Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

ILAB Press Release: Labor Department Provides $6 Million in Grant to Help Eliminate Child Labor in Central American Coffee Industry [11/23/1999]

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The Labor Department has provided over $6 million in a grant to fund projects to help eliminate child labor in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The funding is part of the administration's $30 million initiative to combat child labor throughout the world.

"When President Clinton visited Central America in March this year, he pledged our help in the fight to move underage workers out of harmful or exploitative work," Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said. "This project is part of that help the president promised. Through these projects, our Central American partner governments in collaboration with the International Labor Organization will seek to withdraw more than 21,000 children from work or prevent them from entering work in coffee plantations.

"Those children will be provided educational and other support services to give them a chance at a meaningful future," Secretary Herman added. "I also want to point out that subsequent to the president's pledge of support, I met with the leadership of the National Coffee Association. As a result, they have pledged their support and will be engaged in this program."

The Labor Department provided the grant to the International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC). In addition to funding projects in the six countries, there will also be an overall regional coordinating program to share best practices and to mobilize the support of coffee producers, communities, non-government organizations and governments throughout the region.

Children as young as 5 are involved in various phases of coffee production. These children are unable to attend school regularly and often face health risks from exposure to the elements, working in treacherous terrain and injury from snake and insect bites.

The projects will withdraw children from work or prevent them from entering work. These children will be provided with educational opportunities, including vocational training for older children, and health and nutrition services. In addition, parents of these children will be provided with income alternatives.

A monitoring system will be established in each country to verify that children are being removed from work and are benefitting from the social services provided by the program, and that no new children are entering work in the coffee sector. The project will also launch awareness-raising campaigns to change attitudes and perceptions regarding child labor in the region. Subsequent phases of the project will seek to encompass all coffee-growing regions in these countries.

From fiscal year 1995 through fiscal year 1998, the U.S. committed $8.1 million to the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC). In this fiscal year's budget, President Clinton, with bipartisan support in Congress, increased the U.S. contribution to about $30 million for the year. The budget proposal for fiscal year 2000 also includes $30 million.

The Labor Department's Bureau of International Labor Affairs works with IPEC in identifying and designing projects which the department finances. Since fiscal year 1995, the department has provided funding for projects in Africa, Bangladesh, Brazil, Central America, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania and Thailand.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.