In Mexico there are more than 3.1 million children doing child labor, of which 300,000 work in the fields.
Tonatiuh Magos, director of Political Advocacy for World Vision, explained that Jalisco is not really one of the leading states for child labor in the countryside, but being one of the largest producers in the country, it is at high risk of falling.
“This situation will intensify after the passage of Covid19 because the national child labor survey is just being completed and we believe that the projections make us think that it is a phenomenon that is going to grow,” he said.
States like Guerrero, Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guanajuato are the ones with the highest levels of child labor in the countryside.
For this reason, the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare (STyPS) Jalisco and the international organization World Vision, with the support of the Government of Canada, signed the collaboration agreement “Harvesting labor rights in the agricultural sector” to redouble joint actions aimed at improving the well-being and protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents (NNA) and their families in the work centers of the Jalisco countryside.
The three-year project will contain training methods and actions for workers, companies, as well as STyPS personnel to complement the inspection actions, specifically in the tomato, cucumber and eggplant agricultural sectors in Jalisco, which begins in the municipality of Tolimán.
The actions to be carried out will also allow the promotion of diagnostic initiatives related to the labor rights of agricultural day laborers, child labor, forced labor and access to social protection services in the agricultural sector of the State of Jalisco.
Marco Valerio Pérez Gollaz, head of the STyPS, indicated that: “In 2023 the challenge is to be able to advance in this agenda of dignifying work in the field and in that sense to be able to strengthen and accompany us with institutions of this type and of this quality, we are proud ”.
Carlos Bazán, Principal Labor Attaché for Canada, commented that “Canada has been supporting Mexico’s efforts in the implementation of the (labor) Reform with 20 million dollars since 2021 and this project was born as a result of this support that has been given”, he also warned that the respectful and close collaboration has increased as a result of the signing of the TMEC.
Mario Valdéz Guzmán, Interim National Director of World Vision, called for the work of unity between workers, businessmen and authorities to meet the objective of the project which is “that the conditions of children, youth and adolescents are appropriate conditions , that these boys and girls can live to the fullest and develop their full potential”.
Liliana Núñez, Manager of the “Harvesting Rights” project, detailed what the project consists of. He warned that everything is supported for compliance with chapter 23 of the TMEC that has to do with labor rights: “We really want to trigger a fair economic activity that is equitable for all and that this translates above all into boys and girls in the field with greater opportunities.”
Themes
Read Also
Get the latest news in your email
Everything you need to know to start your day
Registering implies accepting the Terms and Conditions
