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Viewing cable 09SANSALVADOR63, EL SALVADOR: CHILD LABOR REPORT 2008

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09SANSALVADOR63 2009-01-21 22:14 2011-08-26 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy San Salvador
VZCZCXYZ0007
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #0063/01 0212214
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 212214Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0612
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000063 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DOL/ILAB AND DRL/TU DANG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI ES
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: CHILD LABOR REPORT 2008 
 
REF: STATE 127448 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  Pursuant to ref A, this cable provides 
information on the worst forms of child labor in El Salvador. 
 As a country eligible for trade benefits under the 
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the Government of El 
Salvador (GOES) supports efforts to eliminate the worst forms 
of child labor.  During 2008, the Government of El Salvador, 
in conjunction with various non-governmental organizations 
(NGOs), conducted seventeen programs specifically designed to 
reduce child labor.  There were no new laws promulgated in 
2008 relating to child labor.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Laws and Regulations Proscribing 
the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
-------------------------------- 
 
2. (U) The Salvadoran Constitution prohibits child labor 
under the age of 14.  It also prohibits child labor for older 
children while they are still receiving compulsory education 
through the ninth grade.  Minors, age 14 or older, may 
receive special permission from the Ministry of Labor (MOL) 
to work, but only where such employment is indispensable to 
the sustenance of the minor and his or her family.  However, 
according to the Labor Code, children aged 12 to 14 can be 
authorized to perform light work, as long as it does not harm 
their health and development or interfere with their 
education. Children under 16 years of age are prohibited from 
working more than 7 hours per day, and 34 hours per week. 
Children under the age of 18 are prohibited from working at 
night. 
 
3. (U) El Salvador defines the worst forms of child labor or 
hazardous work in the same fashion the ILO defines those 
terms.  Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited by the 
Constitution, except in cases of public calamity and other 
instances specified by the law.  All forms of slavery or 
practices similar to slavery are forbidden under a general 
provision of El Salvador's Constitution, as well as the 
Criminal Code.  The sale and trafficking of children, debt 
bondage, and serfdom are specifically penalized in the 
Criminal Code.  Criminal penalties for trafficking range from 
4 to 8 years of imprisonment, and increase by one-third if 
the victim is under the age of 18 years. 
 
4. (U) Military recruitment of children is not permitted. 
However, voluntary service can begin at age 16. 
 
5. (U) The use, procurement, or offering of a child for 
prostitution, for the production of pornography, or for 
pornographic performances is penalized in the Constitution. 
Although the Criminal Code does not criminalize prostitution 
per se, it penalizes the inducement, facilitation, or 
promotion of prostitution of a person younger than 18 years 
old.  The Penal Code considers the commercial sexual 
exploitation of children, trafficking of children, and child 
pornography forms of organized crime, and provides harsher 
penalties for such crimes.  The law that regulates 
drug-related activities penalizes the use of children for 
illicit activities. 
 
6. (U) The Labor Code prohibits types of work that will 
likely harm the safety or morals of children.  In 1999, the 
Government of El Salvador submitted to the ILO a document 
identifying hazardous forms of work prohibited for minors 
under Convention 182 and Convention 138.  There were no new 
laws promulgated in 2008 relating to child labor.  The 
information provided in ref B, pertaining to the goods 
produced by child labor, is still accurate. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Regulations for Implementation and Enforcement of 
Proscriptions against the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
7. (U) Enforcement of child labor law is the responsibility 
of the Ministry of Labor, but labor inspectors usually tend 
to focus on the formal sector, where child labor is less 
frequent, and as a result, few complaints are presented.  The 
2006-2010 National Plan to Eradicate the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor places the Ministry of Labor in charge of reviewing, 
updating, and modernizing the legal framework related to 
child labor, as well as increasing legal oversight and labor 
inspections to prevent and eradicate hazardous job conditions. 
 
8. (U) The National Civilian Police (PNC), the Immigration 
Office, and the Office of the Attorney General (FGR) are the 
government agencies responsible for enforcing trafficking 
laws. Administrative complaints presented before the Ministry 
of Labor, when they refer to child labor violations, are 
different from criminal activities such as trafficking, 
offering a child for pornographic or prostitution services, 
and others. However, if the child labor violation is 
considered a crime, the Attorney General's Office, in 
conjunction with the PNC, is in charge of enforcing child 
labor laws. 
 
9. (U) In general, the legal remedies for trafficking are 
adequate to punish violations, but likely provide little 
deterrence, due to economic, cultural, and social conditions. 
 The legal remedies for child labor are rarely enforced, 
providing little punishment or deterrence. 
 
10. (U) The Ministry of Labor provided no report of child 
labor complaints.  However, child labor is culturally 
acceptable in El Salvador, and historically, there have been 
few complaints.  The Ministry of Labor has 159 labor 
inspectors conducting inspection programs, but none work 
specifically on child labor issues.  However there is 
evidence that children are used in the production of coffee, 
sugar, fish, mollusks, and fireworks. 
 
11. (U) During the year, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) reported 
that it conducted 26,865 inspections in the commerce and 
service sectors, where child labor is rare, and 1,449 
inspections in agriculture, where child labor is common.  It 
did not report on the number of children found.  (Comment: 
These numbers are not supported by statistics from other 
sources or post's observations.  End Comment.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Social Programs to Prevent and Withdraw Children 
from the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
 
12. (U) The ILO and other non-governmental organizations, 
with the support of the Ministry of Labor, are currently 
implementing the third stage of the National Plan for the 
Eradication of the Worst Forms of Child Labor.  The MOL did 
not report a budget for these activities. 
 
13. (U) In 2008, the GOES, in conjunction with six NGOs, 
conducted seventeen programs designed to reduce child labor. 
In 2008, the GOES and Spanish NGO Intervida, expected to 
withdraw 520 children from child labor activities in the 
sugar and agricultural fields in the departments of San 
Vicente, La Paz, and Usulutan.  The Salvadoran Sugar 
Foundation (FUNAZUCAR) is conducting programs to combat child 
labor in San Miguel and Usulutan, and expected to withdraw 
394 children from the harvesting and production of sugar 
cane.  The Salvadoran Association for Rural Health 
(ASAPROSAR) conducted a program intended to withdraw 527 
children who work in the municipal market of Sonsonate. 
(Note: Child labor is prevalent in the municipal markets and 
continues to be ignored by the GOES.) 
 
14. (U) The Council for the Development of the Communities of 
Morazan and San Miguel (PADECOMS) expected to withdraw 482 
children involved in fishing activities in La Union in 2008. 
The Salvadoran Foundation for Health and Human Development 
(FUSAL), conducted three programs to remove over 2800 
children involved in fishing and sugar cane production.  The 
Business-Women Organization (OEF) expects to remove 200 
children involved in hazardous activities in the sugar cane 
industry in San Vicente and Cabanas Departments. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Comprehensive Policy Aimed at the Elimination 
of the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
15. (U) In 2006, the government launched its first National 
Plan for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. 
The Ministries of Labor, Education, Health, Agriculture, 
Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Governance, Economy, and the 
National Secretariat for the Family, the National Secretariat 
for Youth, the National Institute for the Development of 
Children and Adolescents, in conjunction with the Small and 
Medium Enterprises Committee, the National Superior Labor 
Council, the National Round Table Against Sexual Commercial 
Exploitation, and the National Committee for the Elimination 
of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, joined efforts with the 
ILO/IPEC International Program on the Elimination of Child 
Labor to launch a four-year national plan to eliminate the 
worst forms of child labor. The government reports that it is 
currently in Phase III of the National Plan. 
 
16. (U) On June 25, 2008 the Legislative Assembly unanimously 
amended article 56 of the Salvadoran constitution to declare 
education free and compulsory through high school.  However, 
this amendment must be ratified by the next Legislative 
Assembly (2009-2012). 
 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Country's Continual Progress Toward 
Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
------------------------------------------ 
 
17. (U) According to the 2007 Multiple Household Survey 
conducted by the Ministry of Economy, El Salvador has reduced 
the percentage of working children from 10.2 in 2003 to 5.9 
in 2007.  (Comment: As child labor is often considered 
socially acceptable, the reliability of these numbers is 
uncertain.) 
BLAU