In times of COVID-19, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are taking action to protect the most vulnerable from child labour during crisis management and recovery

COVID-19 presents unprecedented risks to the rights and safety and development of children. Many children in child labour are at risk of entering more hidden or hazardous forms of work or working longer hours. The crisis can also push millions of vulnerable children into child labour, having to contribute to family income at too young an age. These examples from Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrate action taken by governments and partners to protect children from child labour and build back a better future for all children.

Article | 12 June 2020

    In times of COVID-19, the Latin America and the Caribbean Tripartite Platform helps strengthen the fight against child labour

    The Regional Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean Free of Child Labour is a tripartite cooperation platform committed to achieving SDG Target 8.7 in the region. Its members include government representatives from 30 countries and 14 representatives of employers' and workers' organizations. The Initiative is proving to be especially relevant in crisis contexts such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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    Established in 2014, the Regional Initiative plans and coordinates action based on social dialogue, favouring decision-making by consensus. With this work dynamic, it has approved a Strategic Plan 2018-2021, with five results covering issues of child labour prevention, the elimination of worst forms of child labour, the protection of permitted adolescent work, and sustainability.

    The governance mechanism of the Regional Initiative, a Network of Focal Points, meets monthly online. During these meetings the Focal Points monitor the implementation of the Strategic Plan, identify emerging issues for intervention and exchange successful experiences and good practices that capitalize the accumulated experience of governments and social partners, in a region that has shown significant progress in reducing child labour.

    In the context of COVID-19, the Regional Initiative has been monitoring the child labour situation in member countries. The Initiative is incorporating a crisis and resilience approach into the knowledge resources it develops, with the purpose of generating information for decision-making that protects progress made and counters possible regressive effects associated with the crisis.

    Likewise, thanks to the intensive use of new information technologies, the Initiative has been able to continue to providing ILO technical assistance to constituents in the region and to support them in the use of virtual means to keep their national spaces for dialogue and policy agreement active. At the same time, it supports the strengthening of capabilities and innovates in the remote management of responses based on coordinated action.

    Visit iniciativa2025alc.org and www.facebook.com/funcafeguatemala

    Argentina focuses on measures that protect families from resorting to child labour in times of COVID-19

    In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Government of Argentina is concentrating efforts on strengthening measures to support families and vulnerable groups, to prevent recourse to child labour and to supplement household income. This is aligned with the National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour and Protection of Adolescent Work 2018-2022.
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    The three main measures adopted are:

    1) An additional one-off payment of the Universal Child Allowance and the Pregnancy Allowance of a combined total of 3,100ARS (46USD);

    2) In April 2020, the payment of an additional one-off payment on the Food Card of 4,000ARS (60USD) for families with one child, and of 6,000ARS (90USD) for families with two or more children; and

    3) The payment of a bonus of 10,000ARS (150USD) called Emergency Family Income. This measure is aimed at supporting informal, unemployed, and self-employed workers, workers in other forms of unprotected work, and their families.

    These measures are expected to have a positive impact on the prevention and/or reduction of child labour in the country, considering that the Universal Child Allowance covers:

    - 32.9 per cent of households with girls, boys or adolescents between 5 and 17 years old;
    - 43.9 per cent of households where at least one child or adolescent carries out at least one productive activity;
    - 46 per cent of the households in rural areas, where children or adolescents carry out at least one productive activity;
    - 47.3 per cent of the North East Argentina region and 46.8 per cent of the North Western region, areas where the highest incidences of child labour are registered (EANNA, 2017*).


    In addition, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security launched a new edition of the virtual training "Child and adolescent labour: a comprehensive view," with a focus on the pandemic. The training seeks to show how COVID-19 can affect child and adolescent labour by increasing the vulnerability of the family nucleus and also seeks to raise awareness about how COVID-19 can affect certain determinants of child and adolescent labour. Twenty-six territorial agents from sixteen provinces and eight coordinators of Provincial Commissions for the Eradication of Child Labour and representatives of the union sector enrolled in the training programme, guaranteeing a multi-stakeholder and federal approach.

    The policies implemented represent 3 per cent of the GDP, and are intended to expand and deepen social protection coverage, preserve employment and promote decent work, in coordination with the workers and employers, within a social dialogue framework that characterizes the approach to tackling the problem of child and adolescent labour in Argentina.

    * EANNA: Survey of child and adolescent work www.trabajo.gob.ar/estadisticas/eanna/informe.asp

    Brazil -  COVID-19 impact on child labour and emerging responses

    In order to protect vulnerable families from resorting to child labour amidst the COVID-19 crisis, Brazil's “Bolsa Familia” (Family Fund) Programme has redoubled its efforts to care for families in need, increasing the amount of the monthly transfer depending on the level of vulnerability of the households. This measure directly supports families with working children and adolescents, who are the programme’s priority group.
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    Since 2005, the families of the Program for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour (PETI) of Brazil, were integrated into the “Bolsa Familia” (Family Fund) Program and receive a monthly transfer of 200 reais (equivalent to approximately 37 USD). With the new measure introduced due to COVID-19, since March 2020, they receive between 600 and 1,200 reais (approximately 110 - 220 USD), depending on the level of vulnerability of the household. This increase is equivalent to between half and a full minimum wage and is expected to remain in place for three months, with possibility of extension according to the evolution of the situation.

    In addition, the Ministry of Citizenship is adapting the PETI Program to COVID-19, giving greater attention to the problem of child labour in domestic work and raising awareness about this type of child labour within families. With the COVID-19 crisis, children can be particularly exposed to this type of child labour especially when it is:

    (i) associated with discrimination, because black girls and adolescents are more affected; (ii) aggravated by gender issues associated with women's roles as, faced with the loss of household income due to social distancing measures, girls are likely to assume more of the burden of care work at home, as families can no longer afford domestic workers and as all adult providers are in search of an income.

    In the medium term, and given that the majority of children and adolescents in Brazil are in school, the Ministry plans to carry out mappings of the impact of COVID-19 on child labour. The Ministry will do this through information collected in educational centers when face-to-face teaching resumes, with a special emphasis on the situation of adolescents, who constitute the majority of child workers in Brazil, but who may also be in authorized vocational training or on-the-job training programs.

    In terms of social protection, 45.2 million people were identified to receive emergency aid. They represent 83.7 per cent of the target population initially estimated at 54 million who should receive such benefits during the COVID-19 crisis. Many of these applicants have not been previous beneficiaries of any income transfer program and were not even included in the Single Registry of Beneficiaries of Social Programs. With this emergency measure, they have now become part of those identified as in need of protection by the Brazilian State.

    Brazil - During the COVID-19 emergency, the Brazilian labour inspectorate prioritises inspections to identify child labour

    In Brazil, there are currently 191,203 adolescents aged 14-18 years who formally work in companies, including as apprentices. In light of COVID-19, the Labour Inspectorate considers that adolescent workers should not continue to be physically present at work sites, as they could be exposed to health risks as a result of the pandemic, both in the workplace and when commuting from work to home. It is considered that this represents a risk to their physical and psychological development.
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    .Although adolescents are not considered as an at-risk group, as they are still developing, they should be granted full and priority protection, i.e. they should be provided with employment opportunities that respect their safety and health at work. It should be noted that the majority of adolescent workers in Brazil come from the lowest and most vulnerable social classes.

    The Labour Inspectorate thus identified 57,010 employers, and has started to notify them that these adolescents must be removed from the workplace, but without ending their employment contracts or reducing their salaries. The companies are also informed about the possibility of adopting measures to protect employment and income. These notifications, issued by the Federal Government, proposal several options such as to anticipating holidays, encouraging remote work when possible, the temporary suspension of contracts and the proportional reduction of hours of work and wages. In the last two cases, the payment of a government bonus to the worker would apply.

    In addition, the Labour Inspectorate has been checking all apprenticeship contracts that were terminated up until 21 July, to ensure against wrongful terminations. In cases of wrongful termination, employers are requested to reintegrate the apprentices, and the employment and income protection measures offered by the Government are applicable. 4,904 companies were identified with hints of illegal dismissal of 12,522 apprentices.

    It is important to highlight that, in Brazil, labour inspection was declared as an essential service during the pandemic. However, the first Decree on the emergency situation did not include this service. Following action taken by the Inspection Headquarters and the Labour Inspectors Union, the Decree on the emergency situation was amended to include labour inspection, both with guiding and sanctioning powers. During the emergency, labour inspection actions have been classified into five priority levels, with actions on child labour being included in the first level, called “urgent audits.”

    The decree that declares labour inspection as an essential service can be consulted at: www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2019-2022/2020/decreto/D10292.htm#art1.

    Guatemala - Guatemalan coffee sector complements the Government’s efforts to ensure education in rural areas during the COVID-19 crisis

    In Guatemala, in response to the educational crisis caused by COVID-19, the Foundation Funcafé’s Distance Education Programme is contributing to distance learning, through a methodology and self-learning resources that the Foundation has developed for children and adolescents. The programme has been certified by the Ministry of Education as methodology that complements distance education from home.
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    Currently, the Ministry of Education implements an education system through radio and television, so that all children can have access to education while schools are closed. However, the challenge of ensuring the quality of the contents and their supervision persists and it is in this vein that Funcafé's programme contributes.

    Since 1994, the Foundation has promoted education based on self-learning, with a methodology based on self-training guides by level that allows learning assessment through acquired competences, not by curricular content. Thanks to this interesting methodology, in the current crisis situation, teachers and students have adapted to distance education, and continued learning despite the mandatory social distancing and the suspension of classes decreed by the Government.

    In rural areas, due to the suspension of classes, it has come to light that children and adolescents are accompanying their grandparents, parents and siblings in the productive activities typical of the season such as sowing, pruning, and soil preparation, among other work to look after their crops. They can be easily involved in this type of work and get used to working, with the added risk of the associated economic stimulus. The children who participate in the Funcafé Programme have the opportunity to continue with their accredited academic learning, away from child labour.

    Funcafé currently provides access to education to 5,200 children, adolescents and young people in the coffee sector in Guatemala, with an investment that varies from USD112 to USD1,600 per year depending on educational level.


    Since the creation of Funcafé, around 430,000 educational services such as partial or total study scholarships, school supplies kits, teacher training and follow up in and out of the classroom have been provided, through home visits for educational follow-up. Together these activities create development opportunities for children and their families.

    Learn more about the experience at www.funcafe.org and www.facebook.com/funcafeguatemala