VZCZCXRO2166
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHLI #0027/01 0191821
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 191821Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY LISBON
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8070
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 000027 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO DOL FOR ILAB LEYLA STROTKAMP, RACHEL RIGBY, 
AND TINA MCCARTER 
DEPT FOR DRL/ILCSR SARAH MORGAN 
DEPT ALSO FOR G/TIP MARK TAYLOR AND LUIS CDEBACA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD KTIP PHUM SOCI USAID PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGAL: INFORMATION ON CHILD LABOR AND FORCED 
LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF GOODS 
 
REF: A. 09 STATE 131997 
     ¶B. 08 LISBON 1324 
 
LISBON 00000027  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. Per Ref A, Poleconoff contacted the Portuguese Ministry of 
Labor, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and local 
NGOs to obtain current information on the use of forced labor 
and exploitative child labor in the production of goods in 
Portugal. 
 
¶2. According to Fatima Matos, Coordinator of the Program for 
Inclusion and Citizenship (PIEC) in the Ministry of Labor, 
there is very little evidence of forced labor or exploitative 
child labor in the production of goods.  She acknowledged, 
however, that some Roma are using their minor children as 
street beggars and that undocumented African minors could 
also be working illegally.  Local NGOs -- the Institute of 
Support to Children and the National Confederation of Action 
on Child Labor -- and the ILO Portugal office all agreed that 
child labor and forced labor in the production of goods were 
no longer problems in Portugal.  ILO/Portugal child labor 
expert Sofia Amaral de Oliveira noted, however, the 
increasing use of children in the Portuguese entertainment 
industry, particularly in soap operas and commercials. 
 
¶3. Background:  In 1998, an international NGO estimated that 
there were 200,000 minors working in Portugal, an inflated 
estimate according to PIEC Coordinator Matos.  The government 
disagreed with the figure but acknowledged the problem of 
child labor and the need to address it.  In 1998, it 
conducted a nationwide survey, in accordance with ILO 
methodology, among families with school-age children to 
assess the extent and nature of the problem; developed the 
Plan for the Elimination of Exploitation of Child Labor 
(PEETI); and revised labor laws on child workers.  The 
Ministry of Labor established a working group to further 
study the problem.  In 2001, a survey showed that an 
estimated 49,000 minors were involved in some type of 
economic activity, of which 28,000 were engaged in light work 
(less than 15 hours per week), 7,000 in regular work (15-35 
hours per week), and 14,000 in dangerous work more than 35 
hours per week.  Of those engaged in light work, most (83 
percent) were uncompensated family workers in the textile and 
shoe industries and agricultural sector in the North. 
Between 2000 and 2006, the majority of minors engaged in 
child labor were working in the civil construction (28 
percent), hotel (18 percent), textile (13 percent), and food 
(11 percent) industries.  The working group identified 
economic need as the primary cause of child labor, and 
recommended remedial measures to fight poverty and social 
exclusion. 
 
¶4. Government Action:  Since 1998 Portugal has effectively 
addressed child labor and forced labor through increased 
protection and intervention, according to Ines Pereira, 
advisor to the PIEC Research and Planning Team.  The 
government, in partnership with civil society, undertook 
awareness-raising campaigns, increased labor inspections, 
engaged in social dialogue with employers' organizations, 
developed educational programs, provided subsidies to 
low-income families, and revised labor laws to better protect 
children against exploitation.  According to Coordinator 
Matos, PIEC works closely with municipalities, district 
councils, local NGOs, ILO, and the National Commission for 
the Protection of Children and Youth, which coordinates 
intervention efforts through a nationwide network.  The 
commission is fully funded by the Ministry of Labor and the 
Ministry of Justice.  The Labor Ministry also funds and 
coordinates the Integrated Program for Education and 
Vocational Training (PIEF), which uses alternative 
educational methods to provide non-traditional schooling to 
child workers and at-risk children who are unable to stay in 
school.  The program currently numbers 2,500 students, 
primarily boys aged 13 to 17.  Established in 2009 to address 
current needs, PIEC has a broader mandate than its 
predecessor Program for the Prevention and Elimination of 
Exploitation of Child Labor (PETI)(2004-2009), which focused 
on preventing and combating child labor.  PIEC identifies 
families with children at risk and helps children stay in 
school.  It focuses on social inclusion and poverty 
alleviation, and works closely with the Labor Inspectorate 
(under the Authority for Labor Conditions), referring cases 
for inspection. 
 
¶5. Concrete Results:  Government efforts, in collaboration 
with civil society and the private sector, have resulted in 
near eradication of child labor.  ILO/Portugal expert Amaral 
 
LISBON 00000027  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
noted a dramatic decrease in the number of child workers and 
the number of children dropping out of school over the past 
ten years.  She was not aware of any recent cases of 
exploitative child labor or forced labor, but did acknowledge 
"some residual cases" until 2008.  PETI estimated that 13 
children under the age of 16 were engaged in illicit child 
labor in 2006, compared with 126 minors in 2000.  The Labor 
Ministry's Authority for Labor Conditions, which is 
responsible for investigating and responding to reports of 
illicit child labor, registered six cases in 2008 and four 
cases during the first six months of 2009. 
 
¶6. New Form of Child Labor:  An increasing number of children 
are working in the Portuguese entertainment industry. 
ILO/Portugal expert Amaral attributed this new phenomenon to 
the growing popularity of Portuguese musicals and soap 
operas, and pointed out that the Labor Code, which requires 
entertainment companies to obtain authorization from the 
National Commission for the Protection of Children and Youth, 
provides strict regulation.  In 2009, the Labor Code was 
revised to simplify the lengthy, bureaucratic authorization 
process and to provide better protection against exploitation 
of child workers.  In 2009, the Labor Code also revised the 
regulation on domicile work to clarify that child labor laws 
were also applicable to family members who assist independent 
contractors working at home for third parties. 
 
¶7. CPLP Action Plan:  In recent years, the Portuguese 
government, in collaboration with the Community of Portuguese 
Language Countries (CPLP), has been developing initiatives to 
help other countries eradicate child labor.  In May 2006, 
ILO/Portugal, the Ministry of Labor, and the Executive 
Secretariat of CPLP organized a conference on "Combating 
Exploitation of Child Labor in the Portuguese-Speaking World" 
in Lisbon to establish eradication of child labor as a 
priority, exchange ideas with ILO/Brazil and ILO/Geneva, and 
disseminate best practices.  CPLP Ministers of Labor issued a 
joint declaration for a plan of action, which was presented 
at a CPLP-organized press conference in June.  In September 
2006 during a ministerial in Guinea-Bissau, they agreed on 
the need to eradicate child labor and adopted a plan of 
action for all CPLP countries to ratify ILO Convention 138 
(minimum age of employment) and ILO Convention 182 
(elimination of the worst forms of child labor) by 2010, and 
to eradicate the worst forms of child labor by 2016. 
(Portugal ratified ILO Convention 138 in 1998 and ILO 
Convention 182 in 2000.) 
 
 
For more reporting from Embassy Lisbon and information about Portugal, 
please see our Intelink site: 
 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/portal:port ugal 
REITER