Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1990)

The Committee notes the joint observations made by the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF), received on 1 September 2018.

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy, labour inspection and application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee observed that the information provided by the labour inspection services lacked detail concerning the subjects covered, the nature of the violations reported and the penalties imposed. The Committee noted that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its concluding observations in 2014 (E/C.12/GTM/CO/3, paragraph 20), expressed concern at the persistence of child labour in Guatemala, especially in agriculture and domestic work. It requested the Government to continue taking measures in practice to strengthen the capacity and expand the reach of the labour inspection services in their action to prevent and combat child labour. It also requested the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, particularly on the basis of statistics of labour by children under 14 years of age, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and information on the number and nature of the violations reported and the penalties imposed.

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report to the effect that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, with the support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the structural reform fund of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), has printed and disseminated the “single protocol on procedures for the labour inspection system” as a tool to reinforce the General Labour Inspectorate.

The Committee notes the statistics of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the General Labour Inspectorate concerning cases of child labour detected by the labour inspection services: in 2015, of the 85 cases of child labour detected, 27 resulted in reconciliation between the parties and 19 victims renounced or abandoned their complaint; in 2016, of the 67 cases of child labour detected, 16 resulted in reconciliation between the parties and nine victims renounced or gave up their complaint; in 2017, of the 26 cases of child labour detected, six resulted in reconciliation between the parties and nine victims renounced or abandoned their complaint. In 2015, the labour inspection services carried out 6,686 inspections in sectors in which hazardous types of work are predominant, such as activities relating to the cultivation, harvesting, handling and processing of sugar cane and the export of sugar, as well as the African palm sector, hotels, restaurants and, finally, the sector of the production and distribution of fireworks. During these inspections, 68 child workers under the age of 18 years were found, including 33 boys and 14 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 years and 17 boys and four girls under 13 years of age. In 2016, a total of 5,590 inspections were undertaken by the labour inspection services in the same sectors. A total of 97 child labourers under 18 years of age were detected, including 60 boys and 14 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 years and seven boys and four girls under 13 years of age. In 2017, inspections were focused on sectors in which there is proof of violations related to child labour, such as local shops, workshops and tortilla outlets. In total, 1,734 inspections were undertaken by the labour inspection services, in which 37 children under 18 years of age were detected, including 23 boys and 12 girls between the ages of 14 and 17 years, and one boy and one girl under 13 years of age.

The Committee notes that, according to the joint observations of the IOE and the CACIF, there was a positive legislative change in 2017 with the adoption of Act No. 5198, amending Decree No. 1441, which amends the Labour Code and allows the General Labour Inspectorate to impose penalties directly in cases of the violation of labour rights. They indicate that the labour inspection services could only recommend a fine previously, but that this change considerably reinforces their potential action, including the possibility of imposing penalties.

The Committee also notes that the General Labour Inspectorate may also participate in the National Commission for the Elimination of Child Labour (CONAPETI), as set out in Government Decision No. 347-2002 and Government Reform Decision No. 103-2015.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the road map “for a Guatemala free from child labour 2016–20” was reprogrammed in 2017. The programme is based on the current situation of child labour in Guatemala, the international framework and the lessons drawn from the outcome of previous road maps (2010–12 and 2013–15) with a view to determining the strong points and challenges for its implementation. The strategy is also based on the association of the various institutions and bodies which make up the Executive Secretariat of the CONAPETI and the departmental committees (CODEPETIS) in order to ensure that its programming has a sectoral and territorial dimension. The components of the road map are as follows: (i) action to combat poverty; (ii) health policy; (iii) education policy; (iv) regulatory framework and overall protection; (v) awareness-raising and citizen’s participation; and (vi) replication of knowledge and follow-up.

The Committee takes due note of the detailed information provided by the Government in Annex 5 to its report on the various actions carried out within the context of the Road map between 2015 and 2017 in the various regions of the country with a view to the progressive eradication of child labour and the minimum age for admission to employment such as: 15 actions in the various departments of the northern region; 13 actions in the departments of the southern region; 53 actions in the departments of the western region; 41 actions in the departments of the eastern region; and 18 actions in the departments of the central region of the country. The action undertaken has included the following: (i) departmental dialogues for children and young persons on their rights; (ii) conferences on the rights of the child; (iii) training on labour law and child labour for the personnel of enterprises, public employees and unions, (iv) training for employers on labour legislation respecting employers’ obligations; (v) awareness-raising campaigns on the penalties and consequences of the recruitment of minors; (vi) analyses of child labour; and (vii) meetings with the legal representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Guatemala and the legal representative of trade unions.

While taking due note of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests it to continue its efforts to ensure the progressive elimination of child labour. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved in the context of the implementation of the Road map for a Guatemala free of child labour and the worst forms of child labour. Furthermore, the Committee requests the Government to continue adopting practical measures to reinforce the capacity and extend the scope of the labour inspection services in terms of their action to prevent and combat child labour, in view of their important role in enforcing the minimum age for admission to employment. In view of the reform of the Labour Code in 2018, referred to above, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the number and nature of the violations detected and the penalties imposed by labour inspectors during inspections.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.