Baseline Study on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Parika, Guyana September – December 2004 Prepared by the Bureau of Statistics, Guyana i Copyright @ International Labour Organization 2005 First published 2005 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to the Publications Bureau (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. 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Baseline Study on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Parika, Guyana Port of Spain, International Labour Office, 2005 The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. ii Preface The Bureau of Statistics is extremely pleased to have been associated with the ILO/CIDA Regional Child Labour Project in the execution of the baseline survey on the worst forms of child labour in Parika, Guyana. The completion of this survey represents another milestone in the ongoing programme to enhance the national information grid on economic and social issues, since the re-establishment of a Survey Unit at the Bureau of Statistics in 1992. This has facilitated the Bureau of Statistics’ continuous programme of census and survey activities in conjunction with domestic, regional and/or international partners, as in this present survey. Guyana is an integral member of the international community and is committed to many international conventions such as the ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Reference has been made in previous studies to the cultural underpinnings of child labour within Guyana. However, Guyana, like other countries of the global community acknowledges and recognizes the rights of the child, and is committed to eradicate any norm or activities that threaten these rights. More importantly, the eradication of child labour in its worst forms is totally consistent with the Government’s programme to reduce and eliminate poverty in the medium to long term. Any activity to further empower the policy decision machinery is highly commendable and the initiative of the ILO/CIDA Regional Child Labour Project in this regard deserves the highest praise. It is hoped that the findings of this pilot project, conducted in Parika, will serve as a means of sensitizing the populace and will inform the formulation of policy initiatives and future interventions in this regard. The additional databases provided by recent social sector surveys such as the Living Conditions Survey (1999), the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2001), where the women and children comprised the target population, and the impending census (2002), will indeed be complementary to the data now derived from this present survey. The Bureau of Statistics is appreciative of the cooperation of all respondents and the commitment of its own staff, and all others, associated with the successful execution of this survey. Lennox Benjamin Chief Statistician iii iv Acknowledgements The Baseline Study on Child Labour in Parika and its environs was the result of collaborative work between the Bureau of Statistics and many institutions and individuals. One such institution was the International Labour Organization, Subregional Office for the Caribbean, which financed the study and provided technical advice and general support to the project. Mention must be made of ILO staff members Mr. Leslie Bowrin and Ms. Silvanna Vargas who worked tirelessly in making sure that all administrative and technical matters were addressed in an efficient and timely manner. Members of the National Committee on Child Labour (NCCL) identified the geographical area of the survey and contributed towards the general planning and execution of the survey. Further, members closely monitored the performance of the Bureau of Statistics (BOS) in its execution of the survey. The relation with the Committee was very cordial and constructive. The BOS is very appreciative of the inputs of the NCCL whose members are: 1. First Lady, Mrs. Varshnie Jagdeo – Chairperson 2. Ms. Sandra Hooper – Alternate Chairperson 3. Mrs. C. Parris-Sinclair – Secretary 4. Mrs. Pauline Critchlow – Member 5. Ms. Michelle Rosemund – Member 6. Ms. Yyonne Arthur – Member 7. Ms. Dorette Sealey – Member 8. Mr. Sydney Scott – Member 9. Mr. Andrew Hicks – Member 10. Ms. Avril Crawford – Member 11. Ms. Rosamund Daly – Member 12. Mr. Ian Manifold – Member 13. Ms. Patricia Grey 14. Ms. Camille Mentore There were other individuals whose contributions were also critical to the efficient conduct of the study, especially Mr. Andrew Hicks, the Researcher attached to the project, who provided valuable literature reviews. As Coordinator, my tasks were the overall supervision of the project, analysing the data and writing the report. Mr. D. Seelochand, Deputy Chief Statistician at the BOS, contributed towards the fine tuning of the questionnaires. The data processing team comprised Mr. John Mensah (Consultant to the BOS), Mr. Peter Acol (United Nations Volunteer) and Mr. David Goolsarran (data processing specialist). They assisted in the question construction of the data collection instruments and built the Access data capture files which were used in the data processing phase of the operation. Important administrative support by the BOS was provided by the Chief Statistician of the BOS, Mr. Lennox Benjamin, Mrs. Pauline Forte and Mrs. Gillian Foster, Head of Human Resources and Financial Administration and Administrative Manager respectively. v BOS statisticians Mrs. Jacqulene Tull, Ms. Dale -ann Luke and Ms. Shelfraa Torrington were effective in delivering lectures and participating in the field staff training. The field staff who worked on the survey were: Field supervisor Mrs. Florence Younge Enumerators Data Entry 1. Mr. Pearson Coheron Anderson 2. Ms. Ryan Diantre Branford 3. Ms. Biseasar 4. Ms. Simon 5. Ms. Matthews 6. Ms. Sandiford 7. Ms. Callender 8. Ms. Stoby 9. Ms. Conway 10. Mrs. King Ian Manifold Coordinator February 05 vi CONTENTS Page Nos. Executive Summary.......................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction...............................................................................................5 1.1 RESEARCH BACKGROUND..............................................................................................5 1.2 JUSTIFICATION...............................................................................................................8 1.3 ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT ......................................................................................9 CHAPTER 2 Child Labour in Guyana ......................................................................11 2.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................11 2.2 CHILD LABOUR............................................................................................................11 2.3 POVERTY AND THE ECONOMIC SITUATION OF HOUSEHOLDS............................................13 2.4 EDUCATION IN GUYANA...............................................................................................14 2.4.1 THE STRUCTURE AND DELIVERY OF EDUCATION ............................................................14 2.5 THE HEALTH SITUATION IN GUYANA.............................................................................18 2.6 THE FAMILY AND ITS BASIC FEATURES..........................................................................19 2.6.1 STRUCTURE OF THE FAMILY IN GUYANA .......................................................................20 2.6.2 KEY CONSTRAINTS TO THE FAMILY...............................................................................20 2.6.3 CHILDREN AND YOUTH.................................................................................................21 2.7 THE ECONOMICS OF CHILD LABOUR ..............................................................................21 2.7.1 THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF ELIMINATING