ABSTRACT
Child labor is common. Children harvest cane on sugar plantations and sell cigarettes on the streets of Guatemala City. The consequences of child labor are significant. Working children are less likely to attend school. In Guatemala that is no small problem. Child immunization statistics for Guatemala are the lowest in Central America. According to local press accounts, more than 100,000 children under the age of 6 have been made orphans by the continuing armed conflict. Work by children younger than 18 in unhealthy or dangerous conditions is prohibited, as are nightwork and extra hours. A typical child laborer is Pedro, who works three days a week singing on municipal buses in Guatemala City. Labor Minister Rodolfo Maldonado acknowledged that child labor is widespread, but said that efforts should be directed, not toward eliminating a practice upon which so many families depend for income, but training children in particular work skills and improving the conditions under which they labor.
