2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Grenada

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

Statistics on the number of working children under the age of 15 in Grenada are unavailable.²⁰⁴³ It has been reported that some children work informally in the agricultural sector.²⁰⁴⁴ According to the World Bank, children in Grenada are becoming involved in commercial sexual exploitation in order to pay for basic needs, such as school fees and food.²⁰⁴⁵

In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 120 percent, the most recent year for which data are available; the net primary enrollment rate was 84 percent.²⁰⁴⁶ Gross and net enrollments ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Recent primary school attendance rates are not available for Grenada.²⁰⁴⁷ As of 2001, 79 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.²⁰⁴⁸ Despite high enrollment rates, factors such as poverty, poor school facilities, and the periodic need to help with family farm harvests resulted in a 7 percent absenteeism rate among primary school children in 2000, the most recent time period for which such figures are available.²⁰⁴⁹ The government cites the high level of emigration of natural parents, inadequate children's care, and juvenile crime as the leading causes of children dropping out of school. The lack of a male role model, single-parent households and violence in the family may be causes for dropping out of school.²⁰⁵⁰

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act sets the minimum age for employment in Grenada at 16 years.²⁰⁵¹ Children under the age of 14 years are not permitted to work in any public or private industrial undertaking other than an undertaking in which only members of the same family are employed.²⁰⁵²

A person convicted of violating the Act can be subject to a fine of up to USD 10,000, up to 3 years of imprisonment, or both.²⁰⁵³ The Constitution prohibits forced labor and slavery.²⁰⁵⁴ Grenada does not have a system of conscription into the armed forces and, therefore, enlistment is on a voluntary basis only.²⁰⁵⁵ The Ministry of Labor enforces child labor laws in the formal sector through periodic checks; however, enforcement in the informal sector remained a problem, according to the U.S. Department of State.²⁰⁵⁶

Since 2002, the Government of Grenada has been implementing its first comprehensive educational development plan, entitled "Strategic Plan for Educational Enhancement and Development (SPEED)." The Plan includes aims to provide universal access to education, improve the quality of education, provide learners with relevant knowledge, attitudes and skills, establish and strengthen relationships with partners in education, improve the effectiveness of management and administration of education at ministry and school levels, and ensure consistent government financing of education, diversifying the funding sources and making certain that resources are used efficiently.²⁰⁵⁷

The Child Welfare Act of 1998 designates the Child Welfare Authority as responsible for providing protection for children, including in cases of neglect or sexual exploitation.²⁰⁵⁸

Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

The World Bank, in partnership with CARICOM and other international donor organizations, has funded a regional HIV/AIDS prevention project in Grenada. The project goal is to increase equitable access to secondary education; improve the quality of the teaching and learning process, with more direct interventions and provision of resources at the school level, a focus on student-centered learning and various mechanisms to provide student support; and strengthen management of the sector and governance of schools. The project is expected to end in 2007.²⁰⁵⁹

Grenada's Strategic Plan for Educational Enhancement and Development aims to improve the quality of education and student achievement and to establish and strengthen relationships with education partners by working closely with the local private sector, NGOs, as well as regional and international organizations. The Ministry is also working to improve management and administration efficiency and to ensure consistent financing of education and efficient use of resources.²⁰⁶⁰

The Government of Grenada in collaboration with UNICEF and other international donors, including USAID and the Canadian government, cooperated in the rebuilding and refurbishing of schools after Hurricane Ivan's devastation to the school system.²⁰⁶¹

Second phase of the World Bank's Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Education Development Program began in 2003 and is scheduled to close in September 2007. The project objective is to increase access to schools by expanding and rehabilitating space, providing additional learning resources, training teachers in pedagogy, identifying special needs children, and implementing new methods for teaching literacy. It also supports students by developing extra-curricular activities and training administrators in the management of the school system.²⁰⁶²

2043 This statistic is not available from the data sources that are used in this report. Reliable data on the worst forms of child labor are especially difficult to collect given the often hidden or illegal nature of the worst forms, such as the use of children in the illegal drug trade, prostitution, pornography, and trafficking. As a result, statistics and information on children's work in general are reported in this section. Such statistics and information may or may not include the worst forms of child labor. For more information on the definition of working children and other indicators used in this report, please see the "Data Sources and Definitions" section of this report.

2044 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2004: Grenada, Washington, DC, February 28, 2005; available from www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41761.htm.

2045 The World Bank, Project Appraisal Document on a Proposed IDA Grant in the Amount of SDR 6.1 Million Equivalent to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for The Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS Project, The World Bank, Washington, D.C., March 4, 2004; available from http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/03/09… LCR.txt. See also The Protection Project, Grenada, Washington, D.C., March, 2002; available from http://209.190.246.239/ver2/cr/Grenada.pdf. It is reported that girls are three times as likely as boys to be infected with the HIV virus. See The World Bank, Project Appraisal Document on a Proposed Loan/Credit in the Amount of US$6.04 Million to Grenada for a HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project, The World Bank, Washington, D.C., July 1, 2002; available from http://wwwwds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2002/07/31… ge.pdf.

2046 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=51 (Gross and Net Enrolment Ratios, Primary; accessed December 2005). For an explanation of gross primary enrollment rates that are greater than 100 percent, please see the definition of gross primary enrollment rates in the "Data Sources and Definitions" section of this report.

2047 This statistic is not available from the data sources that are used in this report. Please see the "Data Sources and Definitions" section for information about sources used.

2048 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViiewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=5 (School life expentancy, % of repeaters, survival rates; accessed December 2005).

2049 U.S. Embassy – Bridgetown, unclassified telegram no. 1126, June 23, 2000.

2050 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Summary Record of the 608th Meeting, CRC/C/SR.608, Geneva, March 9, 2000; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/e3ba3… .pdf.

2051 Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, Grenada – Child Labor Laws and Enforcement, May 21, 2001 1999, Article 32.

2052 Angela Melchiorre, Grenada, Right to Education Organization, 2004 [cited May 2, 2006]; available from http://www.right-toeducation.org/content/age/grenada.html.

2053 Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, Article 35.

2054 Grenada Constitution Order 1973, No. 2155, (February 7, 1974); available from http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba/Constitutions/Grenada/gren73eng.html.

2055 Human Rights Watch: Americas: Grenada, Child Soldier Global Report 2001, 2001.

2056 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2003: Grenada, Washington, D.C., February 25, 2004; available from www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27898.htm.

2057 Government of Grenada, Strategic Plan for Educational Enhancement 2002-2010, Ministry of Education, January 2002, 21-40.

2058 Committee on Rights of Child Considers Report of Grenada. United Nations. HR/CRC/00/18. 24 January 2000.

2059 The World Bank, Grenada: HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control; available from Http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64312881&piPK+64302848&th., Updated November 23, 2005.

2060 Government of Grenada, Strategic Plan for Educational Enhancement 2002-2010, Ministry of Education, January 2002.

2061 UNICEF, UN Steps Up Relief to Grenada in Ivan's Wake. Available from http://www.unicef.org/media_23439.html, UNICEF, September 14, 2004.

2062 The World Bank, "Grenada: OECS Education Development Project". Available from http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73… ctid=P077759.