The Ministry of Labor and Labor Development announced the creation of an Information Platform and a Child Labor Monitoring System (SMTI) as new resources for the compilation and systematization of information that will help make Panama a country free of child labor. This is possible within the framework of the project "Construction of effective policies against child labor in Ecuador and Panama", implemented by the International Labor Organization and the NGO Casa Esperanza.

The  Information Platform  is a digital space to host all the available information regarding the situation of child labor in Panama; for example, national and international legal frameworks, studies and research, good practices and experiences, etc. This tool will be administered by MINTRADEL as the Technical Secretariat of the Committee for the Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of Adolescent Workers (CETIPPAT).

On the other hand, based on the experience of the Colombian and Ecuadorian models, the  Child Labor Monitoring System (SMTI)  has been designed as a useful tool to facilitate the care, referral and follow-up of working children and adolescents. . The Monitoring System consists of a database with the information and characteristics of minors in working condition, an inter-institutional action plan for the care of these groups and the definition of standardized criteria for the verification of the progressive withdrawal of the child labor.

It should be noted that this system will be used as a complement to the Local Service Routes, a procedure agreed between multiple actors from the public and private sectors to organize and articulate their specific actions in the fight against child labor.

During the launch event, the Vice Minister of Labor, Zulphy Santamaría, reiterated the State's commitment to eradicate child labor in its entirety, with the support of trade union organizations, the private sector, NGOs and civil society. Along these lines, both initiatives will allow key actors to evaluate better alternatives and generate specific actions on this issue. Likewise, it will facilitate effective inter-institutional participation and intervention and promote the strengthening of public policies against child labor.

Visit the Information Platform at:  www.cetippat.gob.pa 

Child labor in Panama

This year 2017, Panama presented the latest figures from its Child Labor Survey. According to the survey, in 2016 there were 23,855 working minors and an incidence rate of 2.5%, one of the lowest rates in Latin America and the Caribbean.

To date, Panama has carried out four operational programs as part of the Road Map to make Panama a country free of child labor and its worst forms. Also, under the "Education" component of the Government Direct Action Program for the prevention and eradication of child labor, the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development restores the rights of children and adolescents who are in a condition of child labor; In this way, from 2009 to 2016, a total of 8,989 working children and adolescents or those at social risk have benefited throughout the country.

Check out the full survey results  here .