PARAGUAY: The Struggle Against Child Labour Is Just Beginning

[Judi Lynn]

PARAGUAY: The Struggle Against Child Labour Is Just Beginning
By Alejandro Sciscioli

ASUNCION, Sep 26 (IPS) - Derlis's day begins at 5:00 AM, when his mother wakes him up to go to work. At the age of 12, he is one of the main breadwinners in his family, helping to support three younger siblings, ages 2, 7 and 9.

"My mom also works and my brother and sisters stay with my grandma. I don't know my father," says Derlis, who makes the 25 km trip every day from Capiatá, a poor suburb on the eastside of the Paraguayan capital, to work as a shoe shiner in the downtown Palace of Justice.
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The government has expressly prohibited the involvement of workers under 18 in 26 different labour activities that pose a threat to the health, safety or moral integrity of children and adolescents.

These include the handling and sale of agrochemicals and other potentially toxic substances, domestic labour, modelling that includes erotic images, and work that poses a risk of sexual abuse. Furthermore, workers under the age of 18 cannot legally work between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM.

The list was drawn up by government officials, civil society organisations, doctors and child workers.
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