Cycle of Sickness - La Isla Foundation

Transcription

Cycle of Sickness
A Survey Report on Child Labor
In the Nicaraguan Sugarcane Fields of Ingenio San Antonio
La Isla Foundation
Cycle of Sickness
A Survey Report on Child Labor
In the Nicaraguan Sugarcane Fields of Ingenio San Antonio
Department of Law and Human Rights, La Isla Foundation
April 2015
www.laislafoundation.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4
I. INTRODUCTION
10
II. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
13
A. Rationale
B. Methodology
C. Concerns and Limitations
III. CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND
A. Hazardous Sugarcane Work
B. Effects of Work on Children
C. Child Labor Regulatory Framework
i. International Standards
ii. Domestic Law
iii. Enforcement Mechanisms and Domestic Initiatives
a. Enforcement Mechanisms and Domestic Policy
b. Social Programs and Initiatives
IV. STUDY RESULTS
A. Demographic Data
i. Research Participants
ii. Observed Minors in the Field
B. Forms of Contract and Types of Work
i. Subcontracted Employment
ii. Job Functions
C. Remuneration and Hours
i. Wages
ii. Wage Manipulation
iii. Hours
D. Occupational Hazards and Access to Health
i. Access to Water, Rest, and Shade
ii. Occupational Exposures
iii. Provision of Training and Safety Equipment
iv. Resulting Injuries and Illnesses
v. Medical Attention and Insurance
E. Access to Education
F. Coercive and Hostile Work Environment
G. Effects of CKDnT
13
13
13
15
16
17
18
18
18
19
20
22
24
24
24
24
24
25
26
27
27
28
28
29
30
32
34
35
35
37
38
39
V. CONCLUSION
43
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
46
— CYCLE OF SICKNESS —
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
La Isla Foundation (LIF), founded in 2008, works to address the epidemic of Chronic Kidney
Disease of nontraditional causes (CKDnT).1 CKDnT is a progressive, degenerative, occupationally
driven illness that disproportionately affects agricultural workers in the Mesoamerican region.
According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Nicaragua has the highest mortality
rate from kidney disease in the Americas at 42.8 deaths per 100,000.2 In the most severely
impacted areas of western Nicaragua, PAHO estimates mortality rates are five times that of the
national average.3
A particularly high prevalence of CKDnT exists among sugarcane workers in western Nicaragua.
This labor force includes children and adolescents, who work in hopes of alleviating desperate
financial situations at home. In the affected communities where LIF works, CKDnT is presenting
at a much younger age than when Chronic Kidney Disease normally appears. Workers as young
as 17 have been diagnosed with the disease. Due to limited treatment options in Nicaragua and
common complications arising from what treatment options are available, CKDnT typically leads
to a slow and painful death.
In previous LIF studies, adult workers discussed having worked in sugarcane as children. These
interviews prompted the following study, which seeks to establish a better understanding of the
severity of the child labor issue and the specific challenges faced by underage workers. For the
purposes of this study, LIF interviewed 26 current and former sugarcane workers from Ingenio
San Antonio (ISA), the largest sugar production facility in Nicaragua headquartered in the city of
Chichigalpa. Interviewees ranged in age from 12 to 17 years. All the respondents were living in
Chichigalpa and had worked for ISA at some point in 2013.
Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited (NSEL) owns and operates ISA which is a sugar mill, refinery,
distillery, and plantation. NSEL is a subsidiary of the commercial conglomerate Grupo Pellas,
one of the largest and most diversified corporations in Central America. The policies of ISA with
regard to breaks, shade, and the provision of water fall below the safety guidelines defined by
the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Such conditions have particularly
damaging effects on minor workers. Respondents reported symptoms of dizziness from
dehydration, extreme fatigue, heat stress, fever, and problems with urination. LIF hypothesizes
that increasing rates of CKDnT in Nicaragua are in part due to child laborers’ early exposure to
harsh working conditions which have been linked to the development of the disease.
The early participation of minors in the workforce is the consequence of sugarcane monoculture
and endemic poverty in the region. To alleviate financial pressure that is often the result of a
death in the family caused by CKDnT, children and adolescents go to work in the fields, where
they experience hazardous conditions, low pay, and long hours, according to the present
findings. Thus, minor workers do not have the opportunity to receive an adequate education,
which narrows job possibilities and necessitates continued employment in the fields. The
research findings are summarized below.
●● Hours of Work – Respondents reported that work in ISA routinely involved excessive
hours, excessive workload, and not enough time to rest during the workday. Some
respondents reported leaving their homes for work as early as 3 a.m., while most left
between 4 and 5 a.m. The reported hour of return varied from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Daily
hours of work varied as well. Hours worked during the harvest were reported at
1 Also referred to as “Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology ” (CKDu) and “Mesoamerican nephropathy” (MeN).
Pan American Health Organization, “Chronic Kidney Disease in Agricultural Communities in Central America,” CD52/8,
p. 1 (Jul. 17, 2013) available at http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=227
81&Itemid=270&lang=en (last accessed on 3 Feb. 2015), p. 4.
2 3 Ibid.
4
LA ISLA FOUNDATION | APRIL 2015
a maximum of 15 hours per day and a minimum of two hours per day. Most
workers stated that they worked approximately eight hours per day.
●● Wage Manipulation – Due to the illegal nature of employing a minor, most
respondents obtained employment through third party contractors. Work
arrangements were informal; most workers reported having no paperwork
documenting their salary which left respondents susceptible to wage-related abuses.
Workers reported instances of salary cuts without understanding the reason for the
cuts. Workers also reported instances of abuse such as wage theft and threats of
termination for complaining. The majority of workers reported using a borrowed
identification number of another person in order to work at ISA. Some reported having
to pay this person for the use of their number.
●● Occupational Hazards and Illnesses – Researchers found that the combination
of hazardous working conditions and the failure to provide equipment and proper
training were the likely cause of many injuries and illnesses experienced by minor
workers. Most respondents reported exposures to high temperatures, solar radiation,
dust and smoke. Most workers also reported using dangerous tools such as machetes
on the job. Out of all 26 children interviewed, only two reported receiving any
kind of health and safety training at the workplace, and only eight workers
reported receiving protective equipment from ISA. One field worker described
working as a plane flew overhead dusting crops with agrochemicals. This worker
received no protective equipment to shield him from chemical exposure.
Most workers reported exposure to extreme heat while at work. Although high
temperatures in the region average over 100° F (37.8° C), respondents reported that
ISA did not provide equipment for protection against this heat. Despite these high
temperatures, ten workers stated they drank only two liters of water per day even
though these workers reported work days ranging from three to 15 hours per day.
One 12-year-old worker reported drinking only 1.5 liters per day despite working
eight-hour days.
Most workers reported experiencing symptoms related to heat stress and/or heat
exhaustion as well as dehydration, fevers, extreme fatigue and dizziness. Seven
of the 26 workers reported having kidney problems. Four workers mentioned
urination problems at some point during their interview. Two workers mentioned
pain while urinating; one of them reported that he occasionally urinates blood.
Two workers reported having elevated creatinine levels, which may indicate
problems with kidney function, and one worker reported that he was diagnosed
with CKDnT. Almost half of respondents complained of respiratory, eye, skin,
or stomach problems. Eight workers reported having workplace accidents, most
frequently machete cuts.
●● Access to Care – One of the biggest problems reported by respondents was the
inability to access medical care. Respondents reported having no access to onsite ISA
medical facilities or medical benefits of any kind. No respondent reported receiving
a medical exam prior to beginning work. Given this trend, it is highly likely that
creatinine levels, which are checked regularly in adult workers as an indicator of
healthy kidney function, are not being checked in children prior to starting work, nor
regularly during the harvest.
●● Effects of CKDnT – Twenty two respondents reported that someone in their family
works or had worked at ISA. Of these 22 workers, eight said that the reason a family
member left ISA was due to CKDnT or high creatinine levels. Three respondents
reported deaths in their family from CKDnT. The majority of respondents said that
they need to work in order to provide family income, help pay off family debt, or cover
the cost of basic necessities like food and medicine.
5
●● Access to Education – Researchers found that work in the cane fields appeared to
affect the school attendance of underage workers. More than half of respondents
reported not going to school, and four workers reported they were unable to
read or write. The average number of years of school completed was approximately
six years, however the most frequently reported highest grade completed was third
grade. Two workers responded that their highest level of education was the first year
of primary school. Both of these workers also reported beginning work at ISA at the
age of 14.
●● Hostile Work Environment – Respondents generally described facing a hostile
work environment at ISA. This hostility appeared to be contingent on the contractor
who employed the child. Ten workers reported being yelled at or insulted at work.
Four respondents gave information on additional maltreatment, such as being
fired for asking to urinate or being denied breaks to eat, rest, or drink water. Some
respondents reported significant pressure from their supervisors to continue working
even after reaching exhaustion.
The working conditions, as reported by respondents, indicate that ISA is not in compliance with
domestic and international laws. While legal protections for minor workers in Nicaragua are
strong on paper, systemic implementation and enforcement of these laws is lacking. Nicaragua
has ratified all of the core international covenants with respect to child labor and has established
laws and regulations that clarify in what hazardous environments child labor is prohibited.4
Underfunded and poorly coordinated enforcement mechanisms and domestic initiatives,
however, are failing to make child protection a reality in rural sugarcane communities. Full
industry compliance combined with robust enforcement of child protection laws is required to
strengthen the health and socioeconomic wellbeing of this depressed region.
On the basis of data obtained and research conducted in the present study, LIF recommends the
following:
FOR GOVERNMENT ACTORS:
●● Enforce international and domestic legal protections for minor workers thoroughly,
regardless of their contractual status, including but not limited to a minor’s right to
health, physical and psychological integrity, and freedom from exploitation.
●● Ensure immediate improvement of working conditions at ISA, assuring access to
medical care for all workers, with special protections for minor laborers. The Ministry
of Labor (MITRAB) should take regulatory action to prevent CKDnT in the sugarcane
industry as required by the General Law of Health and Safety.5 Using the Worker Health
and Efficiency (WE) program currently underway in El Salvador’s Ingenio San Angel as a
guide,6 implement efforts to prevent CKDnT and reduce the need for child laborers to
take to the field to replace sick or deceased family members. Regulatory action taken
by MITRAB should include promulgating the explicit prohibition of minor labor in
hazardous sugarcane field positions.
See United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014, p. 2, available
at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/findings/2013TDA/nicaragua.pdf (last accessed 30 January 2015).
4 Ley No. 618, Ley General de la Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Gazette No. 133, Art 7(j), 13 July 2007, available at
http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Normaweb.nsf/%28$All%29/16624DBD812ACC1B06257347006A6C8C?OpenDocument (last accessed 3 February 2015).
5 At the time of this report, the Worker Health and Efficiency (WE) Program was underway in El Salvador at Ingenio San
Angel. This program involves a workplace intervention study with the aim of developing the highest standard of
occupational health and safety for manual sugarcane cutters, including protection from heat stress, dehydration, and
muscular and physical injury. See more at https://laislafoundation.org/ckdnt-research-extends-el-salvador-first-everintervention-study/ (last accessed 18 February 2015)
6 6
●● Dedicate more human and financial resources towards the enforcement of child labor
laws, such as hiring more Ministry of Labor (MITRAB) inspectors who would assure
effective implementation of those laws in the sugarcane sector. Conduct transparent
inspections of sugar production facilities under the special inspections provision of
the General Work Inspection Law.7 Where violations of laws are found, specifically
with respect to child labor laws as stipulated under Chapter VI article 46(f), require
producers to comply within a specified minimum timeframe and levy economic
sanctions sufficient to deter further non-compliance.
●● Support and further develop those already existing domestic programs and initiatives
related to the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. Ensure that supervisory
commissions, like the National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor and
the Protection of the Adolescent Worker (CNEPTI),8 are convened more frequently.
Guarantee that child labor programs and initiatives receive sufficient resources and
are monitored on a regular basis to assess effectiveness.
●● Coordinate the efforts of MITRAB and the Ministry of Education to identify children
undertaking hazardous work in sugarcane and without taking action that would
deprive child laborers of their livelihoods or otherwise imperil a child’s family survival,
ensure their placement into schools and/or skill training programs, and provide other
necessary services to assure their adequate health and development.
●● Raise the age of compulsory education in accordance with recommendations made
by the International Labor Organization.9 The Ministry of Education should develop
strategies and devote resources to improve attendance in secondary education and
create tailored initiatives for rural sugarcane communities.
●● Create special initiatives in accordance with guidelines set forth by the International
Labor Organization aimed at generating alternative income sources for poor
households in sugarcane communities and thereby reducing the need for children to
work.10
●● Make the results of the latest national child labor survey publically available so that
domestic programs and initiatives may properly evaluate the landscape of child labor
in the sugarcane sector and thus plan and implement their strategies accordingly.
●● Coordinate actions necessary among actors such as MITRAB, private sugar companies
and civil society organizations to establish ISA and all other Nicaraguan sugar mills
as “Child Labor Free Zones” under the already existing program “Creación de Zonas
Libres de Trabajo Infantil.”11
●● Assure that private sugar companies are held jointly liable with third party contractors
for legal violations damaging the occupational health and safety of their subcontracted
workforce. Clarify through legislation the obligations of private sugar companies to
Ley No. 664, Ley general de Inspección de Trabajo, Gazette N° 180, Art 28 (f), 19 September 2008, available at http://
legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Normaweb.nsf/%28$All%29/58F5F2ED6CAB86C6062574FF0054B96E?OpenDocument (last
accessed 4 February 2015).
7 8 Comisión Nacional para la Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil y Protección del Adolescente Trabajador.
ILO, Observation (CEACR) on Minumum Age Convention - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014), available
at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:13100:0::NO::P13100_COMMENT_ID:3112762 (last accessed 4
February 2015).
9 ILO, “Tackling hazardous child labour in agriculture: Guidance on policy and practice” 2006, available at http://www.
ilo.org/ipec/Informationresources/WCMS_IPEC_PUB_2799/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed 2 February 2015).
10 11 See Declaracion de Managua “Hacia Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantile en Centro America”, 5 October 2013.
7
ensure contractor compliance regarding the prevention of CKD, an occupational illness
under the General Law of Health and Safety and Labor Code.12
FOR SUGAR PRODUCERS
●● Comply with international and domestic legal protections for minor workers,
regardless of their contractual status, including but not limited to a minor’s right to
health, physical and psychological integrity and freedom from exploitation.
●● Without taking actions that would deprive child laborers of their livelihoods, ensure
that children and their families have access to programs and services designed to
provide them with alternatives to hazardous labor.
●● Immediately take responsibility for those dangers affecting the health and safety
of minor workers notwithstanding the presence of third party contractors. Take
precautionary action in addressing the CKDnT epidemic by identifying those hazards
associated with the sickness and improve working conditions accordingly. Specifically,
improve access to water, rest, and shade for those workers laboring in the fields by
adopting work practices that follow internationally recognized guidelines for safe work
in hot climates, such as standards set forth by OSHA. Consult with organizations in
the region that are already implementing these guidelines through such programs
as the Worker Health and Efficiency (WE) Program at El Salvador’s Ingenio El Angel.
Provide special medical attention for minor workers.
●● Ensure that third party intermediaries respect international and domestic legal
protections for minor workers and conduct inspections accordingly. Specifically,
guarantee that contracts between sugar producers and third party intermediaries
explicitly forbid the use of minor labor in hazardous positions.
●● Ensure that subcontracted minors who are able to legally work in a non-hazardous
environment receive the same salaries, benefits, and employment conditions as adult
employees at the same level hired directly by the company. Moreover, ensure that any
legally employed minor workers and their supervisors are fully informed of the tasks
they are prohibited from performing.
●● Provide effective regulations and supervision to ensure that minors are not engaging
in hazardous work and that those minor workers who are legally working receive
training, equipment, and protection necessary to guarantee their health and safety.
●● Work with MITRAB to assure the occurrence of regular thorough and transparent labor
inspections. Work with MITRAB and other relevant stakeholders to establish ISA and all
other Nicaraguan sugar mills as “Child Labor Free Zones” under the already existing
program “Creación de Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantil.”13
●● Work with MITRAB to help drive domestic policies that will ensure that children
in sugarcane communities are attending school. Work towards the provision of
vocational training and health and safety training for young workers.
Ley No. 618, Ley General de la Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Art 33,35. See also Ley No. 185, Código del
Trabajo, Arts. 109, 119, Gazette No. 200, 30 October 1996, available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/45784/65050/S96NIC01.htm#l1t5c1 (last accessed 30 January 2015).
12 13 See Declaracion de Managua “Hacia Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantile en Centro America”, 5 October 2013.
8
FOR SUGAR BUYERS
●● Adopt corporate policies that reflect domestic and international protections for
child laborers.
●● Modify contracts with suppliers to require compliance with domestic and international
standards regarding child labor.
●● Incorporate effective monitoring systems into the purchasing process to verify
compliance with domestic and international child labor laws.
●● Join, and encourage suppliers to join, multi-stakeholder initiatives that address child
labor, such as BONSUCRO.14
●● Assist suppliers in building their capacity to address child labor which includes
offering child laborers alternative non-hazardous positions.
14 BONSUCRO, Production Standard, http://bonsucro.com/site/production-standard/ (last accessed 19 February 2014).
9
I. INTRODUCTION
Sugarcane production generates more than 5% of Nicaragua’s gross domestic product and is harvested
in one of the poorest regions in the country, the Pacific lowlands.15 The fatal epidemic of Chronic Kidney
Disease of non-traditional causes (CKDnT) exacerbates the impact of poverty on the families living in
these sugar-producing communities.16 CKDnT is a progressive, degenerative, occupationally driven
illness that disproportionately affects agricultural workers in the Mesoamerican region. A particularly
high prevalence of CKDnT exists among sugarcane workers in western Nicaragua.17 Among these
workers are young children and adolescents, who take on field work in hopes of alleviating desperate
financial situations at home.
Unlike traditional Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), which is associated with obesity, hypertension and
diabetes, CKDnT is associated with strenuous labor in hot climates, particularly in industrial agriculture.
In the affected communities where La Isla Foundation (LIF) works, CKDnT is presenting at a much
younger age than when CKD normally appears. Workers as young as 17 have been diagnosed
(see IV.G. Effects of CKDnT). Due to limited treatment options in Nicaragua and common complications
arising from what treatment options are available, CKDnT typically leads to a slow and painful death.
It is estimated that CKDnT
has killed at least 20,000
men prematurely across
Central America.18 Since
its initial recognition
more than 20 years ago,
prevalence and mortality
rates have consistantly
increased.19 According
to the Pan American
Health Organization
(PAHO), Nicaragua has
the highest mortality rate
from kidney disease in the
Americas at 42.8 deaths
per 100,000.20 In the most
severely impacted areas
of western Nicaragua,
PAHO estimates mortality
rates are five times that
Figure 1: Map of Ingenio San Antonio
Imagery ©2015 DigitalGlobe, Map data ©2015 Google
See Comité Nacional de Producores de Azúcar, Importancia Económica, available at http://www.cnpa.com.ni/importanciaeconomica/ (last accessed 4 February 2015) and see Paul Hoebink,“Sugar from Nicaragua,” 2014, p. 16, available at
http://www.ru.nl/cidin/@942043/pagina/ (last accessed 4 February 2015).
15 Also referred to as CKDu (Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown origin) and MeN (Mesoamerican Nephropathy). See also Ordunez P,
Martinez R, Reveiz L, Chapman E, Saenz C, et al. (2014) Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemic in Central America: Urgent Public Health
Action Is Needed amid Causal Uncertainty. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8(8): e3019. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003019, available at http://
journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0003019#close (last accessed 4 February 2015).
16 Catharina Wesseling et al., “The Epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology in Mesoamerica: A Call for
Interdisciplinary Research and Action,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 103, p. 1927 (2013). Also see Ramirez-Rubio O,
McClean M, Amador J, Brooks D, “An epidemic of chronic kidney disease in Central America: an overview,” Journal of Epidemiology
and Community Health, September 2012, available at: http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2012/09/20/jech-2012-201141 (last
17 Catharina Wesseling et al., “The Epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology in Mesoamerica: A Call for
Interdisciplinary Research and Action,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 103, p. 1927 (2013).
18 Pan American Health Organization, “Chronic Kidney Disease in Agricultural Communities in Central America,” [hereinafter “PAHO
Concept Paper”] CD52/8, p. 1 (Jul. 17, 2013) available at http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_
download&gid=22781&Itemid=270&lang=en (last accessed on 3 Feb. 2015).
19 20 PAHO Concept Paper, p. 4.
10
of the national average.21 Even these high numbers may be significant underestimations given the
overburdened and underfunded public health system and the lack of disease surveillance in affected
rural communities.
Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited (NSEL), a subsidiary of the commercial conglomerate Grupo Pellas, is the
principal sugarcane producer in Nicaragua and one of the largest and most diversified corporations in
Central America.22 NSEL owns and operates Ingenio San Antonio (ISA) sugar mill, refinery, and plantation
headquartered in Chichigalpa in the department of Chinandega.23 As the largest sugar production facility
in the country, ISA produced over 300,000 metric tons of sugar during the 2013-2014 harvest season,
accounting for more than 40% of the country’s sugar in that year.24
While Nicaraguan law recognizes CKD as an occupational illness,25 sugarcane workers have generally
been unable to receive full compensation for the disease, following industry claims that no direct
relationship exists.26 Experts in the medical community, however, recognize a relationship between heat
stress, volume depletion, acute kidney injury, and CKD.27 Moreover, repeated episodes of heat stress,
dehydration, and environmental exposures are hypothesized to be the primary drivers of the disease.28
In previous LIF studies, adult workers afflicted with CKDnT discussed having worked for ISA as children.
These interviews prompted the following study, which seeks to establish a better understanding of the
severity of the child labor issue and the types of challenges faced by underage workers.29 During the
course of this study, researchers discovered that minor workers within ISA were subjected to hazardous
conditions, low pay, and long hours harvesting sugarcane. While daily high temperatures average over
100° F (37.8° C) during the harvest, sugar producers are failing to institute suitable work practices such
as the provision of sufficient water, rest, and shade. Researchers discovered that respondents were
working in conditions that fall far below recommended safety guidelines such as those outlined by
21 PAHO Concept Paper, p. 4.
22 Grupo Pellas, “Empresas Afiliadas,” 2013, available at http://www.grupopellas.com/empresas.htm (last accessed 4 January 2015).
Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited, “Quiénes Somos,” 2009, available at http://nicaraguasugar.com/index.php?option=com_
content&view=article&id=15&Itemid=104 (last accessed 4 February 2015).
23 Comité Nacional de Productores de Azúcar, Estadísticas, Zafra 2013-14 en Quintales, available at https://dl.dropboxusercontent.
com/u/10944111/Indicadores%20Economicos%20Azucar/DFQo-13-14%20DFQo-13-14-QQs.pdf (last accessed 4 February 2015).
See also Comité Nacional de Productores de Azúcar website, available at http://www.cnpa.com.ni/ (last accessed 4 February
2015). Also see La Isla Foundation, “Sickly Sweet: Human Rights Conditions for Sugarcane Workers in Western Nicaragua”, p.18-21,
2014, available at https://laislafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Sickly-Sweet-InDesign.pdf?41b2bd (last accessed 4
February 2015).
24 Ley No. 456, Ley de adición de riesgos y enfermedades profesionales a la Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo,
Gazette No. 133, Art 1, 08 July 2004, available at http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Normaweb.nsf/%28$All%29/
DFF5D30488273F74062570A100583551?OpenDocument (last accessed 4 February 2015).
25 “We are fully convinced that there is no direct relationship between CKD and the activities conducted in the sugarcane industry,”
said Mario Amador, general manager of Nicaragua’s National Committee of Sugar Producers. He further stated, “A sign of our
good faith and our conviction about this is the support we give to scientific studies.” The Center for Public Integrity, “CDC launches
industry-financed studies of deadly kidney disease in Central America,” 12 February 2015, available at http://www.publicintegrity.
org/2014/02/12/14236/cdc-launches-industry-financed-studie-deadly-kidney-disease-central-america (last accessed 4 February
2015). A recent study by Boston University, one of the recipients of industry financing concluded, “[t]he decline in kidney function
during the harvest and the differences by job category and employment duration provide evidence that one or more risk factors of
CKD are occupational.” See Laws R, Brooks D, Amador J, et al. “Changes in kidney function among Nicaraguan sugarcane workers.”
International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 28 January 2015 [Epub ahead of print] available at: http://www.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25631575 (last accessed 18 February 2015).
26 Daniel R. Brooks, et al., “CKD in Central America: A Hot Issue,” American Journal of Kidney Disease, vol. 59 Issue. 4 pp. 481-484
(2012); see also CA Roncal Jimenez et al., “Fructokinase Activity Mediates Dehydration Induced Renal Injury,” Kidney International,
(Dec. 11, 2013) available at http://www.nature.com/ki/journal/v86/n2/abs/ki2013492a.html (last accessed 4 February 2015).
27 PAHO Concept Paper; see also Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic (COMISCA),
“Declaration of San Salvador,” San Salvador, El Salvador (Apr. 26, 2013) available at http://www.salud.gob.sv/archivos/
comunicaciones/archivos_comunicados2013/pdf/Declaracion_San%20Salvador_ERCnT_26042013.pdf (last accessed 4 February
2015). Also see MEDICC Review, April 2014, Vol. 16, No. 2 “Chronic Kidney Disease HitsAgricultural Communities available at
http://www.medicc.org/mediccreview/index.php?issue=28 (last accessed 16 March 2015).
28 La Isla Foundation, “Sickly Sweet: Human Rights Conditions for Sugarcane Workers in Western Nicaragua,” 2014, available at
https://laislafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Sickly-Sweet-InDesign.pdf?41b2bd (last accessed 4 February 2015).
Also see Fairfood briefing and report based on research and data collection performed by LIF: Fairfood, Treat them Sweet, 2014,
available at http://www.fairfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Treatthemsweet.pdf (last accessed 3 February 2015) and Paul
Hoebink, ”Sugar from Nicaragua”, 2014, available at http://www.ru.nl/cidin/@942043/pagina/ (last accessed 4 February 2015).
29 11
the US Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA).30 Such conditions have had particularly
damaging effects on child workers. Respondents reported symptoms of dizziness from dehydration,
extreme fatigue, heat stress, fever, and problems with urination. LIF hypothesizes that increasing rates
of CKDnT in Nicaragua are in part due to child laborers’ early exposure to harsh working conditions.
While domestic and international legal protections for minor workers in Nicaragua are strong on paper,
systemic implementation and enforcement of these laws is lacking. Nicaragua has ratified all of the
core international covenants with respect to child labor and has established laws and regulations that
clarify in what hazardous environments child labor is prohibited.31 Nevertheless, underfunded and poorly
coordinated enforcement mechanisms and domestic initiatives are failing to make child protection a
reality in rural sugarcane communities (see III. C. Child Labor Regulatory Framework). Full industry
compliance combined with robust enforcement of child protection laws is required to strengthen the
health and socioeconomic wellbeing of this depressed region.
U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, “About Work/Rest Schedules,” available at
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/heatillness/heat_index/work_rest_schedules.html (last accessed 4 February 2015).
30 United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014, p. 2, available at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/findings/2013TDA/nicaragua.pdf (last accessed 30 January 2015).
31 12
II. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
A. Rationale
LIF developed this study to gain a preliminary understanding of the nature and extent of child labor
practices in the sugar plantations of western Nicaragua. The study contains LIF’s assessment of the
reported treatment of child laborers according to international and domestic law. This study is based on
research conducted in November 2013 during the week before the start of the harvest, or “zafra,”
in Spanish.
B. Methodology
In October 2013, researchers developed a questionnaire using a legal framework and research protocol
tailored to field-based human rights studies. The questionnaire was divided into four parts. Part One
collected participant demographic data including age, gender, household size, and education level.
Part Two examined general fundamental labor conditions, such as types of work performed, freedom of
association, and forced labor issues. Part Three included more specific questions regarding workplace
regulations, such as contractual arrangements, pay, and working hours as well as workplace exposures,
injuries, and services available during the workday. Part Four addressed social and political rights, such
as the right to health including access to medical attention, the right to privacy and physical integrity,
and the right to equal protection under the law.
For the purposes of this study, LIF interviewed 26 current and former sugarcane workers from ISA
ranging in age from 12 to 17 years. All respondents were currently living in Chichigalpa and had
worked for ISA during 2013. To ensure the security and confidentiality of participants and their families,
interviewees were referred by LIF’s established contacts in the region. All of the interviews were
conducted in person by field research team, using the aforementioned questionnaire. Each interview
team consisted of one community-based Nicaraguan staff member and one foreign staff member.
Each interview lasted between one and one and a half hours.
C. Concerns and Limitations
Location
One limitation experienced by researchers during the course of this study was that respondents all
worked at a single plantation, Ingenio San Antonio (ISA). Researchers had originally intended to interview
minor workers at both ISA and Ingenio Monte Rosa (IMR). While ISA is the primary sugar producer in
Nicaragua, IMR is the second-largest sugar producer in the country, owned by Grupo Pantaleon from
Guatemala. IMR generates about 23% of the raw and sulfite sugar in the country.32 Through prior
research, LIF obtained information that child labor was practiced at both mills. Subsequently, LIF was
unable to secure interviews with any child workers at IMR. This may be attributed to several factors,
including a lower prevalence of child labor at IMR, the shorter duration of LIF’s relationship with IMR
working communities, or fear of dismissal for speaking to researchers. As a result, the following
research is limited to labor conditions for child workers solely at ISA.
Profesionales para la Auditoría Social Empresarial (PASE) and International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF), “Labor Conditions In The
Nicaraguan Sugar Industry,” 2005, available at http://www.laborrights.org/releases/new-reports-labor-conditions-sugar-industrycentral-america (last accessed 25 March 2015), p. 10.
32 13
Sampling
A random sample of child laborers was not used for this study and proved impracticable due to various
limitations. LIF has documented reports of retaliation by ISA in the form of dismissal and blacklisting
of workers who speak to journalists or participate in studies regarding CKDnT. Blacklisted workers
have reported that this practice has also affected their family members working for ISA. Thus, in order
to maintain each individual’s anonymity, interviewees were found through various trusted community
contacts. This may have introduced some degree of bias but no other viable method of engaging
interviewees was available.
Confidentiality & Consent
Confidentiality and consent was of paramount concern during the course of research for this study.
Interviews were conducted in private locations and LIF did not record any directly identifiable
information, such as names or addresses of interviewees or their family members. All interviewees were
informed of the purpose of the interview, how the information would be used, and the voluntary nature
of the interview. Each interviewee orally consented to participate before the interview, and individuals
freely volunteered information during the interview. Individuals were not compensated for participation
in the study aside from reimbursement for local travel expenses as needed.
14
III. CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND
Child labor is a global problem, affecting children’s access to education, their right to health, as well
as their physical and psychological security. Worldwide, 60% of all child laborers between the ages of
five and 17 work in agriculture, totaling roughly 98 million children.33 High rates of child participation
in agricultural labor can be attributed to a wide range of factors. According to the International Labour
Organization (ILO), “Poverty is the main cause of child labour in agriculture, together with limited access
to quality education, inadequate agricultural technology and access to adult labour…”34
Nicaragua faces a number of impediments to the full implementation of initiatives related to child
protection, the most significant of which is resource scarcity. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in
the Americas after Haiti35 and has the lowest per capita income among Central American countries.36 The
Committee on the Rights of the Child has noted concern for the insufficient level of resources available
for social policies and specific plans and programs for children.37 In addition, Nicaragua struggles with
high levels of government corruption, and is ranked as one of the most corrupt governments in
Latin America.38
Poverty rates and drop-out rates among Nicaraguan children and adolescents demonstrate the dire need
for stronger child protection initiatives. UNICEF reports that in Nicaragua some 38% of children
ages 0-4 and 41% of children ages 5-17 live in poverty.39 In rural areas this problem is worse, with half
of all children living in poverty.40 Poverty is exacerbated by a high pregnancy rate: 23.3% of adolescents
under 18 are mothers or are pregnant.41 School enrollment and attendance is also problematic. In 2012,
while 9 out of 10 school-age children were enrolled in primary school, a total of 127,000 children across
all grade levels were out of school, and 729,000 were at risk of exclusion (dropping out) from school.42
UNICEF reports that in 2012 only 49% of primary school students successfully completed sixth grade.43
Between 2008 and 2012, secondary school attendance rates were low for both males (35.4%) and
females (46.7%).44 Moreover, 72% of the population does not finish secondary school and is expected to
earn below the poverty line.45 UNICEF cites child labor as a major problem in the country and a barrier to
education.46
International Labour Organization, “Child Labour in Agriculture,” available at http://www.ilo.org/ipec/areas/Agriculture/lang--en/
index.htm (last accessed 30 January 2015).
33 34 Ibid.
The World Bank, “Nicaragua: Country at a Glance,” available at http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nicaragua (last accessed 30
January 2015).
35 International Fund for Agricultural Development, “Investing in Rural People in Nicaragua,” 2014, p. 1 available at http://www.ifad.
org/operations/projects/regions/pl/factsheet/nicaragua_e.pdf (last accessed 15 October 2014.
36 Committee on the Rights of the Child, “Concluding observations: Nicaragua,” U.N. Doc. CRC/C/NIC/CO/4, para. 18, 20 October
2010, available at http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPRiCAqhKb7yhsmgQSyO
UfqcB45eH16hvuhGlNcXqUgjfLA3g3%2b6kYTmCMm1EH SRZHlpFoABsFRNVpd6EjTR%2bW4AGomgn6AYFpk%2fY9VodSMVW
NC%2fYOGwqdM3m (last accessed 30 January 2015).
37 Transparency International, “Corruption by Country” available at http://www.transparency.org/country#NIC_DataResearch_
SurveysIndices (last accessed 30 January 2015).
38 UNICEF, “UNICEF Annual Report 2013 - Nicaragua,” p.1 available at http://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Nicaragua_
COAR_2013.pdf (last accessed 30 January 2015).
39 40 Ibid.
41 Ibid.
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid.
UNICEF, “At a Glance: Nicaragua”, available at http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nicaragua_statistics.html (last accessed 30
January 2015).
44 Rebeca J. Williams,”Nicaragua Background Study: The Agricultural Education Pipeline,” September 2014, p.4, available at http://
www.oired.vt.edu/innovate/documents/_innovATE_Nicaragua_country_study_92714.pdf (last accessed 2 February 2015).
45 UNICEF,”Annual Report 2011 for Nicaragua”, 2012, p.2, available at http://www.unicef.org/about/annualreport/files/Nicaragua_
COAR_2011.pdf (last accessed 2 February 2015).
46 15
Confronted with these challenges, it is not surprising that the prevalence of child labor has continued
to increase in the country. In June 2014, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH) reported
that Nicaragua had no recent official figures regarding child labor, making development of appropriate
intervention strategies or verification of the effectiveness of government programs difficult.47 The most
recent publicly available National Survey of Child Labor, from 2005, reported 238,827 child workers
(ages five to 17) in Nicaragua. In Central America, this number was surpassed only in Guatemala and
Honduras.48 A subsequent national household survey conducted in 2012 reported 395,556 workers.49
This is an increase of over 155,000 child workers in seven years.50 The majority of these workers are
laboring in the agricultural sector.51 The ILO approximates that in the year 2000 there were 79,000
children between the ages of five and 14 working in agriculture.
A. Hazardous Sugarcane Work
Agriculture is one of the most hazardous sectors of the economy, associated with at least 170,000
deaths of workers globally per year.52 Sugarcane hand cultivation in particular is associated with heat
stroke, toxic exposure to pesticides, machete injuries, snakebites, eye injuries, and musculoskeletal
injuries.53 For our respondents, the nature of this work often requires carrying heavy loads, using
dangerous tools, exposure to hazardous agrochemicals, inadequate access to water, and extreme sun
exposure.
While international and domestic law prohibits children from hazardous work,54 child labor in the
agricultural industry is widespread. A 2005 study by Profesionales para la Auditoría Social Empresarial
(PASE) and the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) surveyed 650 sugarcane workers from three
different refineries in Nicaragua, 365 of whom worked for Ingenio San Antonio. Examining the broad
prevalence of child labor across industries, the report states:
…[O]f the 558 survey respondents who said that they have children and at least one is a minor,
295 (52.8%) said that they force them into these systems of repressive child labor due to
economic necessity.
… [T]he vast majority of survey respondents who answered this question are field workers.
Also, of the 30 single mothers, 29 (96.6%) said that their children carry out some kind of child
labor to help them economically.… more than 45% said that they forced their children to work.
This statistic should be put in perspective with the reality that there are more than 30,000
sugar workers who carry out fieldwork during the sugar production period in refineries all over
CENIDH, “ 12 de junio Dia Mundial Contra el Trabajo Infantil,” 2014, available at http://www.cenidh.org/noticias/643/ (last
accessed 30 January 2015).
47 Ibid. See also Ministerio del Trabajo de Nicaragua, Encuesta Nacional de Trabajo Infantil y de Adolescentes, 2005, available
at http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/documentos/biblioteca-virtual/Pres%20de%20Resul%20Entia%202005.Mitrab%20ppt.pdf/
view?searchterm=entia (last accessed 2 February 2015).
48 La Prensa, “Programa Amor sin Incidencia,” 2013, available at www.laprensa.com.ni/2013/11/27/portada/171980-programaamor-incidencia (last accessed 30 January 2015). For more information regarding Nicaragua’s national household surveys, see
http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/599
49 50 Ibid.
United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014, p. 1. See ILO, “Tackling hazardous
child labour in agriculture: Guidance on policy and practice” 2006, available at http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Informationresources/
WCMS_IPEC_PUB_2799/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed 2 February 2015).
51 International Labour Organization, “Agriculture: a hazardous work,” 15 June 2009, available at http://www.ilo.org/safework/
areasofwork/hazardous-work/WCMS_110188/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed 10 January 2015).
52 International Labour Organization, Encyclopedia of Occupational Health & Safety, “Sugarcane Cultivation and Processing,” 2011,
available at http://www.ilo.org/iloenc/part-x/agriculture-and-natural-resources-based-industries/food-and-fibre-crops/item/543sugar-cane-cultivation-and-processing (last accessed 14 Jan 2015).
53 See, International Labour Organization Convention No. 182, Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 17 June 1999, Art. 3,
available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_ILO_CODE:C182 (last accessed 10
January 2015); see also United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014, p.2. See also
Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art. 133.
54 16
the country. This shows the cruel reality that
thousands of children and adolescents from
these rural areas must face.55
Figure 2: Cycle of Sickness
Of the 558 surveyed adults with minor children,
101 (18.1%) had their children working as field
laborers. LIF is unaware of any subsequent studies
that similarly measure the prevalence of child
labor among the children of Nicaraguan sugarcane
workers. Nevertheless, the expansion of the
sugarcane industry over the past decade56 and
the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms
aimed to curb child labor suggest that the
industry’s use of child labor constitutes a grave
national problem.
B. Effects of Work on
Children
Participation in the labor force, particularly in
dangerous environments or for extended periods
of time can have a cross-cutting impact on the
*
lives of children, endangering their personal
Once diagnosed with CKDnT, adult workers are fired. Some workers
development, damaging their health, and impeding will continue to work out of necessity using a borrowed identification
number.
access to education. Children also suffer emotional
and mental effects from laboring in dangerous occupations (see Box 3). A review article published in
the IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science entitled “Physical and Psychological Hazards Faced by
Child Labour,” summarizes the current understanding of the subject:
Children who are in risky job fields have no opportunity to build their natural psychosocial
health. Long working hours breed their feeling of frustration and inadequacy. Their involvement
in risky work …[works against]… building their emotional cognitive skills and they become
withdrawn, introvert [sic] and uncommunicative. ...They are also deprived of the special care
that would be required for their psychological effects. Child laborers are typically paid less than
adults in all varieties of jobs even though they perform the same work and have to work beyond
normal working hours.57
Because of the illegal nature of a minor’s employment in the Nicaraguan sugarcane industry, child
workers obtain employment through third party contractors. The uneven power relationship between
contractor and employee leaves children vulnerable to exploitation. Information obtained during the
course of this study confirmed that minors had suffered maltreatment as a result of this dynamic
(see IV. F. Coercive and Hostile Work Environment). The following results also demonstrate that child
workers do not have the opportunity to receive an adequate education while laboring, which perpetuates
poverty and necessitates their continued employment in the fields (see IV. E. Access to Education).
The psychological trauma experienced by minor sugarcane workers because of the death of family
members and friends to CKDnT is compounded by the fact that they may develop the disease
themselves. One 17 year old worker interviewed for this study reported being diagnosed with CKDnT
55 PASE and ILRF, “Labor Conditions in the Nicaraguan Sugar Industry,” 2005, p. 34.
Comité Nacional de Productores de Azucar, “Statistics,” available at http://www.cnpa.com.ni/indicadores/ (last accessed
2 February 2015).
56 Bharti, Sarita, and Dr. Shalini Agarwal, “Physical & Psychological Hazards Faced by Child Labour – A Review Article,” IOSR Journal
Of Humanities And Social Science, Vol. 13, Issue 6, p. 32, July - August, 2013, available at http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/
papers/Vol13-issue6/D01362933.pdf?id=3400 (last accessed 30 January 2015).
57 17
(see G. Effects of CKDnT). Several studies have indicated working conditions as drivers of the disease,
specifically the strenuous physical work in combination with chronic dehydration (see section IV.D.
Occupational Hazards and Access to Health).
C. Child Labor Regulatory Framework
While there is no blanket ban on child labor in Nicaragua, domestic and international laws put
restrictions upon the type of labor environment appropriate for young workers. Employment of children
and adolescents in hazardous work environments is strictly prohibited.
i. International Standards
In 1998, the ILO identified the “effective abolition of child labor” as one of the fundamental rights
and principles at work.58 Regulation and limits concerning child labor have been codified in several
international treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child,59 the ILO Minimum Age
Convention,60 and the ILO Convention on the Prohibition and Immediate Elimination of the Worst Forms
of Child Labor,61 all of which Nicaragua has ratified.
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasizes the protection of
children from exploitation, declaring, “employment in work harmful to their morals or health or
dangerous to life or likely to hamper their normal development should be punishable by law.”62 The
Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes the right of children to be free from economic
exploitation and recognizes that children should be prohibited from performing work that will likely
be hazardous or harmful to the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.63
Additionally, the convention requires states to establish a minimum age for admission into employment,
provide appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment, and provide appropriate
penalties or sanctions for enforcement of legal protections.64 The ILO Minimum Age Convention
specifically prohibits admission to hazardous employment for individuals under the age of 18, and in
special cases under the age of 16.65 Further, the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention requires that
states take measures to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labor, of which dangerous work
is a fundamental component.66
ii. Domestic Law
Nicaragua has passed numerous legislative measures to protect the rights of children and comply with
the state’s international legal obligations contained in the aforementioned treaties. The Convention on
the Rights of the Child is an express constitutional mandate and led to the promulgation of the Code
International Labour Organization, “Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work,” 37 I.L.M. 1237, 1238, 18 June
1998, available at http://www.ilo.org/declaration/principles/abolitionofchildlabour/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed 30 January
2015).
58 59 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 3 U.N.T.S. 1577, 20 November 1989, Art. 32.
International Labour Organization, “Minimum Age Convention,” ILO No. 138, 1015 U.N.T.S 297, 26 June 1973, available at http://
www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C138 (last accessed 17 February 2015).
60 International Labour Organization, “Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst
Forms of Child Labor,” ILO No. 182, 2133 U.N.T.S. 161, 19 November 2000, available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=N
ORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_ILO_CODE:C182 (last accessed 9 April 2014).
61 62 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 993 U.N.T.S. 3, Art. 10, 16 December 1966, Art 10.
63 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 32.
64 Ibid., Art. 32.
Art. 3(3) allows that states, “...may, after consultation with the organisations of employers and workers concerned, where such
exist, authorise employment or work as from the age of 16 years on condition that the health, safety and morals of the young
persons concerned are fully protected and that the young persons have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training
in the relevant branch of activity.” International Labour Organization, “Minimum Age Convention.”
65 66 International Labour Organization, “Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention,” Art. 3(d).
18
of Childhood and Adolescence and the General Law on Education,67 adoption of a new General Law on
Health with its Program of Comprehensive Care for Women, Children, and Adolescents,68 and creation
of a new labor code, which raised the minimum working age and protects young workers from being
exploited.69
While Nicaraguan laws regulating child labor do not explicitly prohibit work in the sugarcane fields, the
law does regulate the types of labor in which minors are allowed to engage.70 The Nicaraguan labor
code sets the minimum working age at 14, however the code prohibits individuals under the age of
18 from working in unhealthy occupations.71 The Nicaraguan Ministerial Agreement on the Prohibition
of Hazardous Work for Young People goes even further, prohibiting those under 18 from working in
hazardous environments.72 Under the agreement, work is defined as hazardous when by its nature it
involves risk to physical or mental health.73 Tasks that require physical strain due to repetitive activity
using upper and lower limbs and trunk, working outdoors in temperatures higher than 98.6° F
(37° C), environmental exposure to ultraviolet rays, or handling herbicides are expressly prohibited.74
Furthermore, the law requires that employers protect individuals between 14 and 18 years old from
occupational hazards, permit no more than six hours per day and 30 hours per week of work, provide
social security benefits, and allow access to union participation.75 Given the nature of work in sugarcane
fields, violations of one or more of the aforementioned laws were discovered with respect to every
respondent interviewed.
In October 2012, the National Assembly approved changes to the Code of Labor Procedure intended to
streamline the public administration of labor justice. Through these changes, the National Assembly
sought to improve the labor justice process by addressing complaints in a timely manner without
sacrificing due process for employers and workers.76 At the time of the present study, researchers were
unable to obtain data to determine whether implementation of domestic labor laws regarding child
protection had improved as a result of these changes.
iii. Enforcement Mechanisms and Domestic Initiatives
As mentioned above, domestic efforts related to child protection face a number of obstacles severely
limiting their effectiveness, including resource scarcity and widespread political corruption. Nevertheless,
the following includes various domestic legal enforcement mechanisms and programs aimed at the
long-term eradication of child labor.
Ley No. 287, Codigo de la Niñez y la Adolescencia, Gazette No. 97, 27 May 1998, available at http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/
Normaweb.nsf/($All)/9AB516E0945F3B6E062571A1004F4BDE?OpenDocument (last accessed 31 January 2015); and Ley No. 582,
Ley General de Educación, Gazette No. 150, 6 August 2006 available at http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Normaweb.nsf/($All)/
B2FBC86E5FD975420625755B00765A99?OpenDocument (last accessed 31 January 2015).
67 Ley No. 423, Ley General de Salud, Gazette No. 91, 17 May 2002, available at http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Normaweb.nsf/
($All)/FF82EA58EC7C712E062570A1005810E1?OpenDocument (last accessed 31 January 2015).
68 69 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo.
Article 84 of the Nicaraguan Constitution states, “Child labor in tasks that can affect their normal development or their obligatory
instruction cycle is prohibited. Children and adolescents shall be protected against any form of economic and social exploitation.”
Constitución Política de la República de Nicaragua tit. IV, ch.V, art. 84 (Jan. 1987) English translation available at https://www.
constituteproject.org/constitution/Nicaragua_2005.pdf (last accessed 16 March 2015) See Spanish version http://www.ineter.gob.
ni/Constitucion%20Politica%20de%20Nicargua.pdf (last accessed 16 March 2015).
70 71 Ibid. Arts. 133, 136.
Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial sobre prohibición de Trabajos peligrosos para personas adolescentes y listado de
trabajos peligrosos, 8 June 2010, available at http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/documentos/acuerdos/ACUERDO%20MINISTERIAL%20
JCHG-08-06-10.pdf/view (last accessed 31 January 2015).
72 73 Ibid., Art. 5.
74 Ibid., Art. 6.
75 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art 134.
See International Labour Organization, “Nicaragua aprueba trascendental Código Procesal del Trabajo,” 7 November 2012,
available at http://www.ilo.org/sanjose/programas-y-proyectos/verificaci%C3%B3n-implementaci%C3%B3n-libro-blanco/
WCMS_192860/lang--es/index.htm (last accessed 31 January 2015).
76 19
a. Enforcement Mechanisms and Domestic Policy
Ministry of Labor, Child Labor Inspections Unit – The Nicaraguan Ministry of Labor (MITRAB) is the leading
ministry tasked with overseeing compliance with child labor laws.77 MITRAB’s Child Labor Inspections Unit
conducts trainings for inspectors on child labor and is charged with ensuring that child labor matters are
investigated as a part of labor inspections.78 According to the 2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child
Labor, published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Nicaraguan child labor experts and government officials
have reported that child labor inspections throughout the country, especially in agricultural areas, are
impeded by resource and personnel limitations.79 The report also found that the Ministry of Labor lacked
adequate resources to enforce child labor laws. From January to October 2013, the Ministry of Labor
conducted 2,496 labor inspections in workplaces considered hazardous.80 As a result of these inspections,
MITRAB reported that 1,854 children were working in violation of the law. Information regarding MITRAB
action in response to these violations, such as fines imposed or removal of the child from work, is not
publicly available.81 Only two out of 26 participants interviewed for the present study reported ever seeing
an inspection of their worksite (see IV. D. ii Occupational Exposures).
National Commission for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of the Young Worker
(CNEPTI)82 – MITRAB’s National Commission for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor and Protection
of the Adolescent Worker (CNEPTI) guides the priorities on child labor policy within MITRAB.83 CNEPTI
is comprised of government agencies and NGOs whose collective mission is to address child labor
issues.84 While the commission is in charge of implementing a ten-year plan on child labor (2007-2016),
it is unclear how often CNEPTI’s leadership meets. The U.S. Department of Labor cites reports that the
commission leadership has convened only once in conjunction with the 2010 launch of the Roadmap for
the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor.85 This commission also suffers from a lack of sufficient
resources to carry out its obligations.86
Roadmap for Elimination of the Worst Kinds of Child Labor – In December 2010, Nicaragua adopted a
roadmap providing a national strategic framework aimed at eliminating the worst forms of child labor
by 2015 and eradicate all forms of child labor by 2020. It is unclear whether Nicaragua has issued a
comprehensive action plan that would implement the Roadmap goals,87 but CNEPTI would be in charge
of implementing the plan. According to the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions
See Ministerio del Trabajo, mission statement, available at http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/nuestro-ministerio (last accessed 2 February 2015).
77 78 United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014, p. 3.
79 Ibid, p.4.
80 Ibid.
81 Ibid.
82 In Spanish: Comisión nacional para la erradicación del trabajo infantil y protección del adolescente trabajador.
United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014, p.4. For information regarding the
creation of CNEPTI see http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Normaweb.nsf/%28$All%29/4AF7D93D667D7698062570A100
581611?OpenDocument (last accessed 14 January 2015).
83 Ibid. For more information regarding 2008 agreement between CNEPTI and Save the Children see http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/
documentos/convenios/ConvenioCnepti_SCN-Nic.pdf/view (last accessed 14 January 2015).
84 85 Ibid, p.5.
86 Ibid.
See Ministerio del Trabajo, “Nicaragua firma acuerdo tripartito para la implementación de hoja de ruta para erradicar el trabajo
infantil en el país,” Note 106, 2 December 2010, http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/news/2010/nicaragua-firma-acuerdo-tripartito-para-laimplementacion-de-hoja-de-ruta-para-erradicar-el-trabajo-infantil-en-el-pais/?searchterm=infantil (last accessed 1 February 2015).
See also United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014, p.6 ; see Organización
Internacional del Trabajo, “Diagnóstico de Situación Nicaragua,” available at http://white.oit.org.pe/ipec/documentos/nicaragua_
hoja_de_ruta_diagnostico_final.pdf (last accessed 1 February 2015).
87 20
and Recommendations, unlike other countries in the region, Nicaragua has not yet taken programmatic
measures or assigned resources for the implementation of the Roadmap.88
Second National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labor and the Protection
of Young Workers (PEPETI) – After completion of the First National Strategic Plan (2001-2005), the
government adopted the Second National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labor
and the Protection of Young Workers (2007-2016). Specific objectives of the plan include the removal
of children from work and their integration into the education system, access to free health services for
children who are removed from work and their families, access to income-generating projects for families
of working children, and the establishment of bodies for supervision, monitoring, and evaluation of child
labor.89 According to the ILO, the National Strategic Plan to combat Child Labor does not have a specific
budget for its implementation or a system to monitor its goals and indicators.90
Regional Meetings and Forums – A number of recent domestic and regional meetings indicate Nicaragua’s
formal commitment to addressing child labor. In August 2012, MITRAB attended a meeting hosted by
the government of Panama, gathering the Labor Ministers of Central America, Belize and the Dominican
Republic together to highlight good practices towards eradicating child labor.91 At the meeting, MITRAB
highlighted its programs in coffee plantations and stone quarries as examples of good practices aimed
at child labor elimination, and it expressed plans on expanding these programs.92 The meeting resulted
in the signing of the Panama Declaration committing the attending countries to specific actions aimed at
the eradication of the worst forms of child labor.93 In June 2013, a National Forum entitled “The Right to
Education: Route Toward the Eradication of Child Labor” was held in Managua.94 The forum was organized
by a platform of more than ten civil society organizations and government agencies.95 Participants reached
a consensus to place the discussion of child labor on the national agenda.96 In October 2013, various
government agencies97 and labor sector leaders signed an action plan which affirms the signatories’
commitments to taking joint action towards reducing child labor.98 One month later, Nicaragua
participated in the Eighteenth Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labor, ultimately signing a
ILO, Observation (CEACR) on the Minimum Age Convention C138 - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014), available
at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:3112762 (last accessed 1 February
2015).
88 ILO, Observation (CEACR) on Minimum Age Convention C138 - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010) available at
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID:2316515:NO (last accessed 1 February
2015).
89 ILO, Verification Report-Nicaragua-August-December 2010, available at http://www.ilo.org/sanjose/publicaciones/
WCMS_180280/lang--en/index.htm(last accessed 1 February 2015).
90 91 United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings,” p. 5.
See Ministerio del Trabajo, “MITRAB Nicaragua participa en Reunión de Ministros y Ministras del Trabajo de Centro América,
Belice, Panamá y República Dominicana,” Nota 75, 15 August 2012, available at http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/news/2012/
agosto-2012/mitrab-nicaragua-participa-en-reunion-de-ministros-y-ministras-del-trabajo-de-centro-america-belice-panama-yrepublica-dominicana/?searchterm=infantil%20AND%20%22hoja%20de%20ruta%22 (last accessed 1 February 2015).
92 93 Ibid.
See “Memoria del I Foro Nacional: El derecho a la Educación, Ruta hacia la Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil” available at http://
www.slideshare.net/CARENIC/foro-nacional-el-derecho-a-la-educacin-ruta-hacia-la-erradicacin-del-trabajo-infantil (last accessed
1 February 2015). Also contains explanation of organizations implementing social programming aimed at child labor. For more
information regarding domestic educational program see MGD Fund, “Informe Final Narrativo: Nicaragua” available at http://www.
mdgfund.org/sites/default/files/Nicaragua%20-%20YEM%20-%20Final%20Narrative%20Report_1.pdf (last accessed 1 February
2015).
94 95 Ibid.
Economia, A. “Nicaragua Prevé Erradicación Progresiva de Trabajo Infantil en 2015.” americaeconomia.com [online] June 20,
2013; available at http://www.americaeconomia.com/politica-sociedad/politica/nicaragua-preve-erradicacion-progresiva-de-trabajoinfantil-en-2015 (last accessed 1 February 2015).
96 MIFAN, MITRAB, MINED, COSEP, CSJ, see Government of Nicaragua. MIFAN, Firma Convenio para Erradicar Trabajo Infantil,
Ministerio de la Familia, Adolescencia y Niñez, available at http://www.mifamilia.gob.ni/?p=1532 (last accessed 1 February 2015).
97 98 Ibid.
21
declaration that renews the commitment of member countries to promote the active participation of all
sectors of society towards the prevention and elimination of child labor.99
b. Social Programs and Initiatives
Driving the above governmental commitments are a number of initiatives and programs aimed at child
labor prevention through early childhood development, education and employment. These include:
Creacion de Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantil – In 2013, the Federation of Organizations for Local
Development (Federación de Organizaciones para el Desarrollo Local) initiated the Creation of Child Labor
Free Zones program in eight municipalities. 100 Success of the program depends on the coordination of
government, local civil society organizations, and private companies towards a focus not only on the
prohibition of child labor but also on the promotion of educational and recreational spaces to encourage
the value of education.101 So far the only known declared “child labor free zone” is a coffee farm located in
Matagalpa, Nicaragua named “La Cumplida.”102
Programa Amor – Under the National Social Welfare System (SNBS), which requires government institutions
to protect the rights of children and adolescents, Program Love (Programa Amor) was initiated in 2008 and
promised to get children off the streets and in school by 2011.103 This Ministry of Family, Adolescence and
Childhood (MIFAN) program is responsible for the protection of the rights of children and adolescents at
risk, one of its stated goals being to restore the rights of children to grow and develop without working. 104
The program is overseen by First Lady Rosario Murillo in coordination with the Ministries of Government,
Family, Health, Education, and Labor.105 The ILO reports that the program has created community
development and day care centers that provide professional care for children under the age of six.106
Unfortunately, child labor experts have indicated that coordination between this program, CNEPTI, and
MITRAB has been weak.107 The efficacy of the program has been brought into question, with some critics
contending that the program has actually been counterproductive.108
Education and Youth Employment Programs – The government established a National Plan of Youth
Employment (2012-2016) and expanded its Youth Employment and Migration program to protect working
Ministerio de Trabajo de Colombia “Ministros de Trabajo de América le dicen sí a pacto por la equidad y la inclusión”, 2013,
available at www.mintrabajo.gov.co/noviembre-2013/2584-ministros-de-trabajo-deamerica-le-dicen-si-a-pacto-por-la-equidady-la-inclusion.html (last accessed 1 February 2015). A year later in, October 2014, Nicaragua also signed the Declaration of
the ‘Establishment of the Regional Initiative: Latin America and The Caribbean Free of Child Labour,’ see http://www.ilo.org/
caribbean/WCMS_314428/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed 27 March 2014).
99 See Declaracion de Managua “Hacia Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantile en Centro America”, 5 October 2013. Also see CENIDH,
statement re”12 de junio Día Mundial contra el Trabajo Infantil”, 2014.
100 101 Ibid.
El Nuevo Diario, “La Cumplida”, modelo en erradicar trabajo infantil, 2 February 2013, available at http://www.elnuevodiario.
com.ni/nacionales/276340 (last accessed 1 February 2015).
102 United States Department of Labor, “2012 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014, p. 3; see also Ministerio de la
Familia Adolescencia y Niñez, “Programa Amor,” available at http://www.mifamilia.gob.ni/?page_id=239 (last accessed 1 February
2015).
103 104 Ibid.
105 United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2013, p. 6.
Also see ILO, Observation (CEACR) on the Minimum Age Convention C138 - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)
available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:13100:0::NO::P13100_COMMENT_ID:2316515 (last accessed
1 February 2015).
106 107 Ibid.
La Prensa, “Nadie habla del Programa Amor,” available at http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2010/07/27/nacionales/32701-nadiehabla-del-programa-amor (last accessed 1 February 2015); see also La Prensa, “Programa Amor sin Incidencia,” available at http://
www.laprensa.com.ni/2013/11/27/portada/171980-programa-amor-sin-incidencia (last accessed 1 February 2015).
108 22
adolescents and increase employment opportunities.109 The two programs facilitated employment and
self-employment for young people between the ages of 15 and 24. During 2009-2012, through the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP), Spain funded the National Capacity Development to Improve
Employment and Self Employment Opportunities for Young People in Nicaragua project. The project aimed
to achieve the Millennium Development goals, supporting the above-cited National Youth Employment
Policy.110 It focused on “the identification, development and implementation of measures to help
adolescents and young people, from 14 to 29 years, to obtain decent work in urban and rural
areas…”111 One of the stated achievements of the project was the implementation of the Plan for Decent
Work for Youth in Nicaragua (2012-2016), and the National Youth Employment Commission (CNEJ), which
was created “to ensure the sustainability of the intervention, and the establishment of the institutional
agenda and methodological mechanisms for youth employment issues.”112 Data regarding the impact of
these programs specifically on rural sugarcane communities was unavailable at the time of this report.113
A number of other domestic social programs address child labor through providing quality education, such
as CARE Nicaragua, which implements Primero, Aprendo (First, I Learn);114 Puentes Educativos (Educational
Bridges), which is implemented by MITRAB and MINED;115 the National Technology Institute (INATEC),
which provides training for technical careers;116 the MITRAB entrepreneurial development program; 117 and
the programs of the Ministry of Youth (MINJUV), which include the provision of university scholarships.118
The above national and regional level meetings and initiatives demonstrate Nicaragua’s official
commitment to eradicating child labor. In recent years, there appears to have been a renewed domestic
effort toward prioritization of the issue, placing child labor on the national agenda and efforts towards
coordination among domestic institutions and organizations. Education and employment programs,
especially those that provide technical training, would provide young sugarcane workers an alternative
to dangerous field work in monoculture communities like Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. Unfortunately, to date,
the government has failed to make any public recognition of the particular hazards of sugarcane work on
children, not the least of which is CKDnT.
United States Department of Labor, “2012 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2013, p. 1; see also MITRAB, “MITRAB
realiza l encuentro nacional de Mesas Municipales de empleo juvenil”, Note 113, 6 December 2012, available at http://www.mitrab.
gob.ni/news/2012/diciembre-2012/mitrab-realiza-i-encuentro-nacional-de-mesas-municipales-de-empleo-juvenil (last accessed
1 February 2015). For more information on the program see also, Programa Conjunto Juventud, Empleo y Migración, “Desarrollo de
Capacidades Nacionales para mejorar las Oportunidades de Empleo y Autoempleo de las personas jóvenes en Nicaragua” available
at http://www.mdgfund.org/sites/default/files/YEM_SISTEMATIZACION_Nica_Programa%20conjunto.pdf. (last accessed 1 February
2015).
109 Organización Internacional del Trabajo, “Desarrollo de Capacidades Nacionales para Mejorar las Oportunidades de Empleo
y Autoempleo de las Personas Jóvenes en Nicaragua,” available at http://www.ilo.org/sanjose/programas-y-proyectos/
WCMS_184725/lang--es/index.htm (last accessed 1 February 2015).
110 111 Ibid.
MGD Achievement Fund, “Nicaragua: National Development Capacities for Improving Employment and Self-Employment
Opportunities for Young People,” available at http://www.mdgfund.org/program/nationaldevelopmentcapacitiesimproving
employmentandselfemploymentopportunitiesyoungpeople See full reports available at this link. Also see Final Narrative Report
available at http://www.mdgfund.org/sites/default/files/Nicaragua%20-%20YEM%20-%20Final%20Narrative%20Report_1.pdf. Also
see the International Labor Organization’s evaluation of the program available at http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/--ed_mas/---eval/documents/publication/wcms_218201.pdf (last accessed 25 March 2015).
112 113 See Ibid. for available data.
See CARE Nicaragua, Proyectos: Primero Aprendo en Centro América, available at http://www.care.org.ni/proyectos/?proyecto=3
(last accessed 1 January 2015).
114 La Voz del Sandinismo, “Trabajando en la erradicación del trabajo infantile,” 23 February 2008, available at http://www.
lavozdelsandinismo.com/nicaragua/2008-02-23/trabajando-en-la-erradicacion-del-trabajo-infantil/ (last accessed 1 February 2015).
115 116 See INATEC website, available at http://www.inatec.edu.ni/ (last accessed 2 February 2015).
Ministerio de Trabajo (MITRAB), “MITRAB recibe de la Organizacion Internacional del Trabajo-OIT Equipos y Herramientas de
Trabajo para 72 Jóvenes de Jinotega y Masaya Ministerio de Trabajo (MITRAB),” January 30, 2013 [cited February 6, 2013]; available
at http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/news/2013/enero-2013/mitrab-recibe-de-la-organizacion-internacional-del-trabajo-oit-equipos-yherramientas-de-trabajo-para-72-jovenes-de-jinotega-y-masaya (last accessed 2 February 2015). Also see Ministerio de Trabajo
(MITRAB), “41 jóvenes jinoteganos son propietarias de sus negocios, luego de que el MITRAB les entregara herramientas de trabajo,
MITRAB,”February 21, 2013 [cited March 13, 2014]; available at http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/news/2013/febrero-2013/41-jovenesjinoteganos-son-propietarias-de-sus-negocios-luego-de-que-el-mitrab-les-entregara-herramientas-de-trabajo, (last accessed
2 February 2015).
117 See Ministerio de la Juventud, Ministry functions, available at http://www.injuve.gob.ni/index.php/qsomos/funciones (last
118 23
IV. STUDY RESULTS
A. Demographic Data
i. Research Participants
For the purpose of this study, researchers interviewed 26 male workers from Ingenio San Antonio (ISA),
all under the age of 18. The average age of respondents was 16. The youngest respondent was 12 and
the oldest 17. The most common age of respondents was 17 (13 workers). However, most workers were
14 or under when they started working at ISA (17 workers).
All workers were single except one 17 year old, who reported living with a partner for three years. Two
respondents reported having one child, but neither father lived with the child. The average household
size reported was six people. Most households included nuclear and extended family members.
This sample of child workers was not intended to represent the demographic characteristics of
sugarcane workers throughout Nicaragua, nor was it intended to be statistically significant. However, the
above sample provided researchers with a better understanding of the severity of the problem of child
labor and the challenges faced by child workers.
ii. Observed Minors in the Field
Given the small sample size of respondents, researchers sought to gain a better understanding of the
size of the child labor force by asking respondents if they had observed other minors in the fields. All
but one of the respondents stated that they had observed other minors working in the fields. When
asked how many other minors they had seen, respondents reported numbers ranging from a few to more
than 40. Ten respondents said that there were less than ten other minors. Three of those respondents
clarified that they were just referring to the number of minors on their own team. Nine respondents
stated that there were ten to 15 other minors. Three respondents stated they had observed 20 or more
minors and two reported 40 or more other minor workers.119 The majority of respondents who had
observed underage workers reported that those workers were subcontracted.120 The varied estimates
of quantity of minors observed suggest that concentrations of minors vary depending on location and
hiring practices of third party contractors. Researchers inquired about the ages of the observed underage
workers. Fourteen workers stated that they observed workers under the age of 14, the youngest being
ten. Five workers stated that the youngest worker observed was 14, and four workers stated that
youngest worker was 15.
B. Forms of Contract and Types of Work
Employers who use child labor often seek insulation from scrutiny or legal liability through the use of
third party contractors.121 Previous LIF studies indicate that ISA subcontracts the majority of its field
workers. These subcontracted workers generally labor under worse conditions than directly contracted
Some respondents reported only those minors whom they observed in their immediate surroundings or on their team, while
others may have been reporting the amount of minors they observed over a large field or area.
119 Of the 25 respondents who reported seeing other minors, 23 reported that other minors were subcontracted, one worker stated
that minors were contracted in some other manner and one worker was unable to answer the question.
120 See the following: Human Rights Watch, “El Salvador,Turning A Blind Eye, Hazardous Child Labor in El Salvador’s Sugarcane Cultivation,” June 2004 Vol. 16, No. 2, at p.70 available at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/elsalvador0604/ (last accessed 18 February 2015); Bustillo, Miguel, Nike to Pay Some $2 Million to Workers Fired by Subcontractors,” Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2010,
available at http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704700404575391551065295316 (last accessed 18 February 2015);
Human Rights Watch, “Developments Since September 2004, Ecuador’s Inadequate Executive Decree on Subcontracting” available
at http://www.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/business/ecuador0905/3.htm (last accessed 18 February 2015).
121 24
workers, receiving less pay and fewer health benefits.122 The use of third party contractors has
particularly negative implications for young workers in sugarcane.
i. Subcontracted Employment
All but two workers reported that they were subcontracted into their most recent position. Researchers
found that children work informally and with little administrative oversight. Moreover, there appeared
to be a lack of ISA regulations, or enforcement thereof, prohibiting child labor. During the study,
researchers asked respondents to give details regarding the type of work they performed and the details
of their employment during the past three years. No workers reported receiving any documentation from
their employer granting permission for employment. All workers reported that employment matters were
arranged verbally and that they had not received written contracts.
Respondents reported that either their employer did not ask for any verification of their identity
or, where identification was required, they used a borrowed identification. The majority of workers
reported using borrowed identification cards from other people to receive payment for their work at ISA.
Respondents explained that the owner of the borrowed number typically retrieves payment on behalf of
the child worker from the payment office.
During a previous LIF study, adult workers reported that ISA was generally aware of the presence of
child laborers. 123 However, in the present study, seventeen respondents reported that they believed ISA
was not aware of their employment, and half of respondents reported hiding from ISA supervision to
avoid dismissal. Children and adolescents may perceive their secretive entry and exit into the fields as
indicative of a lack of awareness, while adult workers may be more cognizant of what ISA supervision
actually knows regarding the existence of child labor. While underage workers who are discovered
face dismissal, the company may not be taking sufficient measures to prevent them from undertaking
hazardous field work in the first place.
Respondents acquired work at ISA through a number of methods. Some workers reported having familial
or friend relationships with third party contractors who employed them. Other workers reported that
foremen or contractors actively sought out their labor.124 In other instances, minors were made aware of
particular people who were hiring, and they sought out that contractor for work.
While the majority of adult and child field workers are subcontracted at ISA, this does not relieve ISA
of all legal obligations to these workers. Under Nicaragua’s General Law of Health and Safety, both the
employer and the third party contractor will be held jointly liable for damages suffered by subcontracted
employees that result from the contractor’s failure to comply with health and safety laws.125 Moreover,
Article 35 mandates that employers require their contractors to comply with legal obligations regarding
the prevention of occupational hazards.126 Since domestic law sets out special regulations for the
protection of individuals between 14 and 18 years old from occupational hazards,127 employers cannot
escape responsibility from enforcing these regulations where the hiring of young workers has occurred
through third party intermediaries. ISA is thus required to ensure that their contractors implement
preventative measures to address occupational hazards, sicknesses and accidents suffered by
subcontracted workers (see IV. D. Occupational Hazards and Access to Health).
See La Isla Foundation, “Sickly Sweet: Human Rights Conditions for Sugarcane Workers in Western Nicaragua,” available at
https://laislafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Sickly-Sweet-InDesign.pdf?41b2bd (last accessed 18 February 2015)
See also Fairfood, Treat them Sweet, available at http://www.fairfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Treatthemsweet.pdf (last
122 123 See La Isla Foundation, “Sickly Sweet,” 2014.
124 Workers reported that contractors would look for them: “El contratista fue a buscarnos,” or “El contratista me buscó.”
Ley No. 618, Ley General de la Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Art 33,. See also Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Arts 109,
119.
125 126 Ibid.
127 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art 132-135.
25
ii. Job Functions
The majority of workers stated that their most recent employment had been in seed cutting (paqueteo),
seed sowing (siembra), weeding (deshierba), or hauling cane (acarreo). The jobs held by most workers
in the past three years were seed cutting and seed sowing. Seed sowing and weed cutting were reported
to be the lowest-paying work. Researchers were unable to identify a distinct correlation between type
of work and age due to the small sample size of workers. Most workers reported being paid per task
completed, for example per furrow or per area of a field as assigned by the foreman. A minority of
workers reported being paid by the hour. This discrepancy suggests that contractors have different
systems of payment for child workers. The positions held most recently by respondents are briefly
described below.
●● Paqueteo (seed cutter) - Using a machete, workers cut at the base of the cane and then cut
off the very top. The remaining stick of cane is cut into three to four pieces, and these pieces
are tied together with scrap cane leaves to form a package. Workers are generally paid per
package, incentivizing workers to work longer and faster.128
●● Siembra (seed sower) - Packages of cane are planted into furrows that are watered and
covered with dirt using shovels. Generally, workers reported being paid per task completed.
●● Deshierba (weeder) - Workers cut weeds and grass using a machete. Workers are generally
paid per task completed.129
●● Acarreo (seed package loader) - Workers gather packages of cane bundled by paqueteos
and place them on a truck for transport to the field to be planted. Workers are paid per task
completed.130
●● Pucho (cut-cane loader)- Workers walk behind trucks picking up and loading cut cane from
the fields. Respondents reported that night shifts can be especially dangerous if the workers
fall asleep and truck driver fails to see them in the fields. Falling asleep during night shifts is
common since often workers will work days as well. Workers interviewed indicated that they
were paid per 12-hour shift.131
●● Corte de caña (cane cutter) – Only one minor respondent reported working as a cane cutter.
Cane cutters are responsible for manually cutting cane stalks with machetes. Because sugar
levels are highest in the base of the stalk, cutters must cut the cane as low to the ground
as possible. They thus spend the majority of the day bending down. Cutters then sever the
tops of the cane, stack it, and prepare it for collection.132 Cane cutting is considered by the
majority of workers interviewed and in the industry to be the most dangerous job due to
high incidences of heat stress and the relatively high prevalence rate of CKDnT in current and
former cane cutters.
Reported by workers, also see Michael McClean et al., “Industrial Hygiene/Occupational Health Assessment: Evaluating Potential
Hazards Associated with Chemicals, and Work Practices at the Ingenio San Antonio (Chichigalpa, Nicaragua),” Boston University
School of Public Health, 30 August 2010, available at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/cases/document-links/documents/
FINALIHReport-AUG302010-ENGLISH.pdf (last accessed 3 February 2015).
128 129 Ibid.
130 Ibid.
131 Ibid.
Michael McClean et al., “Industrial Hygiene/Occupational Health Assessment: Evaluating Potential Hazards Associated with
Chemicals, and Work Practices at the Ingenio San Antonio.” p. 34.
132 26
Other less commonly held jobs included fertilizer application, irrigation, operating machinery and
unloading of cane. All of these jobs were reported only once, and no respondents reported holding
these jobs within the past year.
While Nicaraguan law does not explicitly prohibit sugarcane work for minors, the law prohibits
individuals under the age of 18 from working in unhealthy occupations or hazardous environments.133
Each job position outlined above contains job tasks that are considered hazardous under the terms
of Nicaragua’s Ministerial Agreement on the Prohibition of Hazardous Work for Adolescents.134 For
example, all of the above six jobs reported by respondents require physical strain due to repetitive
activities with upper and lower limbs and trunk, and they require working outdoors in temperatures
higher than 37ºC (98.6ºF), conditions that alone make the job hazardous and are therefore expressly
prohibited for minors.135
C. Remuneration and Hours
“I work out of necessity. I want to help my family anyway I can.” 136
— 17-year-old worker
i. Wages
Workers responded that their daily harvest earnings varied, most earning around 100-150 Nicaraguan
cordobas (approximately $4-6 USD) daily. The lowest reported wage was below the minimum wage at
50 cordobas (approximately $2 USD) daily. The highest reported wage was 300 cordobas (approximately
$11 USD) daily. Most workers were paid weekly.
About half of the respondents believed that they were not receiving the same salary as adults.
Furthermore, according to LIF’s research, subcontracted adult workers at ISA interviewed in previous
studies earned on average approximately 2,670 cordobas (approximately $100 USD) every two
weeks versus the average 1,400 cordobas (approximately $53 USD) received by minors. Part of this
discrepancy, however, may be due to adults working more hours and being able to complete more work
than children.
Domestic labor law requires that compensation never fall below the legal minimum and that minor
workers receive the same wage as adult workers doing the same work.137 Moreover, even if a worker’s
wage is stipulated by task completed, the law guarantees that the worker’s base salary be equivalent to
the legal minimum.138 In August 2013, the minimum wage of an agricultural worker was set at 2,566.89
cordobas monthly (approximately $96 USD), or 85.56 cordobas (approximately $3 USD) daily or 10.69
cordobas (approximately $0.40 USD) hourly.139 Respondent salaries varied greatly depending on a
number of factors including job assignment. While many respondents reported wages above the legal
minimum, some workers reported wages far below the legal baseline. One 12-year-old worker, who
started working when he was 11, worked for two weeks in seed sowing from 4 a.m. to 12 p.m. for
500 cordobas every two weeks (approximately $19 USD). He was taking over the work of his cousin who
had left work with a hernia. Even if this child worked for five days in a week, his salary would have fallen
Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Arts 133,136 and Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial sobre prohibición de Trabajos
peligrosos para personas adolescentes y listado de trabajos peligrosos, 8 June 2010.
133 134 Ibid., Art. 5.
135 Ibid, Art. 6
136 Original spanish: “…trabajo por la necesidad, quiero ayudar a mi familia en todo…”
137 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Arts. 82, 134(b).
Ministerio del Trabajo, Tesauro de Jurisprudencia Administrativa del Ministerio de Trabajo de Nicaragua del 2008, p. 52,
available at http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/bienvenido/publicaciones/Tesauro%20jurisprudencia%20administrativa.pdf (last accessed
3 February 2015).
138 Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial Sobre la Aplicación de los Salarios Minimos, 4 August 2013, available at http://www.
mitrab.gob.ni/documentos/salario-minimo/Ac_Min_Salario_Minimo_2013.pdf/view (last accessed 10 April 2014). To see more
recent agreements on minimum wage go to http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/documentos/salario-minimo (last accessed 3 February
2015).
139 27
below the minimum wage required at the time. During the harvest of 2013, the minimum biweekly salary
was approximately 1,283 cordobas or $48 USD, more than double what he was receiving.
ii. Wage Manipulation
Workers reported various ways that their salary would be reduced without cause. Several workers
reported having their salaries cut drastically but did not understand the reason for the cut. The
majority of workers were not told before they began working how much they would be paid and had no
paperwork documenting their salary, increasing the likelihood of wage manipulation.
Study responses indicated that working for third party contractors and using borrowed ID numbers left
child workers vulnerable to wage manipulation. Some contractors took advantage of underage workers
by stealing their money and threatening termination for missed days or for complaining. Respondents
reported instances of having had to pay for borrowed identification numbers, with one respondent
reporting that he paid 150 cordobas (approximately $6 USD) weekly to the owner of his borrowed
number, amounting to approximately two days salary at minimum wage. In addition, the majority of
workers received their payment from the person who owned their borrowed ID number, who would
collect the child worker’s paycheck from the payment office. One worker reported that the owner of his
borrowed ID number would deduct 180 cordobas (approximately $7 USD) every week from the
worker’s pay.
Both the Protection of Wages Convention (No. 95) and the Plantations Convention (No. 110), which
are governed by the ILO and of which Nicaragua is a party, prohibit deduction of wages outside of the
extent prescribed by the law. In addition, the Nicaraguan Labor Code mandates that workers receive
documentation indicating salary within three days of starting work.140 Due to the illegal and informal way
most respondents were working, they were especially susceptible to the above wage-related abuses.
iii. Hours
Respondents reported that work in ISA routinely involved excessive hours, excessive workload, and
not enough time to rest during the workday. Similar to adult field workers who are paid a piece rate,
respondents were paid per task completed, incentivizing long working hours. It can be argued that such
a payment method has a disproportionately negative impact on child laborers given that difficult physical
labor for long hours is detrimental to their physical development. The minimum amount of hours worked
during the harvest was reported to be two, while the maximum was 15 hours per day, surpassing the
six-hour maximum prescribed by law for underage workers.141 On average, workers labored about
seven hours. Most workers reported that they worked approximately eight hours. Fourteen workers
reported receiving an increased wage after six hours of work, but 12 did not receive increased wages.
Workers reported leaving the house as early as 3 a.m., while most reported leaving between 4 and 5 a.m.
Respondents were getting home as early as 11 a.m. and others did not return until the evening as late
as 8 p.m.
Days of rest varied, some workers reporting they did not have days off during the harvest season, while
others stated that they had one day off every week. However, no worker responded that days of rest
were compensated. Some respondents reported working every day but those same workers did not
receive any additional or overtime payment for missed days of rest.
The Nicaraguan Labor Code requires that the working day for adult workers should not exceed eight
hours and that the normal working week should not exceed 48 hours.142 Minors, workers under 18,
however, are prohibited from working more than six hours daily and 30 hours weekly.143 Moreover,
140 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art. 24.
141 Ibid, Art 134(f).
142 143 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Arts. 51, 53.
Ibid., Art. 134(f).
28
domestic law explicitly prohibits minors from working in rotating shifts or night shifts.144 Nicaraguan
law requires that overtime work is paid at double the normal salary145 and that for every six days of
continuous work or the equivalent hours, employees are entitled to a seventh day of rest with full pay.146
Similarly, under the International Labor Organization’s Plantations Convention, to which Nicaragua is
a party, Article 43 requires that agricultural workers “enjoy in every period of seven days a period of
rest comprising at least 24 consecutive hours.”147 Under Nicaraguan law, those that choose to work the
seventh day will receive overtime pay for that day.148
Respondents reported facing violations of both wage and hour laws. For example, one 14-year-old
worker reported having worked as a seed sower, making 500 cordobas (approximately $19 USD) weekly
and working seven hours per day. Under domestic law, this worker may only labor in a non-hazardous
work environment for a maximum of six hours per day making at least 642 cordobas (approximately
$24 USD) weekly.149
Older respondents were also engaged in occupations that entailed crosscutting violations of the law.
Three 17-year-old workers reported working 12-hour shifts, one as a cut-cane loader, one as a cane
cutter, and another as a machine operator. While these workers received higher pay than the other
interviewees,150 they worked double the amount of hours allowed by law and worked in some of the most
hazardous positions in sugarcane cultivation. Thus, their labor should have been prohibited (see IV. B.ii.
Occupational Exposures).
D. Occupational Hazards and Access to Health
“The foremen pressure [us] a lot, we don’t have access to water, we aren’t able to work
comfortably, we do not have time to eat, we do not have the right to medical attention.” 151
The states’ obligation to protect a child’s right to health is a core principle at the heart of international
and domestic legal instruments that seek to protect the rights of children. This right is seriously
threatened among minors laboring in sugarcane.
The right to health under international law refers to the right to the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health within the capacities of a given country. It is meant to cover an array of social
and economic factors that act as determinants of health, including working conditions.152 The right to
health of a child is specifically taken into consideration in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.153
Under the Convention, a child is entitled to special safeguards and care “[by] reason of his physical and
mental immaturity.”154
Nicaragua, in its third periodic report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, stated that
the principles set forth in the Convention, are contained in the General Law on Health, which was
Ibid., Art 133; Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial sobre prohibición de Trabajos peligrosos para personas adolescentes y
listado de trabajos peligrosos, Art 6 (F) (3) and (4).
144 145 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art. 62.
146 Ibid., Art. 64.
International Labour Organization Convention No. 110, Plantations Convention, 1958, available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/
normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312255:NO (last accessed 3 February 2015).
147 148 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo., Art. 65.
Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial Sobre la Aplicación de los Salarios Minimos, 4 August 2013; Ley No. 185, Código del
Trabajo, Art 133.
149 150 The biweekly salaries for the loader, cane cutter, and machine operator were 4000, 3200, and 3400 respectively.
“Los capataces mucho presionan, no tenemos acceso al agua, no podemos trabajar a gusto no tenemos tiempo ni para comer,
no tengo derecho a atención médica.”
151 United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 14, The right to the highest standard of
health, E/C.12/2000/4, 2000, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/4538838d0.html (last accessed 3 February 2015).
152 153 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Art. 24, 20.
154 Ibid., preamble.
29
promulgated in 2002.155 Moreover, Nicaraguan law has incorporated special protections for health in
the Ministerial Agreement regarding the prohibition of dangerous work for adolescents and in the Labor
Code, which both explicitly recognize a child’s right to health and mandate specific protections in the
work environment that would allow for the realization of this right.156
For the purposes of the right to health of the child inquiry, researchers considered various indicators
including employer provision of breaks, shade, and water, the frequency and type of workplace
accidents, the frequency and type of occupational sicknesses, treatment of injured minors, and access to
first aid and other medical assistance while at work.
i. Access to Water, Rest, Shade
The ISA policies reported by respondents regarding provision of rest, water, and shade are negatively
affecting the health of young workers. These policies are likely producing long-lasting and permanent
bodily damage.
Lack of access to water was one of the most severe problems reported during the course of this study.
Researchers found that ISA did not provide water to the vast majority of respondents. Instead, workers
reported only drinking the water that they carried to work from their homes. Some reported having to
ask other workers to share water. Ten workers reported drinking only two liters a day, even though these
workers reported laboring from three to 15 hours per day. One 12-year-old worker reported drinking
only 1.5 liters a day despite working 8-hour days. Eight workers reported drinking four liters a day, and
the highest reported intake was ten liters daily (one instance).157 Respondents indicated that they do not
drink more water because they cannot carry more into the field and they do not want to stop working in
order to drink more (or subsequently urinate). Others explained that the pressure to keep working does
not allow for breaks to drink water. Some workers reported simply not feeling the thirst for more water.
A review of developmental psychobiology supports the latter finding, suggesting that notions of thirst
are not hardwired but are developed during childhood through interactions with caregivers and then
carried into adulthood.158 Applying this theory to the situation of child workers at ISA, it could be that
these workers do not learn to acknowledge a chronic state of dehydration. This could have devastating
effects on workers’ bodies as they continue to work in sugarcane as adults.
To compensate for fluid loss due to physical exertion and dehydration, it is estimated that workers
must consume between five and 15 liters of water daily.159 According to LIF research, rates of water
consumption among adult and minor ISA field workers are both typically below this range.160 Children,
however, are more prone to dehydration than adults. The ratio of body surface area to weight in
adolescents is 50% higher than in adults, increasing the relative effect of sun exposure and dehydration
on their bodies.161 In a given workday, sugarcane workers can lose up to three kilograms of water
Committee on the Rights of the Child, “Third periodic report of states parties due in 2002: Nicaragua,” U.N. Doc. CRC/C/125/
Add.3, 15 October 2004, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/42d289374.html (last accessed 3 February 2015); Ley No.
423, Ley General de Salud, Art. 32.
155 Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial sobre prohibición de Trabajos peligrosos para personas adolescentes y listado de
trabajos peligrosos.
156 This worker may have been unclear regarding the question, as it was also reported that 5 workers would share a 10 liter
container of water brought to the field by workers.
157 Harshaw, Christopher, “Alimentary epigenetics: A developmental psychobiological systems view of the perception of hunger,
thirst and satiety,” Developmental Review, vol. 28, pp. 541–569, 2008.
158 Weiner et al., “The Central American Epidemic of CKD” Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, March 07, 2013
vol. 8 no. 3 pp. 504-511, available at http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/8/3/504.full.pdf+html (last accessed 3 February 2015).
159 See La Isla Foundation, “Sickly Sweet,” 2014, p.30, available at http://laislafoundation.org/. See also Fairfood, Treat them Sweet,
p.4, available at http://www.fairfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Treatthemsweet.pdf (last accessed 3 February 2015).
160 United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Exposure Factors Handbook,” Table 7-15, 2011, available at
http://www.epa.gov/ncea/efh/pdfs/efh-complete.pdf (3 February 2015).
161 30
weight.162 Given that a higher percentage of an adolescent’s mass is comprised of water,163 they are
more acutely affected by this turnover of water and electrolytes, thus their hydration must be closely
monitored.164 Dehydration and volume depletion are known to cause acute kidney injury (AKI), and
several studies have identified recurrent dehydration as a likely primary cause of CKDnT.165 Moreover,
there is mounting evidence that repeated incidences of AKI could lead to CKDnT.166 Respondents reported that ISA provides sweetened hydration fluids in plastic packets called “bolis” or
“sueros,” to the workers in the fields. Intake varied, with some respondents reporting that they were not
drinking any hydration fluids, while others reported consuming ten to 12 packets daily. Even though
hydration fluids were generally available, nine workers reported not drinking them at all.
Breaks varied with the type of jobs held by respondents and the number of hours worked. Over half of
the workers interviewed reported either having no breaks or just one break during the day, generally to
eat. Breaks varied in length from three minutes to one hour. Four workers reported not receiving any
breaks. One worker reported he could only rest if he was sick. A loader (pucho) who reported working
12-hour shifts did not take any breaks, while a seed cutter (paqueteo) who worked eight-hour shifts also
reported not taking any breaks.
Access to shade varied in accordance with the different locations where respondents worked. The only
reported available shade was from tree cover. Most respondents reported that shade was located far
away and was generally inaccessible. The majority of workers (21) reported never being obligated to rest
in the shade.
The combination of excessive hours, limited access to water, and lack of sufficient time to rest in the
shade leaves workers highly vulnerable to heat stress, which has been hypothesized to be a primary
Solis, G., “Impacto de la medidas preventivas para evitar el deterioro de la función renal por el Síndrome de Golpe por Calor en
trabajadores del Ingenio San Anton del Occidente de Nicaragua Ciclo Agrícola 2005-2006,” León: Universidad Nacional Autonoma
de Nicaragua, 2007. Also see, Correa-Rotter R, “Acute kidney injury and the development of Chronic Kidney Disease. Role of novel
Biomarkers,” Mesoamerican Nephropathy: Report from the First International Research Workshop on MeN 1: 65-73, 2012.
162 163 Guyton, A.C., “Textbook of Medical Physiology,” p. 293.
Mayo Clinic, “Diseases and Conditions: Dehydration,” 12 February 2014, available at http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseasesconditions/dehydration/basics/risk-factors/con-20030056 (last accessed 3 February 2015).
164 See Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Acute Kidney Injury Work Group, “KDIGO Clinical Practice Guideline
for Acute Kidney Injury,” Kidney International Supplements, March 2012, available at http://www.kdigo.org/clinical_practice_
guidelines/pdf/KDIGO%20AKI%20Guideline.pdf (last accessed 3 February 2015) ; Correa-Rotter, R, et al., “CKD of Unknown Origin in
Central America: The Case for a Meoamerican Nephropathy,” American Journal of Kidney Disease, March 2014, available at http://
www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386(13)01568-0/fulltext (last accessed 3 February 2015); Ramirez-Rubio, O, et al., “Chronic kidney
disease in Nicaragua: a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with physicians and pharmacists,” BMC Public Health, April
2013, available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3637184/(last accessed 3 February 2015); Bedford M, et al.,
“Acute kidney injury and CKD: Chicken or egg?,” American Journal of Kidney Disease 59: 485–491, 2012; Roncal Jimenez, C, et al.,
“Fructokinase Activity Mediates Dehydration Induced Renal Injury,” Kidney International, December 2013, available at http://www.
nature.com/ki/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/ki2013492a.pdf (last accessed 3 February 2015).
165 AKI and CKD are complexly interrelated conditions with overlapping risk factors, but while AKI is an abrupt loss of kidney
function, CKD is defined as a progressive loss of kidney function over a period of more than 3 months. See Bedford M, et al.,
“Acute kidney injury and CKD: Chicken or egg?,” American Journal of Kidney Disease, April 2012, available at http://www.ajkd.
org/article/S0272-6386(11)01398-9/pdf (last accessed 3 February 2015); Chawla LS, et al., “The severity of acute kidney injury
predicts progression to chronic kidney disease,” Kidney International, June 2011, available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
articles/PMC3257034/ (last accessed 3 February 2015) and Venkatachalam MA, et. al. “Acute kidney injury: a springboard for
progression in chronic kidney disease,” American Journal of Renal Physiology, May 2010, available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pmc/articles/PMC2867413/ (last accessed 3 February 2015); and Ramirez-Rubio, O, et al., “Chronic kidney disease in Nicaragua:
a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with physicians and pharmacists,” BMC Public Health, April 2013, available
at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3637184/ (last accessed 3 February 2015).
166 31
cause of CKDnT along with recurrent dehydration.167 Volume depletion (caused by severe dehydration)
together with heat stress is known to cause acute kidney injury and is the likely driver of CKDnT.168
Such working practices are also in violation of Nicaraguan labor laws for adult and child laborers.
Article 55 of the Nicaraguan Labor Code requires that employers provide 30 minutes of paid rest time
for workers who labor continuously throughout the day.169 Though domestic and international labor
laws do not mandate specific requirements for the provision of water, breaks, and shade in specific
working environments,170 standards do exist which outline appropriate guidelines for employers
seeking to reduce the risk of heat stress among workers performing heavy labor in extreme heat.
The US Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) recommends that for heavy labor in
temperatures above 86° F (30° C),171 workers should be allowed a minimum break of 15 minutes for
every 45 minutes that they work.172 The proportion of minutes rested to minutes worked increases as
temperatures rise.173 Moreover, OSHA recommends that employers provide ample supplies of water
close to the worksite and encourage workers to frequently drink small amounts, e.g., one cup every 20
minutes.174
ii. Occupational Exposures
Researchers inquired into specific workplace exposures that children experienced during the course
of the workday. Almost all respondents (25 of 26) were exposed to extreme heat175 and high solar
radiation,176 which is consistent with the fact that most workers interviewed reported employment in
some kind of fieldwork. Respondents also reported exposure to dust, smoke, and dangerous tools.
Fourteen respondents reported working with heavy loads. Seven workers reported exposure to chemicals
while at work, with two of those seven reporting that they had worked directly with agrochemicals.
The nature of the work that minor workers perform in ISA sugarcane fields and the types of workplace
exposures that those workers report, constitute hazardous working conditions and are therefore one
of the worst forms of child labor. Moreover, the lack of formal contracting mechanisms leaves minor
workers more vulnerable than adult employees because they receive less training and protection. The
hazardous nature of this work was echoed in respondents’ perceptions of their own safety. Seventeen
respondents said they believe they work in dangerous conditions.
Despite these hazardous working conditions, only two workers reported ever observing an inspection
of their work conditions by a third party inspector. One of these workers reported observing a Ministry
of Labor inspection. He was warned ahead of time of the inspector’s arrival. The other respondent was
Correa-Rotter, Ricardo, Wesseling, Catharina and Johnson, Richard, “CKD of Unknown Origin in Central America: The Case for
a Meoamerican Nephropathy,” American Journal of Kidney Disease, March 2014, available at http://www.ajkd.org/article/S02726386(13)01568-0/fulltext (last accessed 3 February 2015). See also, Johnson, Richard and Wesseling, Catharina, “Chronic kidney
disease: Mesoamerican nephropathy--new clues to the cause,” Nature Reviews Nephrology, October 2013, vol. 9 no. 10 pp. 560561, available at http://www.nature.com/nrneph/journal/v9/n10/full/nrneph.2013.174.html (last accessed 3 February 2015).
167 Ibid. See also: Roncal Jimenez, C, et al., “Fructokinase Activity Mediates Dehydration Induced Renal Injury,”Kidney International,
December 2013, available at http://www.nature.com/ki/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/ki2013492a.pdf (last accessed 3 February
2015).
168 169 Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art. 55.
For example, Article 55 of the Labor Code mandates that 30 minutes of rest during a regular work day, but this amount of time
is not sufficient for sugarcane workers given the high exposure to direct sunlight.
170 Temperature measured with theWet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index. This the most widely used and accepted index for
the assessment of heat stress in industry and represents the heat stress to which an individual is exposed.
171 United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, “OSHA Technical Manual” Section III: Chapter
4, available at https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_iii/otm_iii_4.html (last accessed 27 January 2015); see generally United
States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, “About Work/Rest Schedules,” available at https://www.
osha.gov/SLTC/heatillness/heat_index/work_rest_schedules.html (last accessed 27 January 2015).
172 United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, “Using the Heat Index: A Guide for Employers,”
available at https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/heatillness/heat_index/pdfs/all_in_one.pdf (last accessed 27 January 2015).
173 174 United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, “OSHA Technical Manual” Section III: Chapter 4.
Temperatures above 98.6° F (37 ° C) see Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial sobre prohibición de Trabajos peligrosos
para personas adolescentes y listado de trabajos peligrosos, Art. 6(B)(3).
175 176 High solar radiation was explained to respondents as hours of direct sun exposure.
32
Figure 3
Workplace
Exposures
No
Yes
6
20
Fire, gas, flames*
19
6
Loud noises or
vibrations from
equipment or
machines
11
15
Dust, smoke
unable to identify the party that had conducted the inspection.
Both of these workers reported being instructed to hide by their
supervisor because the workers were underage. This finding
substantiates reports that the Ministry of Labor fails to conduct a
sufficient number of labor inspections.177 Moreover, these findings
indicate that when such inspections are conducted, inspectors may
not be collecting full and accurate information.
Under the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, children under
the age of 18 may not be employed in work that is likely to harm
their health, safety, or morals.178 ILO Recommendation 190, which
concerns the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination
of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (the Worst Forms of Child Labor
High solar
1
25
Recommendation), prohibits work with dangerous tools, work
radiation172
that exposes children to dangerous substances, and work under
Dangerous tools
5
21
particularly difficult circumstances.179 Similarly, the Nicaraguan
(machete, etc.)
Ministerial Agreement on the Prohibition of Hazardous Work for
Work in water/river
20
6
Adolescents expressly incorporates the Convention on the Worst
Overly dark or
18
8
Forms of Child Labor and prohibits workers under 18 from working
confined work
in hazardous environments, which is defined as work that by its
Insufficient
22
4
nature involves risk to physical or mental health.180 Specifically, work
ventilation
is considered hazardous when the minor is exposed to temperatures
above 98.6° F (37 ° C) and when work is performed outdoors during
Chemical products
19
7
periods of high solar radiation, such as in agricultural work. 181 This
(agrochemicals)
law further prohibits minors (those under 18) from exposure to
Explosives
25
1
chemicals such as herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides.182 The
Electric charges
25
1
Ministerial Agreement also prohibits minors from performing tasks
Carrying heavy
12
14
that require physical strain due to awkward postures (squatting,
loads
crouching, or kneeling) or tasks that require repetitive activities with
*one missing value
upper and lower limbs and trunk, or repetitive motions in which
upper limbs are lifting above shoulder level.183 Finally, the agreement
bars minors from certain manual handling, transport activities, and cargo handling.184 These laws apply
to all workers in both formal and informal sectors.185 The majority of work positions and workplace
exposures reported by respondents are, by their very nature, in direct violation of the above laws.
The extreme heat
(temperatures
higher than 37° C)174
177 1
25
Report made by the United States Department of Labor, “2013 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor,” 2014.
International Labour Organization, “Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the
Worst Forms of Child Labor.”
178 International Labour Organization, “Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation,” Art. 3, 17 June 1999, available at http://
www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312528:NO (last accessed 3
February 2015).
179 International Labour Organization, “Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the
Worst Forms of Child Labor,” Art. 5.
180 Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial sobre prohibición de Trabajos peligrosos para personas adolescentes y listado de
trabajos peligrosos.
181 182 Ibid.
183 Ibid.
184 Ibid.
185 Ibid., Art. 3.
33
iii. Provision of Training and Safety Equipment
Researchers discovered trends among respondents’ testimonies on safety training, provision of safety
equipment, and the dissemination of information concerning health risks that suggest further rights
violations at ISA.
Only eight workers reported receiving protective equipment provided by ISA. Among these 8 workers,
equipment received included gloves, leg protection, knee protection, and safety glasses. Respondents
reported that employers did not provide equipment to protect against the heat, even though most
workers reported exposure to extreme heat and high solar radiation (see Work Exposures chart,
IV. D.ii. Occupational Exposures). When asked if ISA provides protective equipment to workers who do
not apply chemicals but are exposed to them, 12 respondents answered negatively. One worker reported
laboring in the fields while a plane flew over, covering him and the fields with agrochemicals. He said
he had not received any type of protective equipment to shield him from this exposure (see Box 1
“Showered in Poison” in section IV.D.iv. Resulting Injuries and Illnesses).
Out of all workers interviewed, only two reported receiving any kind of health and safety training for
their work. While some reported having a general understanding that the chemicals used in the fields
were dangerous for the skin and respiratory system, only two reported receiving an explanation from
their supervisor or employer about the types of chemicals used in the fields. The majority of respondents
were unable to repeat any health and safety rules of ISA. Most said that they were given little to no
instruction from their supervisors before beginning work. Some reported that friends or relatives
instructed them on their primary work tasks instead.
The majority of workers were not informed about risks associated with working in the fields. Five
workers reported they were informed of associated risks, but the information provided was general such
as advice to avoid machete cuts or to keep drinking water throughout the day. One respondent reported
that he was told that he would face a high risk of elevated creatinine levels, an indicator of CKDnT, and
that neither the contractor nor ISA would be able to help him.
The observed dearth of safety equipment and training coincides with the informal nature of workers’
employment relationships. However, domestic law requires employers to provide safety equipment
and instruction on workplace hazards to their workforce. Article 105 of the Labor Code requires that
workers receive information about inherent risks related to dangerous tasks and sufficient training
before operating hazardous machinery or undertaking dangerous work.186 Employer obligations related
to health and safety are enumerated in greater detail in the Law of Occupational Health and Safety, which
requires employers to take measures to ensure individual and collective protection and give workers
appropriate information to effectively avoid risks;187 to ensure contractor compliance or risk joint liability
for breach of the law;188 to provide free protective equipment to workers and repair such equipment
as needed; 189 and to provide free, appropriate training by qualified accredited instructors on hygiene,
health, and safety in the workplace.190 Moreover, Article 134 of the Labor Code explicitly recognizes
the right of children and adolescents to receive protection from occupational hazards as well as receive
protections that ensure their physical safety, health and hygiene.191 Respondents’ testimonies suggest
that ISA has been in violation of these laws, leaving young workers without needed protection and thus
exacerbating an already hazardous working environment.
187 Ley No. 618, Ley General de Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Art. 18(2).
188 Ibid. Art. 18(9). Also see section IV.B.i Subcontracted Employment.
189 Ibid.Art. 18(14) and Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art. 103.
190 Ley No. 618, Ley General de Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Arts. 19-22.
34
iv. Resulting Injuries & Illnesses
Figure 4
Have you ever
had any of
the following
sicknesses due
to your job?
No
Yes
Superficial injuries
or open cuts
16
10
Fractures
24
2
6
20
Burns
24
2
Respiratory
problems
16
10
Eye problems
16
10
Skin problems
16
10
Stomach problems/
diarrhea
16
10
Temperature/fever
7
19
Extreme fatigue
8
18
Dizziness (may be
due to dehydration
or malnutrition)
11
15
Kidney problems
19
7
Heat stress,
sunstroke
Others:*
Problems with
urination: (pain or
blood in urine)
4
Headaches
2
Dehydration
1
Cramps
1
The combination of the above-mentioned hazardous work
exposures, lack of adequate water, rest, or shade, scarcity of safety
equipment, and deficit of training likely causes injuries and illnesses
experienced by minor workers. Most workers reported having
experienced heat stress, extreme exhaustion, and fevers. While only
one worker specifically reported having experienced dehydration,
when asked about other illnesses experienced, the majority of
workers indicated having suffered headaches and dizziness, which
are likely related to sun exposure and dehydration. Almost half of
respondents reported respiratory, eye, skin, or stomach problems.
Eight workers cited accidents, the majority having cut themselves
with machetes.
Seven children reported renal problems. Two respondents
specifically mentioned pain while urinating, and one worker stated
that he occasionally urinated blood. Four workers mentioned
urination problems at some point during the interview. These
urinary problems, often referred to as “chistata,” are associated with
dehydration and may be signs of acute kidney injury, permanent
damage that could eventually lead to CKDnT.192
Nicaragua’s General Law on Health and Safety explicitly considers
Chronic Kidney Disease and requires the Ministry of Labor to
take regulatory action towards prevention of the the disease
in environments where it is likely to develop.193 Given reported
instances of workplace hazards driving the development of CKDnT
in sugarcane cultivation throughout Central America combined with
the high prevalence of CKDnT among young workers, the state and
ISA alike must implement actions towards the prevention of the
sickness as required by law.
v. Medical Attention and Insurance
Compounding issues related to high rates of workplace accidents
and occupational illness, respondents also reported a lack of access
* Researchers asked specifically about the
to medical attention. Respondents said they generally had no access
above illnesses. Workers reported the below
conditions when asked if they experienced
to medical attention while at work and were not receiving any kind
any other illnesses than those already
of medical benefits. They expressed the belief that since they used
enumerated.
borrowed numbers and were therefore working illegally, they had
no right to receive medical care while at work. No respondent reported receiving a medical exam prior
to beginning work. This finding indicates a high likelihood that the creatinine levels of minor workers
are not checked prior to starting the harvest or during the harvest. Without checking these levels, which
serve as an indicator of healthy kidney function, ISA and its subcontractors cannot discern employees’
health status.
Pneumonia
1
The majority of workers reported that they do not have access to first aid while at work. Of the four
workers who reported first aid availability, three stated that the care given was limited to the provision of
pain medication pills by a nurse. The use of these pills was discussed among a number of respondents,
which suggests that their experience with medical care has likely been limited to ingestion of pills. One
worker reported that he would get pills from a co-worker. Among the pain medications provided to
Ramirez-Rubio, O, et al., “Chronic kidney disease in Nicaragua: a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with
physicians and pharmacists,” BMC Public Health, April 2013, available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3637184/
(last accessed 3 February 2015).
192 193 Ley No. 618, Ley General de Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Art. 7(j).
35
Box 1: “Showered with Poison”
Many of the young workers who were interviewed for this study were already seasoned laborers
in sugarcane. One respondent, who was 17 years old at the time of the interview, had worked
in sugarcane since he was 15. He had labored in some of the most demanding position at ISA,
including loading cut cane and seed packages as well as operating machines. This respondent
earned higher pay than most others, likely due to the difficulty and hazardous nature of his
work. He was able to find work with a contractor through his mother and used the borrowed
identification of his uncle. Part of the reason works in the fields is to buy medicine for his sick
grandmother.
The respondent explained during his interview that he has had to hide from ISA supervision
because he is underage. He reported working 12-hour shifts loading cut cane, sometimes at
night. He said that night workers sometimes lack proper protection, such as lights, batteries,
jackets, and gloves. He reported taking only one-hour breaks for lunch during his shifts and
not having enough time to drink water. He explained that working conditions are extremely
dangerous at night, even resulting in fatal accidents (a claim supported by previous worker
accounts gathered by LIF regarding the night work loading cut cane). The respondent described
an incident in which a small plane passed overhead, showering all the workers below with an
agrochemical that he took to be a pesticide, referring to it as “veneno” or poison. He said he and
his coworkers had been given no protection or forewarning.
The respondent’s work schedule prevents him from attending a regular school program. He
only attends school on Sundays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Many students in Chichigalpa do not
go to school past primary school, and of those who continue on to secondary school, very few
graduate. A condensed weekend education around full-time work in sugarcane does not allow
youth to find work beyond the fields. When this particular worker was asked what he wants to be
when he grows up, he said, “A lawyer.”
laborers are non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), which have been linked to the development of
CKDnT.194
Researchers also inquired about the treatment of injuries. From respondents’ testimonies, researchers
conclude that the management of injuries depends largely on the disposition of the present supervisor
or contractor and the severity of the injury. Many respondents reported simply being sent home to rest
when an injury occurred. Others reported continuing working despite suffering an injury or, if the injury
was severe enough, an ambulance would be called.
Since respondents were generally working with borrowed ID numbers, they did not have medical
insurance available through the Nicaraguan social security system. Without medical insurance, workers
are not allowed access to care at the private medical clinic within ISA, nor are they covered within the
social security system’s network of private hospitals and clinics unless they are able to pay out of pocket.
Underage workers therefore lack coverage for both ISA-provided and off-site medical care. Few workers
can afford an alternative. Accordingly, most workers access care through the public clinics and hospitals
run by the Ministry of Health (MINSA). These facilities are overwhelmed and underfunded. Nicaragua
spends less money annually on the public health system ($293 million USD or $49 USD per capita), which
covers the entire population, than on the private health system ($569 million or $95 per capita), which
CKDnT has been linked to the use of NSAIDS. See Wesseling, Catharina et al., “The Epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease of
Unknown Etiology in Mesoamerica: A Call for Interdisciplinary Research and Action,” American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 103,
p. 1927, 2013, available at http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301594 (last accessed 3 February
2015); and Wesseling, Catharina et al, “Resolving the Enigma of the Mesoamerican Nephropathy: A Research Workshop Summary,”
American Journal of Kidney Disease, p. 5, 2013, available at http://www.ajkd.org/article/S0272-6386(13)01200-6/abstract (last
194 36
only serves 16% of the population.195 As a result, patients in the public system frequently report long
waits to see a physician and shortages of supplies and medications.196
Both Nicaraguan and international law explicitly mandate that minors receive the benefits of social
security and special health programs.197 Specifically, the General Law of Health and Safety states that the
employer and the third party contractor will be held joint liability when the contractor fails to register
subcontracted employees with the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS).198 Without access to such
benefits and on-site medical care, the already hazardous conditions of the sugarcane fields become
even more dangerous for young workers, especially for those who later develop CKDnT and lack medical
coverage to treat the illness.
E. Access to Education
Work in the cane fields appeared to affect the school attendance of underage workers. More than half of
the respondents (15) reported that they did not attend school at all. Eleven workers reported going to
school regularly. Six said they go to school on the weekends, and five said they go to school during the
week. Four workers reported that they were unable to read and write.
Respondents were also asked about the highest level of schooling they had completed. The average
number of years of school completed was approximately six, however the most frequently reported
grade completed was third grade. The minimum reported highest level of education completed was the
first year of primary school, as reported by two workers. The maximum level of education completed was
reported by a worker who had completed his fifth year of secondary school. This respondent, who was
16 at the time of the interview, continued his schooling on the weekends and reported starting work at
ISA at age 14.
Researchers asked respondents what they wanted to be as adults. Most respondents named vocational
jobs such as mechanical repairs, welding, engineering, and electrical repairs, while others wanted to be
doctors or lawyers. Several minors simply stated that they want to be “someone in life.” Given the relative
inaccessibility of training programs and the pressures of poverty, most of the children interviewed
during this study likely will continue to work in the sugarcane fields as adults.
To accommodate the work schedules of minors, schools have condensed versions of classes on
weekends. However, the demanding schedule of a part-time or full-time job in the sugarcane fields,
followed by a weekend of schooling, makes it difficult for underage workers to continue their education.
Nicaraguan law prohibits work that interferes with schooling and states that a child has a right to school
hours that are compatible with work conditions.199 However, Nicaragua is the only country in Central
America where compulsory education only covers children between the ages of five and 12, instead
of children up to age 15.200 The ILO considers compulsory education to be one of the most effective
means of combating child labor, stating “…if compulsory schooling comes to an end before children are
legally entitled to work, there may arise a vacuum which regrettably opens the door for the economic
World Health Organization, Global Health Expenditure Database, NHA Indicators, 2012, available at http://apps.who.int/nha/
database/Select/Indicators/en (last accessed 3 February 2015).
195 196 Based on statements collected and research conducted by LIF’s Public Health Department.
Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art. 134; see also Ley No. 287, Codigo de la Ninez y la Adolescencia, Art. 33; Convention on
the Rights of the Child, Art. 26.
197 198 Ley No. 618, Ley General de Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Art 34.
Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial sobre prohibición de Trabajos peligrosos para personas adolescentes y listado de
trabajos peligrosos, Art. 6(f)(8); and Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Art. 134(g). Also see Art. 84, Constitution of Nicaragua.
199 ILO, Observation (CEACR) on the Minimun Age Convention - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014), available at
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:13100:0::NO::P13100_COMMENT_ID:3112762 (last accessed 3 February
2015).
200 37
exploitation of children.”201 The ILO has encouraged Nicaragua to “ensure compulsory schooling up to
the minimum age for admission to employment or work of 14 years.”202
The vast majority of respondents who did not attend school were working in sugarcane to help provide
their families with basic necessities. The preamble of the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention states
that:
“…child labour is to a great extent caused by poverty and that the long-term solution lies in
sustained economic growth leading to social progress, in particular poverty alleviation and
universal education…”203
Deprivation of a child’s fundamental right to education negatively impacts that child’s ability to find
high-paid skilled work in the future. For the respondents of the present study, this deprivation impedes
their ability to find work outside the sugarcane fields throughout adulthood.
Box 2: Generations of Sickness
One 17-year-old reported working 10-hour days as a cane cutter. Having never attended school,
he started work at the age of 12. Thus, he had already acquired years of experience at ISA
working a number of different positions, applying fertilizer, weeding and seed cutting. Both
his father and stepfather died of CKDnT. He reported having experienced a creatinine level of
2.2, indicative of kidney distress. He reported being “blacklisted,” or denied employment, by
ISA, likely because of his high creatinine levels, which by company policy prohibits a worker
from obtaining employment. To continue working, he used a borrowed identification number,
which further excluded him from worker protections. This case scenario demonstrates the
cycle of work and sickness that affects families across generations throughout the region. The
respondent expressed the desire to have a better and easier job, one that would help him
provide for his family. Unfortunately, he has no education, which makes alternative employment
difficult. Moreover, with such a high creatinine level at such an early age, this teenager is at high
risk of developing CKDnT.1
F.
The National Kidney Foundation, Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative “KDOQI Clinical Practice Guidelines for
Chronic Kidney Disease Evaluation, Classification, and Stratification,” see section “Public Health Approach to Chronic
Kidney Disease” of Part 3 “Chronic Kidney Disease as a Public Health Problem”] 2002 available at http://www.kidney.org/
professionals/KDOQI/guidelines_ckd/toc.htm (last accessed 24 March 2015).
1 F. Coercive and Hostile Work Environment
“The most serious harm is that the sugar company does not value a worker’s life, when a
worker becomes sick it’s as if they don’t exist” 204
While the results of the current study fall short of confirming the existence of forced labor practices,
the economic coercion and hostile work environment experienced by respondents raises concern. Only
one worker reported that his family forced him to work. This particular worker was 17 at the time of the
201 Ibid.
202 Ibid.
International Labour Organization, “Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the
Worst Forms of Child Labor.”
203 Original Spanish: “El daño mas grave es que el Ingenio no valora la vida del trabajador, cuando ellos salen enfermos quedan
como inexistente para trabajar.”
204 38
interview, but he was 15 when he started working. This worker also reported that his parents were the
ones who sought out the foreman who eventually offered him employment at ISA.
To ascertain other means by which children were coerced to work, researchers asked respondents the
open-ended question of what requirements they must meet to leave the work site. Interpretations of this
question took many forms, and responses varied. Some respondents stated that if they want to leave,
they leave in secret because otherwise they would not be granted permission to go. Others stated that
they are required to complete their tasks before they leave. A few respondents reported lying and saying
they were sick so that they could leave work. When respondents were asked if they are allowed to leave
work whenever they want during the day, 12 workers responded negatively. Overall, the coercive nature
of child employment appeared to vary depending on the temperament of the contractor or foreman, as
well as the individual perceptions of freedom and coercion held by the respondent.
Five respondents explained that they work for ISA because there are essentially no other jobs in the area.
Aware of their limited opportunities, respondents still expressed a desire to cease working in sugarcane.
Over half of respondents said that they had considered working in other places. Four mentioned CKD as
the reason for considering leaving ISA. Seven said that the work was too difficult.
Some reports from respondents also indicated a hostile work environment. As with perceptions
of coercion, the hostility experienced by children appeared to be contingent on the contractor or
foreman who had supervised the child. Ten workers reported being subjected to yelling or insults. Four
respondents gave information on additional maltreatment, such as being fired for asking to urinate and
being denied breaks to eat, rest, or drink water. Some respondents reported significant pressure from
their supervisors to continue working even after reaching exhaustion.
Researchers found that respondents perceived government officials and police as having close ties with
ISA, often believing that neither of these groups work in the best interests of Nicaraguan citizens. These
perceptions exacerbated the hostile work environment reported by respondents. Twelve respondents
reported feeling that the government was being used to protect the company. Two respondents cited
instances of workers killed by police or ISA security. There were also reports of police being paid by
ISA, unprovoked attacks by police, and perceived police indifference to protecting the interests of
minors working at ISA. Under these circumstances, minors may be less likely to report abusive working
conditions to either the company or the state.
The Code of Children and Adolescents states:
“No child or adolescent will be the object of any form of discrimination, exploitation, …
violence, abuse or physical, mental, and sexual mistreatment, inhumane, terrorizing,
humiliating, oppressive treatment, or cruel treatment, from intention or negligence, through act
or omission....”205
While the aforementioned abusive work practices are violations in and of themselves, if these practices
are being used as penalties to exact work from underage laborers, these violations may furthermore
constitute forced labor practices. ILO Convention No. 29 broadly defines forced labor as “all work or
service which is exacted from any person under the menace of penalty and for which the said person has
not offered himself voluntarily.”206
In subsequent guidelines for compliance with Convention No. 29, the ILO explores the components
of this definition, citing the threat of penalty and the influence such penalties have on the provision
of consent that workers give to continue working under a certain set of conditions.207 Academics have
also identified forced labor conditions as being indicated by productivity-based pay systems, which
205 Ley No. 287, Codigo de la Niñez y la Adolescencia, Art. 5.
International Labour Organization Convention No. 29, Forced Labor Convention, Art. 2(1), 1930, available at http://www.ilo.org/
dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C029 (last accessed 3 February 2015).
206 See International Labour Organization Recommendation No. 35, Forced Labour (Indirect Compulsion) Recommendation, 1930,
available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312373:NO (last
207 39
Box 3: Mental Health Effects of a Hazardous Work
Environment on a Child
Besides the physically hazardous nature of the job, the mental health effects on children
working in sugarcane must also be acknowledged as contributing to rights violations.
Researchers asked participants during the interview process what they believed to be the
biggest problems occurring at ISA. Half of the workers responded that CKDnT was one of the
biggest, if not the biggest problem experienced by workers. Three respondents mentioned
deaths of close family members due to CKDnT. One worker reported losing his father, another
his grandfather, and a third both his father and stepfather.
Children also considered working conditions to be dangerous and believed that they were
being exploited. One worker reported that the greatest damage done by ISA was the company’s
attitude towards workers. He said that the company does not value the life of its workers and
that once someone is sick with CKDnT it is as if they do not exist because they are prohibited
from continuing to work. Another respondent said that he wanted to work somewhere else
because people are dying at ISA. This type of hazardous work environment has particular
effects on the mental well-being of children, according to the World Health Organization:
…[C]hildren are more vulnerable since they are in physical and mental development.
Children are often “achievers,” they want to perform well and are inexperienced and
untrained in dealing with hazards. Tools and machines are not made for them, and
thus pose more hazards. They are also not organized and [are] powerless. All those
factors contribute to the fact that the same task carried out by children can be more
hazardous for children than for adults. … Not only physical, but also mental and
behavioral problems can be the result of hazardous child labour.1
The opening sentence of the Ministerial Agreement on the Prohibition of Hazardous Work
for Adolescents states that the goal of the agreement is to restore the right of children and
adolescents working in hazardous environments to psychological health.2 This agreement goes
on to identify work as hazardous when it involves risks factors that not only affect physical,
but also psychological health.3 Poverty and limited employment options in Western Nicaragua
force children and adolescents to enter into a work environment where they face hazardous
working conditions. They perceive these conditions to be exploitative, abusive, dangerous, and
ultimately deadly to their family members and themselves. Children are confronted with the
responsibility of providing for their families and reconciling this responsibility with their fear of
death. The long-term psychological damage caused by such conditions is undeniable.
World Health Organization, “Children’s Environmental Health, Hazardous Child Labour,” available at http://www.who.
int/ceh/risks/labour/en/ (last visited 11 April 2014).
1 “Con el firme propósito de restituir el derecho a la salud e integridad física y sicológica de las y los adolescents trabajadores, el Gobierno de Reconciliación y Unidad Nacional a través del Ministerio del Trabajo emitió el Acuerdo Ministerial JCHG-08-06-10, sobre la Prohibición de trabajo peligrosos para las personas adolescentes y el Listado de trabajos
peligrosos en Nicaragua.” Ministerio del Trabajo, Acuerdo Ministerial sobre prohibición de Trabajos peligrosos para
personas adolescentes y listado de trabajos peligrosos, 8 June 2010, available at http://www.mitrab.gob.ni/documentos/acuerdos/ACUERDO%20MINISTERIAL%20JCHG-08-06-10.pdf/view (last accessed 31 January 2015).
2 Art. 5 of the Ministerial Agreement states “Se considera trabajo peligroso aquel que a) por su naturaleza, intrínsecamente conlleva factores de riesgo que afectan la salud física y psíquica de los y las adolescentes que trabajan…” Ibid.
3 40
require workers to work in excess of nationally
established hourly limits in order to earn a minimum
wage.208 Further research is needed to determine
whether the abusive behaviors of employers and the
requirement that minors continue working are so
closely connected that they constitute forced labor
practices. The results of the present study, however,
suggest that minors may be working under unduly
coercive, harsh, and hostile work environments in
violation of domestic and international law.
Figure 5: Minor Workers and CKDnT
G. Effects of CKDnT
“The biggest problem is the creatinine [CKDnT]
and [ISA] does nothing for [the workers]. After
working so much they abandon them.”209
Ingenio San Antonio provides opportunity for
employment in a region with few other options.
Unfortunately, this employment has consequences.
Twenty-two respondents reported that someone in
their family works or had worked at ISA. Of these 22
workers, eight said that the reason a family member
left ISA was due to CKDnT or high creatinine levels,
and three reported deaths in their family from
CKDnT.
The mental and emotional effects of family member
deaths on children and adolescents due to CKDnT
should not be underestimated.210 Many respondents
expressed fear of CKDnT or high creatinine levels,
and are working with the knowledge that they have
lost loved ones doing the same work that they are
now performing. While most workers interviewed
knew about the risk of developing CKDnT, ISA
remains obligated to warn workers about the disease
affecting its workforce and to take action towards
preventing it.
Respondents said they continue to work in
sugarcane cultivation at ISA, despite fears of
developing CKDnT, due to various socioeconomic
factors, primarily desperate financial reasons.211
Almost all respondents said that they need to work
in order to provide family income, help pay off
family debt, or cover the cost of basic necessities
like food and medicine. Almost all respondents
were contributing all or part of their salaries to their
Diane F. Fay, “An Institutional Approach to Labor-Related Human Rights Compliance: A Case of Forced Labor in Nicaragua and
Honduras,” Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Vol. 17, 19 August 2009, available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.
cfm?abstract_id=1364242 (last accessed 3 February 2015).
208 Original Spanish: “El problema mas grande es la creatinina y el Ingenio no hace nada por ellos. Despues que trabajan tanto y
despues los dejan abandonados.”
209 210 See the above Box 3, “Mental Health Effects of a Hazardous Work Environment on a Child.”
211 See the above section IV.F. “Coercive and Hostile Work Environment.”
41
families. Several workers reported having to work because they had a family member or multiple family
members diagnosed with CKDnT.
Workers’ fears of CKDnT are well founded. Two of the respondents had elevated levels of creatinine,
and one 17 year old was diagnosed with CKDnT after only two years working in sugarcane cultivation
at ISA. While the scientific studies herein cited have not focused on a child’s level of susceptibility to
developing CKDnT, scientists have acknowledged child labor as a risk factor that should be used to
contextualize a subjects’ exposure history.212 A Boston University study on early kidney damage in
Nicaraguan adolescents found that “given the usual time period it takes for the kidneys to become
sufficiently injured to result in clinically apparent CKD, the early age of onset observed in Nicaragua
raises the possibility that renal damage might have already started in childhood.”213 While childhood
factors remain a concern, further research is needed that focuses specifically on the role of child labor in
the development of CKDnT.
Aside from the specific violations of international and domestic laws regarding minors discussed in the
present report, the above concerns regarding CKDnT go against the very essence of these same laws,
which require an elevated standard of care for children. For example, the preamble to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child recognizes that, “the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity,
needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection.”214 The International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights emphasizes the protection of children from exploitation: “…
employment in work harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper their
normal development should be punishable by law.”215 These principles, adopted and incorporated into
Nicaraguan law, are incompatible with the continued employment of children who are physically and
mentally affected by the CKDnT epidemic.
International Research Workshop, San José, C.R., “Mesoamerican Nephropathy: Report form the First International Research
Workshop on MeN,” Wesseling, Catharina et al., 1 ed. p. 31, Heredia, C.R., 2012, available at http://www.regionalnephropathy.org/
wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Technical-Report-for-Website-Final.pdf (last accessed 3 February 2015).
212 The report continues, “A range of theories have been suggested for early initiation of damage, including direct or indirect
(due to contaminants brought home on parents’ clothing) occupational exposure during childhood, environmental exposures,
infectious diseases, low birth weight, and genetic susceptibility.” Ramírez-Rubio, Oriana et al. “Biomarkers of Early Kidney Damage
in Nicaraguan Adolescents September-November 2011,” (Jun. 2012) available at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/cases/documentlinks/documents/AdolescentReportJune252012.pdf (last accessed 3 January 2015).
213 214 Convention on the Rights of the Child, 3 U.N.T.S. 1577, 20 November 1989.
See above section III.C. “Regulatory Framework”; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 993
U.N.T.S. 3, art. 10, para. 3, 16 December 1966.
215 42
V. CONCLUSION
The foregoing working conditions indicate a wide range of rights violations occurring to young workers
whose already vulnerable state, by virtue of their age, is exacerbated by hazardous occupational
exposures and long hours. The trends apparent among respondents along with other human rights
study data previously collected by LIF, together suggest systematic legal non-compliance on the part of
ISA. LIF recommends the following:
FOR GOVERNMENT ACTORS:
●● Enforce international and domestic legal protections for minor workers thoroughly, regardless
of their contractual status, including but not limited to a minor’s right to health, physical and
psychological integrity, and freedom from exploitation.
●● Ensure immediate improvement of working conditions at ISA, assuring access to medical care
for all workers, with special protections for minor laborers. The Ministry of Labor (MITRAB)
should take regulatory action to prevent CKDnT in the sugarcane industry as required by the
General Law of Health and Safety.216 Using the Worker Health and Efficiency (WE) program
currently underway in El Salvador’s Ingenio San Angel as a guide,217 implement efforts to
prevent CKDnT and reduce the need for child laborers to take to the field to replace sick or
deceased family members. Regulatory action taken by MITRAB should include promulgating
the explicit prohibition of minor labor in hazardous sugarcane field positions.
●● Dedicate more human and financial resources towards the enforcement of child labor laws,
such as hiring more Ministry of Labor (MITRAB) inspectors who would assure effective
implementation of those laws in the sugarcane sector. Conduct transparent inspections
of sugar production facilities under the special inspections provision of the General Work
Inspection Law.218 Where violations of laws are found, specifically with respect to child
labor laws as stipulated under Chapter VI article 46(f), require producers to comply within a
specified minimum timeframe and levy economic sanctions sufficient to deter further noncompliance.
●● Support and further develop those already existing domestic programs and initiatives related
to the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. Ensure that supervisory commissions,
like the National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor and the Protection of the
Adolescent Worker (CNEPTI),219 are convened more frequently. Guarantee that child labor
programs and initiatives receive sufficient resources and are monitored on a regular basis to
assess effectiveness.
●● Coordinate the efforts of MITRAB and the Ministry of Education to identify children
undertaking hazardous work in sugarcane and without taking action that would deprive
child laborers of their livelihoods or otherwise imperil a child’s family survival, ensure their
placement into schools and/or skill training programs, and provide other necessary services to
Ley No. 618, Ley General de la Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Gazette No. 133, Art 7(j), 13 July 2007, available at http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Normaweb.nsf/%28$All%29/16624DBD812ACC1B06257347006A6C8C?OpenDocument (last accessed 3
February 2015).
216 At the time of this report, the Worker Health and Efficiency (WE) Program was underway in El Salvador at Ingenio San Angel. This
program involves a workplace intervention study with the aim of developing the highest standard of occupational health and safety
for manual sugarcane cutters, including protection from heat stress, dehydration, and muscular and physical injury. See more at
https://laislafoundation.org/ckdnt-research-extends-el-salvador-first-ever-intervention-study/ (last accessed 18 February 2015)
217 Ley No. 664, Ley general de Inspección de Trabajo, Gazette N° 180, Art 28 (f), 19 September 2008, available at http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/Normaweb.nsf/%28$All%29/58F5F2ED6CAB86C6062574FF0054B96E?OpenDocument (last accessed 4
February 2015).
218 219 Comisión Nacional para la Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil y Protección del Adolescente Trabajador.
43
assure their adequate health and development.
●● Raise the age of compulsory education in accordance with recommendations made by the
International Labor Organization.220 The Ministry of Education should develop strategies and
devote resources to improve attendance in secondary education and create tailored initiatives
for rural sugarcane communities.
●● Create special initiatives in accordance with guidelines set forth by the International Labor
Organization aimed at generating alternative income sources for poor households in
sugarcane communities and thereby reducing the need for children to work.221
●● Make the results of the latest national child labor survey publically available so that domestic
programs and initiatives may properly evaluate the landscape of child labor in the sugarcane
sector and thus plan and implement their strategies accordingly.
●● Coordinate actions necessary among actors such as MITRAB, private sugar companies and civil
society organizations to establish ISA and all other Nicaraguan sugar mills as “Child Labor Free
Zones” under the already existing program “Creación de Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantil.”222
●● Assure that private sugar companies are held jointly liable with third party contractors for
legal violations damaging the occupational health and safety of their subcontracted workforce.
Clarify through legislation the obligations of private sugar companies to ensure contractor
compliance regarding the prevention of CKD, an occupational illness under the General Law of
Health and Safety and Labor Code.223
FOR SUGAR PRODUCERS:
●● Comply with international and domestic legal protections for minor workers, regardless of
their contractual status, including but not limited to a minor’s right to health, physical and
psychological integrity and freedom from exploitation.
●● Without taking actions that would deprive child laborers of their livelihoods, ensure that
children and their families have access to programs and services designed to provide them
with alternatives to hazardous labor.
●● Immediately take responsibility for those dangers affecting the health and safety of minor
workers notwithstanding the presence of third party contractors. Take precautionary action in
addressing the CKDnT epidemic by identifying those hazards associated with the sickness and
improve working conditions accordingly. Specifically, improve access to water, rest, and shade
for those workers laboring in the fields by adopting work practices that follow internationally
recognized guidelines for safe work in hot climates, such as standards set forth by OSHA.
Consult with organizations in the region that are already implementing these guidelines
through such programs as the Worker Health and Efficiency (WE) Program at El Salvador’s
Ingenio El Angel. Provide special medical attention for minor workers.
●● Ensure that third party intermediaries respect international and domestic legal protections
for minor workers and conduct inspections accordingly. Specifically, guarantee that contracts
between sugar producers and third party intermediaries explicitly forbid the use of minor
ILO, Observation (CEACR) on Minumum Age Convention - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014), available at http://
www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:13100:0::NO::P13100_COMMENT_ID:3112762 (last accessed 4 February 2015).
220 ILO, “Tackling hazardous child labour in agriculture: Guidance on policy and practice” 2006, available at http://www.ilo.org/
ipec/Informationresources/WCMS_IPEC_PUB_2799/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed 2 February 2015).
221 222 See Declaracion de Managua “Hacia Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantile n Centro America”, 5 October 2013.
Ley No. 618, Ley General de la Higiene y Seguridad del Trabajo, Art 33,35. See also Ley No. 185, Código del Trabajo, Arts. 109,
119, Gazette No. 200, 30 October 1996, available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/45784/65050/S96NIC01.
htm#l1t5c1 (last accessed 30 January 2015).
223 44
labor in hazardous positions.
●● Ensure that subcontracted minors who are able to legally work in a non-hazardous
environment receive the same salaries, benefits, and employment conditions as adult
employees at the same level hired directly by the company. Moreover, ensure that any legally
employed minor workers and their supervisors are fully informed of the tasks they are
prohibited from performing.
●● Provide effective regulations and supervision to ensure that minors are not engaging in
hazardous work and that those minor workers who are legally working receive training,
equipment, and protection necessary to guarantee their health and safety.
●● Work with MITRAB to assure the occurrence of regular thorough and transparent labor
inspections. Work with MITRAB and other relevant stakeholders to establish ISA and all other
Nicaraguan sugar mills as “Child Labor Free Zones” under the already existing program
“Creación de Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantil.”224
●● Work with MITRAB to help drive domestic policies that will ensure that children in sugarcane
communities are attending school. Work towards the provision of vocational training and
health and safety training for young workers.
FOR SUGAR BUYERS
●● Adopt corporate policies that reflect domestic and international protections for child laborers.
●● Modify contracts with suppliers to require compliance with domestic and international
standards regarding child labor.
●● Incorporate effective monitoring systems into the purchasing process to verify compliance
with domestic and international child labor laws.
●● Join, and encourage suppliers to join, multi-stakeholder initiatives that address child labor,
such as BONSUCRO.225
●● Assist suppliers in building their capacity to address child labor which includes offering child
laborers alternative non-hazardous positions.
224 See Declaracion de Managua “Hacia Zonas Libres de Trabajo Infantile n Centro America”, 5 October 2013.
225 BONSUCRO, Production Standard, http://bonsucro.com/site/production-standard/ (last accessed 19 February 2014).
45
Acknowledgments
Principal authorship, research and data analysis performed by La Isla Foundation (LIF)
Law and Human Rights Department.
Field interviews performed by LIF Community Development and Law and Human Rights Departments.
Design, layout and editing services performed by LIF Media and Communications Department.
Photographs by Piet den Blanken (front) and Verena Brüning (back).
Special Thanks
LIF volunteers and interns for assistance in research, data analysis, and editing.
The Council of Protestant Churches of Nicaragua (CEPAD) and the Presbytery of the Pacific
for financial support.
Profesionales para la Auditoría Social Empresarial (PASE) for continued encouragement and support.
Friends and volunteers of LIF in Chichigalpa for assistance with field research.
...
Finally, a special thanks to the young workers who participated in this study,
for whom this report was written.
46
La Isla Foundation
P. O. Box 816
Ada, MI 49301 USA
For questions regarding this report please contact:
[email protected]
For general questions go to:
https://laislafoundation.org/contact/
47

Cycle of Sickness - La Isla Foundation

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