2006 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Venezuela

Selected Statistics and Indicators on Child Labor
Percent of children ages 10-14 estimated as working in 2003:	9.1%4424
Minimum age for admission to work:	14%4425
Age to which education is compulsory:	Approximately age 154426
Free public education:	Yes*4427
Gross primary enrollment rate in 2004:	105%4428
Net primary enrollment rate in 2004:	92%4429
Percent of children 10-14 attending school in 2003:	94.4%4430
As of 2003 percentage of primary school entrants likely to reach grade 5:	91%4431
Ratified Convention 138:	7/15/19874432
Ratified Convention 182:	10/26/20054433
ILO-IPEC participating country:	Yes4434
* Must pay for school supplies and related items.

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

In 2003, approximately 11.4 percent of boys and 6.6 percent of girls ages 10 to 14 were working in Venezuela. The majority of working children were found in the services sector (63.6 percent), followed by the agricultural sector (25.9 percent), manufacturing (8.1 percent), and other sectors (2.4 percent).⁴⁴³⁵ Most children work in the informal sector.⁴⁴³⁶

Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor.⁴⁴³⁷

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The law sets the minimum employment age at 14, with exceptions. Children ages 12 and 13 can work with permission from the Protection Council if the work is not dangerous and does not obstruct education.⁴⁴³⁸ Fines are established for employing any minor from age 8 to age 12, and employing or profiting from the employment of a child from 12 to 15 years of age who does not have authorization to work. Employing a child younger than 8 years of age is punishable by 1 to 3 years of incarceration.⁴⁴³⁹

Minors are prohibited from work that poses risks to their development.⁴⁴⁴⁰ They are prohibited from work in mines, smelting factories, and in places where alcohol is sold, with the exception of hotels, restaurants, planes, and other similar establishments.⁴⁴⁴¹ Children under age 16 may not work more than 30 hours per week. The Children's and Adolescence Protection Code (LOPNA) limits minors' working hours to 6 per day, however the Labor Code allows those under 16 to work 8 hours per day if the work is intermittent or requires only the minor's presence.⁴⁴⁴² Rest periods are established for children under 16 and for minors working as domestic servants. Minors are prohibited from working without authorization after 7 p.m. and before 6 a.m.⁴⁴⁴³

Working adolescents are required to be registered with the Protection Council and the social security system, are to be provided with working credentials and must have medical examinations and a medical certificate.⁴⁴⁴⁴ Employing or profiting from the employment of a minor in work indicated by their medical exam as detrimental is punishable by 6 months to 2 years of incarceration.⁴⁴⁴⁵ Fines are established for violations of the registration, medical, and social security system requirements, as well as for employers that impede child labor inspectors.⁴⁴⁴⁶ Minors may not be paid by piece or less than other workers for equal work.⁴⁴⁴⁷

Employers must maintain a registry of basic information regarding minor employees and must notify designated authorities if they hire a minor as a domestic servant.⁴⁴⁴⁸ Labor Code provisions apply to minors working under apprenticeships.⁴⁴⁴⁹ The government is responsible for providing working minors with appropriate educational programs.⁴⁴⁵⁰ The executive branch reserves the right to adjust the minimum age for dangerous work.⁴⁴⁵¹ The ILO CEACR has requested that the government ensure that minors are not authorized to engage in hazardous work, except under certain circumstances involving training for children older than

The sexual exploitation of children is prohibited and is punishable by 3 to 8 years of incarceration.⁴⁴⁵³ Inducing, supporting, or facilitating the prostitution of a minor to another party may result in 3 to 18 months of incarceration. If the crime is done repeatedly, or for profit, it is punishable by 3 to 6 years of incarceration.⁴⁴⁵⁴ Punishments for inducing a minor into prostitution are increased to up to 5 years of incarceration if various aggravating circumstances occur.⁴⁴⁵⁵ Prison terms for the forced prostitution of a relative range from 4 to 6 years.⁴⁴⁵⁶ Punishments for adult perpetrator of crimes, including those crimes involving illegal drugs, are increased if a minor participated in the commission of the crime.⁴⁴⁵⁷ The law prohibits and establishes sentences of 1 to 3 years of incarceration for forced child labor, and establishes prison terms of 6 to 12 years for slavery, situations similar to slavery, and slave trafficking.⁴⁴⁵⁸ Child trafficking by members of organized groups is punishable by 10 to 18 years of incarceration.⁴⁴⁵⁹ The illicit movement of children is prohibited, and trafficking may also be punishable under a law that provides punishments of 2 to 6 years of imprisonment for sending a child outside the country for profit, as well as fines for transferring a child to a third party and for transporting a child without authorization either within the country or internationally.⁴⁴⁶⁰ The prison term for profiting from the transfer of a son, daughter, student, or minor in an individual's care to a third party is from 2 to 6 years, and the same punishment applies for offering payment in exchange for a child.⁴⁴⁶¹ Trafficking may also be punishable under a law that provides prison sentences of 8 to 10 years for human smuggling under circumstances that include when violence, intimidation, or deception are used, with penalties increased if the victim's life, health or integrity is endangered.⁴⁴⁶² The law prohibits child pornography and punishes it with fines and prison sentences of between 3 months and 4 years.⁴⁴⁶³ Producing or selling child pornography may result in prison terms of 16 to 20 years.⁴⁴⁶⁴ Using any form of information technology to depict child pornography is punishable by 4 to 8 years of incarceration, with penalties increased under certain circumstances.⁴⁴⁶⁵ Punishments of 2 to 6 years of incarceration are established for the recruitment of minors into criminal organizations; and the prison sentence ranges for 4 to 8 years if the perpetrator is an authority figure.⁴⁴⁶⁶ The minimum recruitment age for the government armed forces is 18. Secondary students are required to complete 2 years of pre-military instruction.⁴⁴⁶⁷

The U.S. Department of State reports that the Ministry of Labor and the National Institute for minors effectively enforced child labor laws in the formal sector, but less effectively in the informal sector.⁴⁴⁶⁸ The National Protection System for Children and Adolescents includes institutions such as state and local Councils on Children's and Adolescents' Rights that are responsible for monitoring children's rights and Children's and Adolescents' Ombudsmen that are responsible for defending children's rights.⁴⁴⁶⁹ The U.S. Department of State also reports that while the Government of Venezuela has improved its efforts to capture individuals suspected of human trafficking, there were no prosecutions or convictions of traffickers in 2005 and anti-trafficking laws were usually not enforced.⁴⁴⁷⁰

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

The Ministry of Interior and Justice's Crime Prevention Unit held trainings for government officials that included the theme of trafficking. The government has an anti-trafficking plan and implemented an anti-trafficking awareness raising campaign.⁴⁴⁷¹

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4424 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates, October 7 2005.

4425 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, (October 2, 1998), Articles 96; available from http://www.fiscalia.gov.ve/legislacion.asp.

4426 U.S. Department of State, "Venezuela," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2006, Washington, DC, March 6, 2007, Section 5; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/. See also UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Ending Age of Compulsory Education, accessed March 8, 2007; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org.

4427 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Venezuela," Section 5. See also UNESCO, Education for All Global Monitoring Report: 2006, Paris 2005, 84; available from http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=43283&URL_DO=DO_TOP….

4428 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Gross Enrolment Ratio. Primary. Total, accessed December 20, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org.

4429 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Net Enrolment Rate. Primary. Total, accessed December 20, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/.

4430 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

4431 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Survival Rate to Grade 5. Total, accessed December 18, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org.

4432 ILO, Ratifications by Country, [online] [cited October 20, 2006]; available from http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/newratframeE.htm.

4433 Ibid.

4434 ILO-IPEC, All About IPEC: Programme Countries, [online] 2001 [cited March 7, 2007]; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/about/countries/t_coun….

4435 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

4436 U.S. Embassy – Caracas, reporting, December 14, 2006.

4437 U.S. Department of State, "Venezuela (Tier 3)," in Trafficking in Persons Report – 2006, Washington, DC, June 5, 2006; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006/.

4438 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Articles 2 and 96.

4439 Ibid., Articles 238, 239 and 257.

4440 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, 5.152, (June 19, 1997), Article 250; available from http://www.mintra.gov.ve/. See also Government of Venezuela, Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela,1999, Article 89; available from http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/constudies.html.

4441 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, 249-250.

4442 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 102. See also Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, Article 255.

4443 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, Articles 256 and 257. See also Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 113.

4444 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Articles 96, 98, 99, 104, 105, 110, and 111. See also Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, 252 and 253.

4445 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 256.

4446 Ibid., Articles 240-243.

4447 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, Articles 258 and 259. See also Government of Venezuela, Salario Mínimo Obligatorio al partir del 1º de Septiembre de 2006, Decreto Nº 4.446, (April 25, 2006), Article 2; available from http://www.mintra.gov.ve/. See also Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Articles 112.

4448 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, Articles 262 and 265. See also Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 108.

4449 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica del Trabajo, Article 266.

4450 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 59.

4451 Ibid., Articles 238 and 239.

4452 ILO, CEACR: Individual Observation concerning Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Geneva, 2006; available from http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/newcountryframeE.htm.

4453 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Articles 33 and 258.

4454 Government of Venezuela, Código Penal de Venezuela, 5.494, (October 20, 2000), Article 382, 389 and 392; available from http://www.mintra.gov.ve/legal/codigos/penaldevenezuela.htm.

4455 Ibid., Articles 388 and 392.

4456 Ibid., Articles 390 and 392.

4457 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 264. See also Government of Venezuela, Código Penal de Venezuela, Article 367.

4458 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Articles 38 and 255. See also Government of Venezuela, Código Penal de Venezuela, Article 174.

4459 Government of Venezuela, Ley Contra la Delincuencia Organizada, 38.281, (September 27, 2005), Article 16; available from http://www.asambleanacional.gov.ve/ns2/leyes.asp?id=298.

4460 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Articles 40, 231, 232 and 266. See also Government of Venezuela, Constitución de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela,1999, Article 54. See also U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Venezuela," Section 5.

4461 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 267.

4462 Government of Venezuela, Ley de Extranjería y Migración, 37.944, (May 24, 2004), Articles 56-58; available from http://www.acnur.org/biblioteca/pdf/2867.pdf.

4463 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 237. See also Government of Venezuela, Código Penal de Venezuela, Article 383.

4464 Government of Venezuela, Ley Contra la Delincuencia Organizada, Article 14.

4465 Government of Venezuela, Ley sobre Delitos informáticos, 37.313, (October 30, 2001), Articles 24, 27, and 28; available from http://www.asambleanacional.gov.ve/ns2/leyes.asp?id=234.

4466 Government of Venezuela, Ley Orgánica para la Protección del Niño y del Adolescente, Article 265.

4467 Government of Venezuela, Ley de Conscripción y Alistamiento Militar, 2.306, (September 11, 1978), Articles 3, 4, and 71; available from http://www.gobiernoenlinea.ve/legislacion-view/view/ver_legislacion.pag.

4468 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Venezuela," Section 6d. See also Alejandro Silva and Miliseth Ysea, 245 centros de trabajo censados. Las Inspecciones de trabajo infantil son un Ejercicio de corresponsabilidad. , [online] July 15, 2006 [cited October 16, 2006]; available from www.mintra.gov.ve.

4469 UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Eighteenth Periodic Reports of States Parties Due in 2004, prepared by Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, CERD/C/476/Add.4, 2004, para. 139, 140, and 142; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/documentsfrset?OpenFrameSet

4470 U.S. Department of State, "Trafficking in Persons Report – 2006: Venezuela."

4471 Ibid.