor in Guatemala" Report Summary (2003) 
 
Description:  Children and adolescents under 18 years of age 
crush and haul gravel for construction of houses and 
buildings.  This activity is most common along the Samala 
Qbuildings.  This activity is most common along the Samala 
river in the Department of Retalhuleu.  This type of labor is 
considered one of the worst forms of child labor under 
government decree 250-2006 (Regulation of Application of ILO 
Convention 182).  According to ILO/IPEC, children can suffer 
loss of limbs in accidents and sometimes even death in 
cave-ins in quarries.  They may also suffer bruising and 
fractures of fingers and hands; deformations of limbs; 
pulmonary diseases; skin diseases; and damage to their 
eyesight.  The work is performed by boys and girls alike, 
along with family members. 
 
Incidence:  Information indicates that the incidence of 
exploitative child labor in the gravel sector is widespread; 
however, it has reportedly significantly diminished as a 
result of ILO and GOG efforts. 
 
Action:  The Ministry of Labor and other institutions and 
NGOs have taken actions to address the problem as part of a 
national plan to eradicate child labor abuses. 
 
SNOW PEAS/BROCCOLI 
------------------ 
Type of exploitation:  exploitative child labor 
 
Source/year of information:  Center for Studies and Support 
for Local Development (CEADEL) (2008) 
 
Description:  According to CEADEL, a snow pea/broccoli 
processing and export company in Chimaltenango employs 140 
workers, including 10 minors under the age of 14.  In early 
May, 54 workers were dismissed for not meeting production 
quotas.  The company, which exports the products to the U.S., 
does not pay social security, overtime, bonuses, or provide 
vacation time.  During the low production season, employees 
typically work from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., but during the 
high season they work from 7:00 a.m. to as late as 11:00 p.m. 
 The workers are not provided gloves or rubber boots, and 
restrooms for employees do not have toilet paper or soap. 
The work is particularly hazardous to children who are 
subject to skin irritations, lung damage, and other harmful 
effects from unprotected use of chlorine-based disinfectants 
to wash vegetables. 
 
Incidence:  Information relates to a single facility, but use 
of exploitative child labor is reportedly widespread in the 
fresh produce sector. 
 
Action:  See final para on overall GOG efforts. 
 
SUGAR 
----- 
Type of exploitation:  forced labor and exploitative child 
labor 
 
Source/year of information:  credible labor consultant based 
on his organization's research and investigations (2008); "En 
el Umbral" published by AVANCSCO, article "Trabajo y 
Gobernabilidad en la Costa Sur" by Elizabeth Oglesby; 
Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados (2008) 
 
Description:  Sugar producing companies, when organizing the 
harvest of sugar cane, establish rigorous daily quotas which, 
according to a credible source, are humanly impossible to 
meet under legal work conditions.  This creates three 
situations: 
(1) the workers must work at least 12 hours per day; 
(2) the sugar cane is cut using "incendio del canaveral" (a 
method of burning the sugar cane that facilitates cutting) 
with the aim of reducing the time for cutting and increasing 
productivity, with workers cutting the sugar cane while it is 
still hot; and 
(3) the workers consume drug-like substances to withstand the 
extreme work conditions and rigorous daily quotas. 
 
Workers who do not meet production quotas are fired 
immediately.  The threat of dismissal thus functions as a 
penalty that requires the worker to provide his services 
under forced conditions. 
 
Sugar producing companies reportedly employ a large quantity 
of children for harvest of sugar cane.  Government decree 
250-2006 defines the harvest of sugar cane as one of the 
worst forms of child labor.  Sources indicate that children 
under 18 years of age continue to perform such labor despite 
claims by sugar production companies that the practice has 
been eradicated.  Child continue to be exploited in the sugar 
industry. 
 
According to Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados social workers, 
children of migrant workers are employed in the harvesting of 
sugar cane.  The work is physically strenuous, involving many 
hours crouched low and using sharpened machetes.  Many of 
Qhours crouched low and using sharpened machetes.  Many of 
these children are not enrolled in school, and those that are 
in school are forced to leave during the harvest.  Workers 
bring their children with them to the fields to increase 
their personal yield. 
 
Incidence:  Information indicates that this is widespread. 
 
Action:  See final para on overall GOG efforts. 
 
STATISTICS 
---------- 
According to a study (ENCOVI 2006) conducted by the National 
Institute of Statistics of Guatemala, an estimated 528,000 
children between 7 and 14 years of age work in Guatemala. 
This figure represents 18 percent of all children in that age 
group.  Of the 18 percent, 12.7 percent attend school in 
addition to working.  The majority (63.7 percent) work in the 
agricultural sector, while 19.1 percent work in the 
commercial sector and 9.7 percent in the manufacturing 
sector.  More than half of the child laborers work in the 
western region of the country (about 34 percent in the 
southwest region and 22 percent in the northwest). 
 
GOVERNMENT EFFORTS 
------------------ 
The GOG's "Operative Plan 2008" to combat child labor focuses 
on strengthening labor inspections.  The special unit of 
labor inspectors for child and adolescent workers, which 
currently has six inspectors, aims to reduce the incidence of 
child labor through intervention -- on-site labor inspections 
-- to ensure compliance with labor laws.  It plans to 
increase the presence of labor inspectors at sites where 
children and adolescents work, to strengthen observance of 
their labor rights, and to reduce the overall use of child 
labor.  It plans initially to focus on the El Pueblito 
Commercial Center, maquila companies in San Pedro 
Sacatepequez, furniture-making companies in San Juan 
Sacatepequez, the waste dump area of the capital, and 
fireworks production companies where children have been known 
to work. 
 
The Ministry of Labor's Unit of Protection of Adolescent 
Workers has programs for the prevention of child labor that 
aim to educate adolescents on their labor rights, in 
accordance with national legislation, including the Law of 
Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents and 
government decree 250-2006 (Regulation of Application of ILO 
Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor) and 
international conventions, especially ILO Conventions 138 and 
¶182. 
 
The Ministry of Labor implements projects financed by the 
international donor community in support of programs to 
strengthen the Executive Secretaries for the Prevention and 
Eradication of Child Labor in the regional Departments of 
Guatemala, Quiche, Huehuetenango, and San Marcos.  ILO 
recently financed a project ("Prevention of Domestic Child 
Labor in Indigenous Populations") in the municipality of 
Comitancillo, San Marcos, in which 250 indigenous children 
were kept in school and 50 adolescents were trained. 
 
The Ministry of Labor coordinates with other governmental and 
non-governmental institutions on programs and projects in 
specific areas where they have detected large numbers of 
children and adolescents working in dangerous and prohibiive 
conditions.  The Ministry is informing, senstizing, and 
involving more institutions in efforts to eradicate illegal 
child labor. 
Derham