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

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

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the adoption of a special protocol on children and young persons who are victims of child labour or the worst forms of child labour. It also noted the measures undertaken by the Social Investment Fund for Local Development (FISDL), and the programmes established with ILO assistance to increase school enrolment and attendance rates. The Committee requested the Government to continue providing information on these measures, including in relation to the implementation of the special protocol referred to above.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indications that it has established a technical standard for complete and integrated care (Decision No. 1064 of 21 July 2016). This standard takes into account the rehabilitation of child victims of ill-treatment. Under the terms of section 45, “a carer in the integrated health service network (RIISS) who assists girls, boys and young persons who are victims of ill-treatment, commercial sexual exploitation or the worst forms of child labour, shall take action in accordance with the technical standard for their rehabilitation”. The standard is also based on section 52, which provides for the “referral of girls, boys and young persons affected by ill treatment, commercial sexual exploitation and the worst forms of child labour to legal care and protection services and ensuring the follow-up of these cases through intersectoral coordination in accordance with the provisions in force”. The Committee also notes the care provided to 796 girls, boys and young persons by the RIISS.

The Committee notes from the report the training provided by the Government to 240 facilitators and 395 resource persons in community family health units in the five regions of the country on the application of the comprehensive care technical standard in relation to victims of violence, with special attention to children. The Committee takes due note of the training on the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and young persons (ESCNNA) organized by the Ministry of Tourism and the national tourist police within the context of the tourist culture and intended for the economic sector. Similarly, discussions on the subject have been held with the Ministry of Tourism and the national police along the coastal zone with cooperatives and owners and employees in small and medium-sized tourist enterprises. The executive secretariat of the National Council to Combat Trafficking in Persons carried out awareness-raising activities for 2,473 public officials and employees, as well as students, magistrates, police officers and prosecutors.

The Committee notes from the Government’s report the measures adopted in relation to the comprehensive care, protection and recovery of victims of trafficking in persons. A rapid response team has been established and trained by the various institutes. Similarly, 15 direct and indirect victims benefited in 2015 from a specialized inter-institutional care protocol for children and young persons who are victims of sexual violence and trafficking in children, as well as for street children and child victims of the worst forms of child labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to protect child victims of trafficking in persons. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved through the application of the specialized inter-institutional care protocol for children and young persons who are victims of sexual violence, trafficking in children and for street children and child victims of the worst forms of child labour.

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. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the results achieved through the measures adopted in the context of the operational programme of the Road map in terms of the number of children who have benefited from these programmes. It also requested the Government to continue to provide information on the effective and time-bound measures adopted in the context of the Road map with a view to ensuring that children are not victims of the worst forms of child labour, providing them with the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal and ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration.

The Committee takes due note of the results achieved in the context of the operational programme of the Road map, as indicated in the Government’s report. School assistance has been provided to students in the form of kits containing clothing and school equipment and school food programmes have been implemented through school vegetable gardens and farms. These programmes have covered 91,509 boys and 87,920 girls between the ages of 4 and 6 years (crèche); 295,881 boys et 283,778 girls between the ages of 7 and 12 years (primary school); 145,499 boys and 139,793 girls between the ages of 13 and 15 years (third cycle of basic education); and finally, 66,987 boys and 69,722 girls in the educational level for children between 16 and 18 years of age. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Education, the programme “A glass of milk at school” enabled one million school children to benefit from milk in 2,918 schools and to reinforce the local economy for 2,600 persons in the agricultural sector in 2015. Health and education bonuses were distributed through the programme “Solidarity in rural communities” in 100 municipal areas considered by the Government to be in a situation of extreme poverty. Some 91.2 per cent of the children of the families receiving the bonuses participate in the school programme. Between 2016 and 2017, the Government indicates that it improved school enrolments and increased educational resources, particularly through the rehabilitation and construction of 40 schools and the repair of 383 other schools. Further activities resulted in the reinforcement of school assistance, such as the temporary income support programme, which provided conditional cash benefits through community projects and training, benefiting 15,661 participants between 2014 and 2016.

The Committee notes the permanent plan for the verification of the labour rights of minors in all economic sectors, which will be applied by the general directorate of the labour inspectorate at the national level. The Committee notes the decrease by 1,500 in the number of work permits for children and young persons aged 14–17 years between 2014 and 2017. During labour inspections of seven cases involving minors, one case was detected of a minor without a work permit in 2017. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved by the measures taken within the context of the programmes referred to in its report, including the operational programme of the Road map, in terms of the number of children who have benefited from these programmes. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the permanent plan for the verification of the labour rights of minors of working age through the labour inspectorate. The Committee further requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the results achieved in the context of the National Education Plan 2021.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Child domestic workers. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the increasing number of boys and girls who were victims of hazardous working conditions and the practice of “handing over” boys and girls to families for use as domestic workers, without appropriate remuneration and school attendance, which persisted in the country, and it noted that girls work under very difficult and degrading conditions. The Committee requested the Government to take specific measures to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of these children from the various forms of hazardous work and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration, and to provide detailed information on the measures adopted in this respect and the results achieved.

The Committee notes from the census undertaken by the Ministry of Education that in 2016, despite the various activities carried out by the Government to eradicate child labour in sugar cultivation, 18,979 children between the ages of 3 and 17 years are still involved, while 5,792 children work as vendors in markets and itinerant trading, 3,725 girls work as paid domestic workers and 1,668 children work in activities related to fishing. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the foundation FUNDAZUCAR identified 113 child workers in the sugar-cane sector and that it has established a system of surveillance in the sector (SIMSA) for children engaged in work. In 2016, the foundation engaged in awareness-raising activities for 4,026 persons on child labour in sugar-cane plantations.

The Committee notes the permanent plan for the verification of the labour rights of children in all economic sectors. However, the Committee does not note any further data in the Government’s report on unpaid girl and boy domestic workers. Noting the absence of information on this subject, the Committee once 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 the various forms of hazardous work and for their rehabilitation and social integration. It further 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 entitled “Solidarity for Urban and Rural Communities”, which had the objective of integrating children into the school system and providing them with health care. The Committee also noted that action to combat poverty was one of the objectives of the Road map. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the results achieved in relation to poverty reduction, as a contribution to the eradication of the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee notes that the Government describes in its report the various strategies for the eradication of poverty and that “active students, pregnant young women and other persons who wish to return to the third cycle of the baccalauréat in the school system who are under 21 years of age” and “families with children between zero and 2 years of age and pregnant women” are the priority categories for the Government. In terms of financing, the Committee notes the specific action taken by the Government, including the education allowance, which consists of a monthly amount allocated to students in the third cycle or the baccalauréat of US$15 a month and per child. Young mothers registered in the education system are provided with US$5 more until the end of the baccalauréat. In 2016, a total of 60,741 families with a pregnant woman or child under 5 years of age, and families with children at school up to the end of primary school (sixth grade) were provided with a first child bonus. In addition, 5,002 young persons in the third cycle and the baccalauréat were provided with an education bonus. Similarly, the Social Investment Fund for Local Development (FISDL) has developed infrastructure for drinking water and basic sanitation, electrification, education, health, social development, bridges and roadways, with a total number of beneficiaries of 2,760,789 persons between 2014 and 2017. In its report, the Government estimates the growth in coverage of drinking water and electricity was 4.3 per cent in the 100 municipal authorities considered by the Government to be in a situation of extreme poverty. As 35 per cent of the population needs to be covered by the poverty eradication strategy, according to the Government’s report, the Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to reduce poverty and thereby contribute to the eradication of the worst forms of child labour.