The Fight Against the Worst Forms of Child

The Fight Against the Worst Forms of Child Labour El Salvador

Child labour in ES Source: Multi-purpose home survey (4 th. quarter 2003) DISTRIBUTION BY GENDER Total Girls Boys 288, 221 195, 126 93, 095 DISTRIBUTION BY GEOGRAPHIC ORIGEN Total Urban Rural 288, 221 111, 344 176, 877 DISTRIBUTION BY AGE GROUPS Total 5 a 9 years old 10 a 14 years old 15 a 17 years old 288, 221 21, 005 141, 746 125, 470 CHILDREN THAT STUDY AND WORK IN THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR (Sugar cane, garbage collection and fishing) (School Census 2004) 18, 673

National Strategy Against Child Labour 1. 2. 3. 4. Laws in force on the national level National initiatives against child labour National Plan Strategic actions of the government of El Salvador 5. Direct Action Programmes 6. Support of key actors

1. Laws in force • The Fight Against the Worst Forms of Child Labour • The Constitution: – Establishes 14 as the minimum age for entering the work force – Prohibits dangerous work by children less than 18 years old • Treaties 138 and 182 of the ILO • The Labour Code regulates the minimum age for entering the work force and develops prohibitions for participation of minors under 18 years old in dangerous and unhealthy jobs

National initiatives against Child Labour • • • • The National Committee is made up of: Minister of Labour and Social Security Minister of Education Minister of Public Health and Social Assistance Minister of the Interior Minister de Agriculture and Livestock Minister of Economy Minister of Foreign Relations A representative of the National Secretariat of the Family A representative of the National Youth Secretariat Director of the Salvadorean Institute for Integral Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA). The vice-presidents of the labour sector and employer sector of the National Superior Labour Council A representative of the non-governmental organisations belonging to the Board of ISNA El Executive Director of the National Commission of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (CONAMYPE).

Functions of National Committee Main functions of the National Committee: – Plan, coordinate, direct, define, prioritise, manage and approve all matters related to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. – Propose the directives and guidelines for drawing up plans, programmes, projects and planning activities aimed at the elimination of child labour, especially in its worst forms. – Integrate and coordinate efforts aimed at the Eradication of Child Labour developed by the National and International Organisations – Provide follow-up to the programmes and projects related to the eradication of child labour through a technical committee that serves as a support mechanism – Establish priority areas to be developed in efforts aimed at eradicating child labour in El Salvador.

Unit against child labour in the Labour Ministry (MINTRAB) • • • GENERAL FUNCTION: Uphold the national and international laws in force related to child labour and the eradication of its worst forms. It has three areas of specific action 1. with international organisations 2. inter-institutional relations and 3. internal relations (Department of inspection, General Directorate of Social Security and Employment). SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS OF THE UETI Coordinate the working relationships of the different dependencies of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and its regional offices. Serve as a centre of documentation and consultation against child labour in the country. Supervise and cooperate in the execution of projects on progressive eradication of the worst forms of child labour being carried out by the governmental and nongovernmental organisations. Train and advise different sectors of society about the various ways of participating in the national strategy against the eradication of child labour. Design projects and actions for the prevention and eradication of the worst forms of child labour to eventually be financed by the IPEC-ILO and other organisations international technical cooperation organisations. Manage international cooperation for programmes, projects and actions of the Unit of Eradication of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, among other things:

3. National Plan • It is an instrument of public policy that develops the presidential commitment expressed in the SECURE COUNTRY government plan • The plan is a key instrument to guide the actions that make it possible to secure a country free of the worst forms of child labour; a country where children develop in an integral context, capable of building their life project and having the concrete opportunities to make it a reality. • Areas of attention described in the plan: • Strengthening of the legal framework, institutional strengthening, educational attention, attention in health, recreation, culture, sports, improvement of income as well communication and consciousness raising.

4. Main strategic actions of the Government of El Salvador • Strengthening of the legal framework, institutional strengthening, educational attention, attention in health, recreation, culture, sports, improvement of income, as well communication and consciousness raising. • Attention to the special educational conditions of working children in the 2021 EDUCATIONAL PLAN (EVERYONE IS EQUAL Programme). • Inclusion of the child labour issue as one of the priority areas of attention in the SOLIDARITY NETWORK programme (attention to the rural population of at least 100 municipalities in extreme poverty). • First country in region to have included, in a permanent way and using national resources, a module of child labour module in the Multi-purpose Home Survey

5. Direct Action Programmes • • MINTRAB, in coordination with the ILO, is currently executing 13 direct action programmes, through non-governmental organisations, all of which have as their main priority areas of action: – Promote the inclusion of working children in the educational system – Raise consciousness and mobilise social actors in support of the strategy of eradication of child labour – Promote actions to improve health (physical, mental and occupational) and create opportunities for recreation – Integration of opportunities to improve productive capacities of families of working children (professional training, learning, promotion of businesses, access to employment etc. ) Action programmes benefit: – 9, 200 working boys and girls – 16, 000 boys and girls in risk of working (population with which prevention is carried out) – 5, 000 members of family groups Action programmes are executed in 32 municipalities around the country in the following sectors: Sexual exploitation of children – Fishing, extraction of shellfish – Garbage collection – Sugar cane harvest – Urban work

Results of Direct Action Programmes (as of September 2005) Sector Boys Girls Total 4721 2264 6, 985 Sugar Cane 3032 1011 4043 Fishing 1295 938 2233 Garbage collection 200 157 357 Urban Labour (Markets) 194 158 352

6. Support of Key actors Successful experiences • Organisations of cooperation: OIT (with USDOL funds and Italian cooperation), BID (projects in sugar cane sector), UNICEF (sexual exploitation), USAID (treatment of individuals) • Participation of organisations in support programmes to target population in emergency situations (Hurricane STAN): CARE, GTZ, OIT and FUNDAZUCAR, to rebuild the productive capacities of rural communities. • Employer sector (Social Responsibility in Business): • Sugar Association: contracting of 8 promoter/monitors of child labour and financing of actions in favour of education. • COCA COLA: promotion of a project to raise the productive capacity of young people belonging to sugar cooperatives. • TELEFONICA: project of promotion of education of working children in Sonsonate department through scholarships.