Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2008, publiée 98ème session CIT (2009)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Debt bondage and forced or compulsory labour. Child labour in sugar cane and brazil nut harvesting. In its previous comments, the Committee took note of a communication from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), now the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), indicating that child labour in the sugar cane and brazil nut sectors is a practice similar to slavery because the children have no alternative but to work with their parents, so like their parents they are subject to a system of debt bondage. Furthermore, although their work is neither recognized nor remunerated, they have joint liability with their parents for the debt and are compelled to work to help their parents to repay it.

In its comments, the ITUC stated that more than 10,000 children work with their parents in the sugar harvest in Bolivia. Of these, around 7,000 work in Santa Cruz, half of whom are between 9 and 13 years of age, and 3,000 work in Tarija. They perform a variety of tasks. For example, boys work with the men in cutting sugar cane and girls and young children work with the women in gathering, stripping and bundling the cane. The children work in difficult conditions and their hours are very long – more than 12 hours a day, starting at 5 a.m. They suffer from respiratory ailments and wound themselves working with machetes. As to brazil nut harvesting, the ITUC stated that children start at age 7 to help their parents in the plantations, assisting with picking and processing the fruit. At harvest time, the children work in the jungle alongside their parents. The work they do is hazardous because they use machetes to crack the nuts and extract the kernels. Moreover, they have to walk for hours to find the trees bearing nuts. Work begins at around 3 a.m. or even 2 a.m. and ends at midday. In some places the children work after school or during the night between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The Committee took note of a study Enganche y Servidumbre por Deudas en Bolivia (Entrapment and Debt Bondage in Bolivia), published by the Office in January 2005, which reports such practices. According to the study, the situation of tens of thousands of indigenous agricultural workers in Bolivia is one of debt bondage, with some of them subjected to permanent or semi-permanent forced labour. The study also reports that these practices are to be found not only in the Chaco region but also in the areas of Santa Cruz and Tarija (sugar harvesting) and the northern Amazon area (brazil nut harvesting).

The Committee notes the Government’s information on Bolivia’s legislation covering slavery or similar practices. Its notes, however, that although the legislation appears to be consistent with the Convention on this point, work by children under 18 years of age in conditions of debt bondage or forced labour is a problem in practice. The Committee expresses its deep concern at the situation of these children. It reminds the Government that under Article 3(a) of the Convention, all forms of slavery or similar practices such as debt bondage and forced or compulsory labour are considered to be among the worst forms of child labour and that pursuant to Article 1, immediate and effective measures must be taken to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure, as a matter of urgency, that the persons using the labour of children under 18 years of age in the sugar cane and brazil nut harvesting industry in conditions of debt bondage or forced labour, are prosecuted and that effective and dissuasive sanctions are applied to them. It requests the Government in this connection on the effect given to the provisions that apply to these worst forms of child labour, including statistics on the number and nature of offences reported, the investigations held, prosecutions, and the sentences and penal sanctions applied.

Clause (d). Hazardous work. Children working in mines. In its comments, the ITUC stated that in the departments of Ururo, Potosi and La Paz, more than 3,800 children work in the tin, zinc, silver and gold mines. As a rule, the older boys work with their fathers in the mines, whereas the younger children help to transport rocks and tools and to gather rocks. Children working in the rivers of the gold mines are engaged in extracting and washing gold deposits. The rivers are contaminated with mercury, sulphur and other chemicals used in mining. Furthermore, because they are small, children aged 8 to 12 years are sent into certain narrow parts of the mine where an adult would not be able to pass through. They also work in extracting ore and preparing and exploding dynamite. Sometimes, in mines where there are no wagons to shift heavy ore, the children have to carry it on their shoulders to the ore processing area. In the first stage of processing, the children have to handle a tool – a very heavy stone that can weigh up to 60 kilos, which they balance with the help of a metal plank on smaller stones. In the second phase, they have to recover the remaining ore, which is mixed with chemicals, and are in danger of getting burnt and inhaling toxic gases.

The Committee notes that section 134 of the Code on Children and Young People contains a detailed list of types of hazardous work prohibited for young people, some of which are related to the work done by children in mines including the transport of heavy loads, the handling or inhaling of toxic products and the handling of dangerous tools or explosives. The Committee expresses concern at the use of child labour in hazardous work in mines. It reminds the Government that, according to Article 3(d) of the Convention, hazardous work is among the worst forms of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps as a matter of urgency to ensure that no child under 18 years of age shall engage in hazardous work in mining. It also requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the legislation governing hazardous work, including statistics on the number and nature of offences reported, the investigations held, prosecutions, the sentences and penalties applied.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. The Committee takes due note of the information sent by the Government to the effect that two inspectors specializing in child labour have been assigned to the regions of Santa Cruz and Tarija-Bermejo to conduct inspections in the sugar cane industry. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of those inspections particularly as regards the protection of children working in the sugar cane industry.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing children from being engaged in worst forms of child labour and removing them therefrom. 1. Debt bondage and forced and compulsory labour. Child labour in the sugar cane and brazil nut harvesting industry. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the information from the Government to the effect that ten education centres have been set up in six camps in the municipality of Bermejo that accommodate families who work harvesting sugar cane. These centres have benefited 300 children. It further notes that an education strategy has been put into effect by the Ministry of Labour and the Fundación Hombres Nuevos, in collaboration with UNICEF, in ten municipalities in the sugar cane area of Santa Cruz. More than 3,000 girls and boys and their families, and 60 teachers from education units are to benefit from this strategy. One outcome expected is a 50 to 80 per cent increase in the school attendance rate.

The Committee also notes the adoption of the Three Year Plan for the Gradual Elimination of Child Labour (2006–08) (“Three Year Plan 2006–08”), which aims to implement effective and sustainable measures to improve implementation of the National Plan on the Gradual Elimination of Child Labour (2000–10) (“PNEPTI 2000–10”), including the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in the sugar cane industry. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to step up its efforts and to take time-bound measures, particularly in implementing the Three Year Plan 2006–08 and PNEPTI 2000–10 to: (a) prevent children from being placed in debt bondage or forced labour in the sugar cane and brazil nut harvesting industry; and (b) provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from these worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results obtained. Finally, it requests the Government to send information on the measures taken to ensure the rehabilitation of these children.

2. Child labour in mines. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the detailed information sent by the Government on the measures taken under the various programmes of action to eliminate child labour in mines. It notes in particular the awareness-raising and educational measures and economic alternatives provided for the families of children working in mines. It further notes with interest that 20 per cent of children who participated in the vocational training programme have stopped working in mines and that 80 per cent of those remaining work fewer hours. It notes that the Three Year Plan 2006–08 and PNEPTI 2000–10 have both set the elimination of child labour in mines as one of their objectives. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts and asks it to take time-bound measures, in particular under the Three Year Plan 2006–08 and PNEPTI 2000–10 to provide for necessary and appropriate direct assistance to ensure the rehabilitation and social integration of the children concerned. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results obtained.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Indigenous children. The Committee noted previously the information from the Government to the effect that in the large estates of the Chaco region, families of the Bolivian Guarani communities are subjected to debt bondage. As a result of this practice, the children of the families are in the same situation. It further noted that a national action plan to eliminate forced labour was to be adopted. It took into account the problems of the families of Guarani communities who are subjected to debt bondage, and specific measures were to be taken for the children under 18 years of age who are also in debt bondage. The Committee notes that the plan has not yet been adopted. It nonetheless takes due note of the Government’s information that it has adopted a Provisional Interministerial Plan 2007–08 for the Guarani people. The Committee observes that the children of indigenous peoples often fall victim to exploitation, which can take many forms, and are at risk of falling into the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures taken under the Provisional Interministerial Plan 2007–08 for the Guarani people, in order to prevent the children of these people falling into debt bondage or forced or compulsory labour. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the National Plan for the Elimination of Forced Labour as soon as it is adopted.

The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government concerning other points.