Guatemala's Sugar Industry Review on Child and Forced Labor and Land Rights in Guatemala's Sugar Industry Background
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Coca-Cola Company Review on Child and Forced Labor and Land Rights in Guatemala's Sugar Industry Review on Child and Forced Labor and Land Rights in Guatemala's Sugar Industry Background The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) established industry-leading commitments to protect the land rights of farmers and communities in the world’s top sugarcane-producing regions, advancing its ongoing efforts to drive transparency and accountability across its global supply chain. In support of this goal, TCCC partnered with UL’s Responsible Sourcing group (UL) to conduct a research study examining the incidence and impact of child labor, forced labor and land rights issues in Guatemala. This study combines field assessments with robust qualitative research and stakeholder engagement to help improve TCCC’s commitments in the area of human rights and sustainable agriculture. Child Labor Forced Labor Land rights PURPOSE SCOPE APPROACH The purpose of this study The research and To examine incidences and is to provide a country stakeholder engagement the impact of child and forced specific baseline of the elements were extended labor and land rights issues at the country, industry and possible existence of to all sugar producers supply chain level, UL conducted child labor, forced labor, including supporting farms, plantations, and cooperatives customized field assessments and land rights issues in in the country. However, field at sugar mills and sugarcane TCCC’s sugar supply chain visits were only conducted at farms between April and May 2014, and conducted interviews in Guatemala, including TCCC suppliers, including a with relevant stakeholders in farms as well as the sugar sampling of their supporting Guatemala through January 2015. industry overall in the farms and plantations. country. Additionally, UL reviewed publicly available information This study is intended on child labor, forced labor, and to inform TCCC of the land rights issues in the sugar possible need to mitigate industry in Guatemala. The child labor, forced labor, research included reviewing and land rights issues information on: Guatemala’s where they appear to exist legal framework with regards to child labor, forced labor, and land in Guatemala. rights; identification of prevalent child labor, forced labor, and land rights issues in Guatemala’s sugar industry; initiatives in place to address these issues; and specific actions being taken to protect or help victims. Although most of the desktop research concluded at the end of 2013, additional research was undertaken at the end of 2014 on select topics including women’s land rights and water diversion. NOTE: This report was published in March 2015. page 2 Review on Child and Forced Labor and Land Rights in Guatemala's Sugar Industry Executive Summary Child Labor In Guatemala, poverty, cultural in rural areas is also a driver of child age cutting sugarcane on one of the beliefs, the informality of the labor labor in the country. According to farms that is part of TCCC’s supply force, and lack of education are the national estimates on child labor, 46% chain. This minor was not employed main social and economic factors of working children do not receive by the farm. Beyond this confirmed that contribute to the incidence of an education. Families in poverty case of child labor, the researchers also child labor. Specifically, poverty is one make the decision to remove children witnessed a possible, unconfirmed of the biggest drivers of child labor. from school in order to increase their case of child labor. During the farm Guatemala is the most populous household income. Internal migration manager interview, the researcher country in Central America, yet half is another factor that contributes to witnessed a young sugarcane cutter of the population lives below the high school dropout rates in rural that was swiftly removed from the poverty line. The prevalence of child areas of Guatemala. A large number of farm being visited. The researcher labor in Guatemala is exacerbated sugarcane cutters migrate internally was unable to confirm if this was by low wages for unskilled work, to work on different farms during a child labor situation given that which pushes families to involve the harvest, taking their children he was unable to find the young their children in economic activities. with them. Subsequently, this causes worker after interviewing the There are deep cultural factors that children of many farm workers to drop farm manager. Beyond these two aggravate the issue of child labor in out of school and participate in the instances encountered during the field the country. Traditions within the harvest. assessments, no systematic child labor family structure, and specifically within was observed in sampled farms of the During the field assessments, UL the indigenous family structure, lead TCCC supply chain. observed one minor of 16 years of children to work. The lack of education Forced Labor Identification of forced labor labor. The Association of Sugar programs to protect and guarantee incidences in the field can be Producers of Guatemala (ASAZGUA) the well-being and rights of sugarcane challenging; involving first, has developed a set of norms and cutters. However, some of the information gathering through policies, based on international labor other mills have very few controls documentation review, private standards, aimed at promoting the and mechanisms to prevent forced interviews and visual observation, well-being of sugarcane cutters. labor situations. UL researchers and second, the analysis of the All five mills that belong to TCCC’s found 43 internal migrant workers information to assess for indicators sugar supply chain participated in that reported forced overtime and and actual occurrences of forced labor. the creation of these norms. These five workers that reported abuse, mills strive to establish best practices threats, and UL researchers found In 2008, the International Center for for farms they source from based on 43 internal migrant workers that the Investigation of Human Rights ASAZGUA's standards to promote reported forced overtime and five carried out a diagnostic of the labor better working conditions for workers that reported abuse, threats, conditions in the sugar industry in sugarcane cutters. and intimidation at various farms Guatemala. This report pointed to operated by two mills. the violation of workers’ rights and UL found varied types of management expressed concern over working systems to avoid forced labor. Three conditions that resembled forced out of the five mills have strong page 3 Review on Child and Forced Labor and Land Rights in Guatemala's Sugar Industry Land Rights Land tenure is the relationship, of regulation of such practices. authorized use of the land. In the whether legally or customarily Construction of the Chixoy Dam led past 20 years, three out of the five defined, among people, as individuals to the displacement of approximately mills stated they have increased or groups, with respect to land. 3,500 indigenous residents who their land size. Even though none Guatemala’s land tenure issues stem were not adequately compensated. of the mills have policies in place from a lack of basic land law in regards In practice, women, like other regarding the protection of land to basic tenure types and indigenous marginalized indigenous and peasant rights and access to land, none of the rights to land. The sugar industry populations in Guatemala, face stakeholders interviewed reported in Guatemala has been specifically systemic exclusion from access to disputes regarding the land that the implicated in violent struggles for land. The country’s patriarchal culture mills purchased. None of the farms land since 2005. In the Polochic Valley, and customary tenure systems make that participated in the study had there are claims that a sugar company women particularly vulnerable to increased their size in the past 20 forcibly removed 769 indigenous insecure land tenure. However, under years and none of the farms had plans families from their land. Guatemalan law, women do not face for expansion. gender discrimination and can enjoy Another issue closely related to In the studied TCCC supply chain, access and rights to land. land rights in the sugar industry is there is no evidence or claims of land the practice of diverging rivers for In TCCC’s supply chain, all five mills grabs. the purpose of irrigation, and the had possession of documentation Guatemalan government’s lack demonstrating legal ownership or page 4 Review on Child and Forced Labor and Land Rights in Guatemala's Sugar Industry The Sugar Industry in Guatemala For the agricultural sector of Guatemala in 2012, sugar represented the highest THE THIRTEEN SUGAR MILLS source of foreign exchange. For the national economy of Guatemala in 2012, ARE SPREAD THROUGHOUT sugar represented the highest source of foreign exchange for the country, GUATEMALA AND INCLUDE: after textiles and coffee. During the 2012-2013 harvest, Guatemala exported ¡ Ingenio Concepción 75% of its sugar production or almost US$978.1 million (3% of GDP) in raw and refined sugar to the United States, Canada, and East Asia/Oceania. For the ¡ Ingenio El Pilar agricultural sector of Guatemala in 2012, sugar represented the highest source ¡ Ingenio La Sonrisa of foreign exchange. ¡ Ingenio La Unión During 2012-2013, Guatemala positioned itself as fourth largest exporter worldwide, third most competitive, and first most efficient at port loading in ¡ Ingenio Madre Tierra the global sugar industry. Guatemala is the fourth largest producer and second ¡ Ingenio Magdalena biggest exporter of sugar in Latin American and the Caribbean. Annual per ¡ capita consumption of sugar in Guatemala is almost 100 pounds. Domestic Ingenio Palo Gordo consumption is divided, 27% for industrial use and 71% for direct human ¡ Ingenio Pantaleón consumption. According to the Association of Sugar Producers in Guatemala ¡ Ingenio Santa Ana (ASAZGUA), during the harvest season, 85,000 direct jobs and 340,000 indirect jobs are created.