ILO concludes project on child labour in Argentina's agricultural sector

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (OIT Noticias) — After six years of implementation under the leadership of the Country Office of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for Argentina, the project ‘Offside: Marking the field!’ ended its technical cooperation activities with a closing event in which its main results and findings on the prevention and eradication of child labour in the agricultural sector were reviewed.

The closing event was attended by representatives of the national government and of the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and Mendoza -where the project focused its actions-, representatives of the trade union sector and various strategic actors. The event was also attended by representatives of the US government, as the project was funded by the US Department of Labor.

‘In the framework of this project and thanks to their contributions, the Office and our tripartite constituents were able to collaborate with the Organization's mandate on the elimination of child labour, using innovative tools,’ said Sara Luna Camacho, Director of the ILO Argentina, during the opening of the meeting.

‘Although this is a closing exercise, it is also a collective space to appreciate the impact of international cooperation on the ground and to continue with these tools in the future,’ she added.

The director highlighted the articulation actions led by the project together with different tripartite actors, both provincial and national. She also pointed out that the efforts to eradicate child labour in Argentina do not end with this project: ‘The Office is ready to continue and redouble its efforts based on the priorities of our constituents, to continue advancing in the eradication of child labour and for children to be where they should be: in school, studying and playing’.

At the opening, Luna Camacho was accompanied by the representative of the United States Embassy for Argentina, Thomas Whitney, and the project's national coordinator, María Eugenia Figueroa.

‘Although Offside is coming to an end, its achievements will continue,’ said Whitney, for whom the project ’had immeasurable positive effects, allowing authorities to better prevent and contain agricultural areas, strengthening inspection tools and raising awareness in the communities.

On behalf of the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Department of Labor, Whitney said, ‘I would like to recognize the ILO for the extraordinary work they have done. For helping to build fair and just workplaces and for places free of child labour.

For her part, Figueroa pointed out that Offside managed to ‘place the issue of child labour, prevention and eradication, and the protection of adolescent labour, fundamentally on the public agenda in the agricultural sector, where for years it was invisible’. The coordinator also stressed that, despite institutional changes and the pandemic, the project has maintained its objective over the years: ‘To strengthen the capacities of our constituents and strategic partners and other actors linked to the rural and agricultural sectors. And we have been able to do so by generating knowledge, with more than 15 research studies, management instruments, tools and mechanisms for the prevention of child labour and the protection of adolescent labour.

Findings, recommendations and challenges

Throughout the day, presentations and exchanges took place in three thematic blocks. The first, led by Figueroa, focused on the research promoted by the project, with emphasis on the main findings, practical recommendations and challenges for the short and medium term.

In particular, the studies More water, less child labour: technologies of access to water - carried out together with the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) - and Child and adolescent labour in the wine chain in the province of Mendoza were highlighted.

In the second block, two playful dynamics developed by Offside were presented: the game ‘Together to School’ developed and implemented together with the National Registry of Rural Workers and Employers (RENATRE) and the playful device adapted to each territory, carried out together with the Provincial Commissions for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour (COPRETIs).

Also presented were the results of the course ‘Preventing and eradicating child labour in the agricultural sector’, which was carried out in collaboration with RENATRE; the diploma course for a comprehensive and territorial approach to unprotected child and adolescent labour, in collaboration with the National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo); and the communication campaign of the ILO and the Ministry of Labour ‘Pay attention. Child labour is near you’, implemented in 2023.

The third block of the session consisted of a sharing of participatory intervention models (MIP) between the agricultural and labour sector portfolios, together with tools for the detection of child labour and unprotected adolescent labour for the restitution of rights, mainly in the provinces of Mendoza, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires.

In addition, emphasis was placed on the importance of promoting and strengthening existing programmes and strategic alliances at the national level to prevent child labour and protect adolescent labour, such as the Good Harvest Programme, under the National Secretariat of Labour and Social Security, and the trade union contributions to the eradication of child labour carried out by the Coordinating Committee of Trade Union Unity for the Eradication of Child Labour (CUSETI).