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Viewing cable 08DAMASCUS387, FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08DAMASCUS387 2008-06-01 14:15 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Damascus
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0387 1531415
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011415Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5034
INFO RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000387 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/ILCSR FOR MITTELHAUSER, G/TIP FOR 
STEINER; DOL/ILAB FOR RIGBY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ELAB ECON EIND PGOV SY
SUBJECT: FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF 
GOODS 
 
REF: STATE 43120 
 
1. Summary:  The sectors of the Syrian economy that are 
involved in the production of goods are agriculture, 
petroleum, textiles, pharmaceuticals and refined food 
products.  In 2007, fuel oil accounted for roughly 70 percent 
of Syria's USD 110 million in exports to the U.S., with the 
remaining 30 percent consisting of textiles, garments, 
handicrafts, spices, teas and apricot paste.  Due to the 
rising cost of living, poor families have an increasing 
incentive for seeking to illegally employ children to satisfy 
substitute needs.  The Syrian Labor Law purports to provide 
for the protection of children from exploitation in the 
workplace.  Technically, parental permission is required for 
children under age 16 to work, and the minimum age for 
private sector employment in non-physical labor is 15.  In 
practice, however, this law is neither vigorously enforced 
nor respected.  Due to the strained bilateral relationship 
and notoriously inaccurate Syrian government statistics, Post 
cannot obtain exact labor statistics from the host 
government.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
No Known Exploitative Labor in Production of Goods 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
2.  The majority of children that work in a good-producing 
industry in Syria do so informally without remuneration. 
Most children under age 16 who work do so for the parents in 
the agricultural sector.  It is also common for Syrian 
fathers to arrange unpaid "internships" for their teenage 
sons to acquire practical skills and experience by working in 
factories owned by the fathers' friends.  There have been no 
publicly reported incidences of either exploitative child or 
forced labor in the production of goods, although a report by 
the Arab Council for Childhood and Development estimated the 
total number of Syrian children who performed "tough jobs in 
unhealthy working conditions" at over 600,000. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Government Institutions Addressing Exploitative Labor 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
3.  The Syrian Labor Law is the basis for preventing the 
exploitation of children in the workplace.  The law states 
that the minimum age of private-sector employment is 15 for 
non-physical labor, and 18 for heavy labor.  Parental 
permission is required to employ children aged 16 or below. 
According to the law, wage-earning child employees may work a 
maximum of six hours per day, and are not permitted to work 
night shifts, weekends or holidays.  However, those children 
working for family businesses and who are technically not 
paid a salary -- a common occurrence -- do not fall under 
this law.  The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has the 
responsibility for monitoring employment conditions for 
workers under age 18.  Within the ministry, the Labor 
Inspection Department is charged with enforcing the labor law 
by conducting unannounced spot checks at work sites, but the 
frequency and scope of these checks is unknown.  In December 
2006, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs stated that 
most Syrian children who work do so seasonally and for a 
limited amount of time. 
 
 
CORBIN