Suriname Child Labour Survey 2017Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Research Institute for Social Sciences SURINAME (IMWO) SURVEY 2017 SURINAME Child Labour Survey 2017 November 2018 Research Institute for Social Sciences (IMWO) International Labour Organization (ILO) Copyright © International Labour Organization and Research Institute for Social Sciences (IMWO) First published 2018 For rights of reproduction application should be made either to the ILO: ILO Publications (Rights and Permis- sions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, (e-mail: [email protected]) or to the Research Institute for Social Sciences (IMWO), Leysweg 86, Paramaribo, Suriname (e-mail: [email protected]). For rights of translation application should be made to the ILO, acting on behalf of both organizations, to the address men- tioned above. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with reproduction rights may make copies in accordance with the licenses issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. FUNDAMENTALS and Research Institute for Social Sciences (IMWO) Suriname Child Labour Survey 2017/ International Labour Office, Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch (FUNDAMENTALS), Research Institute for Social Sciences (IMWO), Paramaribo, 2018. ISBN: 978-92-2-132310-5 (Print); 978-92-2-132311-2 (Web PDF) International Labour Office. Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch; Research Institute for Social Sciences ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report contains the results of the survey on child labour in Suriname conducted by the Research Insti- tute for Social Sciences (IMWO) of the Anton de Kom University (AdeKUS), in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour of the Republic of Suriname and the technical assistance of the ILO. Funding for this ILO publication is provided by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) under coop- erative agreement number IL-24943-13-75-K of the Project “Country Level Engagement and Assistance to Reduce Child Labour (CLEAR)” (GLO/13/22/USA). This publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. 100 per cent of the total costs of the Project GLO/13/22/USA is financed with federal funds, for a total of USD 7,950,000. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of data therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the ILO and the Research Institute for Social Sciences (IMWO) concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The ILO and the Research Institute for Social Sciences (IMWO) do not accept any responsibility in case of inac- curacy, error or omission of for any consequence related of the use of this data. Printed in Suriname Photocomposed by Manuela Flamini, Turin, Italy PREFACE Child labour is a menace to society and should be eliminated at the earliest. The Government of the Republic Suriname has expressed its will to vigorously tackle this phenomenon by ratification of the ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138. Suriname had already ratified the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182 on 12 April 2006. In addition, a new national standard to tackle the issue of child labour and to regulate child work was approved in August 2017 by the Council of Ministers. Up-to-date national labour standards play an important part, as do the monitoring system and the availability of labour market data. Special targeted programmes are crucial for the elimination of child labour and this is impossible without detailed information and statistical data on the nature and extent of child labour. Such data should be compiled to serve as a basis for determining priorities for national action for the abolition of child la- bour, in particular for the prohibition and elimination of its worst forms as a matter of urgency. In this context, rel- evant information and statistical data should include data disaggregated by sex, age group, occupation, branch of economic activity, status in employment, school attendance and geographical location. The Suriname Child Labour Survey (SCLS) has therefore been anticipated for a long time. We are thankful that data on child labour is now available based on which the government will design and implement programmes in the communities and geographical areas where the child labour problem is concentrated. While progress is being made in the field of the development of new national child labour standards, there is a strong need to improve the monitoring and enforcement of laws and policies related to child labour. For this purpose, the devel- opment and strengthening of the capacity of national inspection systems and child labour monitoring systems is important. The survey was guided by a Steering Committee with representatives of the Ministry of Labour (Labour Inspec- tion), the Ministry of Education, Science & Culture (Inspection Junior Secondary Education), the Ministry of Social Affairs & Housing (Child Rights Bureau), the Maroon Women Network, the Suriname Trade & Industry Association (VSB), the Federation of Teachers Unions in Suriname (FOLS), and the technical assistance of the ILO. The IMWO research team comprised Drs. N. Moe Soe Let, Drs. B. Dundas, Drs. P. Young-A-Fat, MSc, Drs. A. Herbonnet and O. Graham BSc. While the kind assistance from the ILO and the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) is highly appreci- ated, it is a big challenge for the government and the Ministry of Labour to conduct surveys on a regular basis in order to measure progress and trends. The present child labour survey has been conducted in the districts of Suriname, with the exception of Brokopondo and Sipaliwini, due to budget considerations. Moreover, it is also necessary to have reliable data from these districts on aspects of child labour that could not be collected from the household-based SCLS, namely, against the background of reports on trafficking in persons and the worst forms of child labour other than hazardous work, which have been published recently about Suriname. iii Full implementation of a comprehensive child labour programme in the complete territory of Suriname is im- possible without data from these remote districts, where the government is experiencing more challenges than ever to carry out monitoring functions. We therefore hope to complement the data presented in this report, with data from a survey in these two districts in the future. The Government of Suriname thanks the ILO and the USDOL for facilitating this survey and the IMWO of the An- ton de Kom University of Suriname for conducting the research and the analysis of the data. The findings in this report will greatly assist the government to design and execute targeted programmes to eliminate child labour in Suriname. H.E. Drs. Soewarto Moestadja The Minister of Labour iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... iii Executive summary ...............................................................................................................................................................................xi Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................................................................................... xxii Map of Suriname ..............................................................................................................................................................................xxiii 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. SURINAME COUNTRY PROFILE 3 2.1. Demographic structure ................................................................................................................................................................ 3 2.2 Economic characteristics and labour market ...................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Education profile ...........................................................................................................................................................................7 2.4 Child labour situation .................................................................................................................................................................. 9 3. SURVEY METHODOLOGY 11 3.1 Scope and coverage of the survey ...........................................................................................................................................11 3.2 Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................................................................11 3.3 Sampling design and implementation ...................................................................................................................................13 3.4 Pilot test ..........................................................................................................................................................................................14 3.5 Training of interviewers and supervisors, and fieldwork .................................................................................................14 3.6