Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - El Salvador (Ratification: 2000)

Article 5. Child labour monitoring and control system. Further to its previous comment, which noted the development of a child labour monitoring and control software (SVYSTI), the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the SVYSTI remains to be implemented. The Government indicates, instead, that a new information system to monitor child labour (SIMETI) was developed and implemented, with ILO assistance. The Committee notes with interest that this system contains statistical information concerning households, education, child labour by age and sector, and comparison tables that illustrate child labour by gender and geographical area. The Government indicates that the SIMETI enables the respective agencies to input voluminous statistical information into one database, which may then be used as a point of information and consultation by institutions, companies, inspectors and other national and international bodies.

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. In its previous comment, the Committee noted the Roadmap to Free El Salvador from Child Labour and its Worst Forms (hereafter, the Roadmap), which was developed with ILO–IPEC assistance and constitutes a national strategic framework based on the achievement of the objectives set out in the Decent work in the Americas: An agenda for the hemisphere, namely the elimination of the worst forms of child labour by 2015 and the eradication of child labour in all its forms by 2020.

The Committee notes the Government’s information, set out in table 20 of its report, which enumerates the measures and levels of achievement carried out by the National Institute on Children and Adolescents (ISNA) within the framework of the Roadmap. The Government also refers to the adoption of a special protocol for children and adolescents in child labour or victims of its worst forms. In addition, the Committee notes the measures undertaken by the Social Investment Fund for Local Development (FISDL) under the Roadmap, including many programmes with ILO assistance, to increase school attendance and participation. The Committee appreciates the Government’s efforts within the context of the Roadmap to implement programmes of action to eliminate child labour, including its worst forms, and requests the Government to continue to provide information concerning these measures, including the implementation of the special protocol to which it refers in its report.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and removing them from such labour. Implementation of the Time-bound Programme (TBP). Further to its previous comment which noted the completion of the ILO–IPEC Time-bound Programme, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to the operational programme of the Roadmap. The Government indicates that this programme sets out the Roadmap’s objectives, monitoring, report planning and information software. The Government further references the inter-institutional protocol for the removal and prevention of children and adolescents in child labour, which includes coordination between the Ministry of Labour and Social Provision and other key institutions to strengthen efforts in this respect. Finally, the Committee notes the ILO–IPEC project “Elimination of Child Labour in El Salvador through Economic Employment and Social Inclusion”, which aims to increase the capacity of public institutions and municipalities and strengthen local resources. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results of the programmatic measures that are referenced in its report, including the operational programme of the Roadmap, in terms of the number of children who have benefited from these programmes. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the effective and time-bound measures adopted within the context of the Roadmap to prevent children from becoming victims of the worst forms of child labour and for the provision of the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal from the worst forms of child labour and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Child domestic workers. The Committee previously noted that increasing numbers of boys and girls were becoming victims of hazardous working conditions and that the practice of “handing over” boys and girls to families – who are used as domestic servants and work long hours without adequate remuneration and without attending school – still exists in the country. It also observed that girls are often employed informally in domestic work under very difficult and degrading conditions. Noting the absence of information on this point, the Committee again requests the Government to take specific measures for the provision of the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of these children from hazardous forms of work and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures adopted in this respect and the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation. Poverty reduction. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the cash transfer programme “Solidarity for Urban and Rural Communities”, which aims to integrate children into the school system and provide them with health care. The Committee also noted that combating poverty is one of the objectives of the Roadmap. However, it also noted that, although poverty was decreasing, six out of ten children still lived in poverty and that disparities between urban and rural areas remained substantial.

The Committee notes, in this respect, the Government’s indication that, under the solidarity programme, the FISDL has closed the wealth gaps in 100 municipalities which were classified as the poorest in the country. The Committee further notes the Government’s information concerning programmes which were carried out in 2010 and 2011 to provide resources for poor communities, including rural areas, and the 2013 Presidential Programme for Rural Communities which benefited 75,192 families in 100 municipalities in extreme poverty. The Government indicates that, in 2013, US$3,872,975 were provided for programmes in rural and urban communities and that, within the context of a rural community programme, six municipalities and 830 families benefited from education and classroom reform.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s efforts to combat poverty, particularly in the rural areas. Nevertheless, it notes the 2013 household and multiple purpose survey (EHPM), which indicates that 43.7 per cent of children and adolescents live in poverty and that, within this group, 48.7 per cent live in rural areas and 39.9 per cent live in urban areas. Recalling that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts in this regard and requests it to provide information on the results achieved, as well as any additional measures adopted in the context of the Roadmap to combat child labour.