Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/el_salva.txu

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TITLE:  EL SALVADOR HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995



Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Constitution states that all people are equal before the
law and prohibits discrimination based on nationality, race,
sex, or religion.

     Women

Women are granted the same legal rights as men under the
Constitution, but suffer discrimination in practice.  To
improve their situation, the Legislative Assembly enacted a new
Family Code in October 1993 which amends some laws that
discriminated against women, most notably the large number
living in common law marriages.  The new law also establishes
courts to resolve family disputes.

Women suffer from economic discrimination and do not have equal
access to credit and land ownership.  Wages and salaries for
women remain lower than those paid to men.  Of the economically
active female population, 65 percent works in the informal
economy.  Training for females is generally confined to
low-wage occupational areas where women already hold most
positions, such as teaching, nursing, home industries, or small
businesses.

Violence against women, including domestic violence, is
widespread and apparently rising.  The Institute of Legal
Medicine reported an increase in domestic violence against
women, from 378 reports during the July-December 1993 period,
to 496 during the January-June 1994 period.  Reports of sexual
abuse against women also continued to rise.  In 1993, the
latest year-long period for which statistics are available, the
Institute for Legal Medicine received 598 reports of sexual
abuse, compared with 564 reports in 1992.

From January to July 1994, hospitals in the capital city of San
Salvador received, on average, 65 reports of rape per month, an
increase over the 56 reports per month received in 1993.  The
PNC received only four reports of rapes per month during the
first 6 months of 1994.  To increase reporting of rapes, a
regular newspaper campaign by the Attorney General's office has
encouraged victims to press charges immediately after the
assault has occurred.  A public prosecutor is on duty 24 hours
a day at the San Salvador children's hospital to assist rape
victims and their families in taking legal action.
Nevertheless, prosecution of rape cases is difficult because of
pervasive cultural attitudes.

     Children

The Government recognizes its responsibility for children's
rights and welfare, though this is reflected more in its
efforts to reduce poverty and promote family stability through
economic growth than in direct expenditure on children.  The
Salvadoran Institute for the Protection of Children, an
autonomous entity, is responsible for protecting and promoting
children's rights.  The Legislative Assembly passed in June a
juvenile offenders law extending the age of a minor from 16 to
18 years old.  Scheduled to go into effect in March 1995, the
law guarantees minors due process, establishes additional
treatment facilities for offenders, and reduces the sentences
for minor crimes.

The Government works closely with state institutions and the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to promote protection
and general awareness of children's rights.  Despite these
efforts, children continued to fall victim to physical and
sexual abuse, abandonment, exploitation, and neglect.  From
January to August 1994, the PDDH for the protection of children
received 75 reports per month of abuses against children.  The
number of children treated for physical abuse in the largest
public hospital in San Salvador rose significantly from 92
cases in 1992 to 525 in 1993.  Abused continued at this rate
for the first 6 months of 1994 when the hospital attended to
272 abused children.  The Institute of Legal Medicine recorded
a reduction in reports of sexual abuse of children from 580
reports in 1992 to 432 in 1993.  From January to May 1994, the
Institute received 121 reports of sexual abuse of children.

Child abandonment and labor exploitation are growing problems.
UNICEF reported that there were approximately 200,000 displaced
children in 1994, and approximately 270,000 children work up to
12 hours per day.  Child malnutrition and the large numbers of
orphans are also significant problems.

     Indigenous People

El Salvador is an ethnically homogeneous country, though a
small segment of the population claims to have descended solely
from indigenous peoples.  The last census of Indians in El
Salvador showed 80,000 in 1930, or 5.6 percent of the
population.  In 1932 government forces killed approximately
30,000 following an abortive uprising.  In the face of such
repression, most remaining indigenous people adopted local
customs and successfully assimilated into the general
population.  There remain a few very small communities of
indigenous people who still wear traditional dress, speak their
native language, and maintain traditional customs without
repression or interference.  The Constitution makes no specific
provisions for the rights of indigenous people, and their
ability to participate in decisions affecting their lands,
culture, traditions, or the allocation of natural resources is
limited.

The indigenous population generally is believed to be the
poorest group in the country.  In a 1994 study, the PDDH found
that 90 percent of the indigenous people lived in conditions of
extreme poverty, with average monthly incomes one-half the
legal minimum wage.  Employment opportunities outside the
informal economy are few, and a high illiteracy rate precludes
indigenous people from competing for limited skilled jobs.
Indigenous people generally earn less than other laborers in
farm and other agricultural work, and women in particular have
little access to educational and work opportunities since they
head most of the households.  Access to land is a growing
problem confronting indigenous people.  Few possess titles to
land, and access to bank loans and other forms of credit is
extremely limited.  Domestic violence is widespread within
indigenous communities.

     People with Disabilities

Except for the war wounded, who have secured both government
and international funding for rehabilitation and retraining
programs, the Government has no program to combat
discrimination against the disabled, nor are there any laws
mandating provision of access for people with disabilities.
There are few organizations dedicated to protecting and
promoting the rights of people with disabilities.  A
semiautonomous institute, the Salvadoran Rehabilitation
Institute for the Disabled (ISRI), is the primary organization
providing assistance to approximately 12,000 disabled persons
annually.  ISRI offers medical treatment and counseling,
special education programs, and professional training courses.
Founded in 1957, ISRI has 10 centers throughout the country and
receives assistance from the Government and national and
international private and nongovernmental organizations.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

The Constitution prohibits the Government from using
nationality, race, sex, creed, or political philosophy to
prevent workers or employers from organizing themselves into
unions or associations.  Numerous and sometimes conflicting
laws governing labor relations impede full realization of the
freedom of association, although recent Labor Code amendments
(sponsored by the International Labor Organization--ILO) may
bring about improvements, once they are fully implemented.  The
current Labor Code prohibits partisan political activity by
unions, but this prohibition is routinely ignored, and labor
continues to play an important role in political activities.

In the 1992 peace accords, the Government committed itself to
seek consensus on revised labor legislation through a
socioeconomic forum with equal representation from labor
(including groups aligned with the FMLN), the Government, and
the private sector.  The Assembly passed such legislation in
April, which streamlines the process required to form a union,
extends union rights to agricultural, independent, and
small-business workers, and extends the right to strike to
union federations.

There are approximately 150 active unions, public employee
associations, and peasant organizations, which represent over
300,000 Salvadorans, approximately 20 percent of the total work
force.  Labor alliances continued to change frequently, with no
one group able to claim a leading role.  The current Labor Code
forbids foreigners from holding leadership positions in unions,
but unions freely affiliate with international labor
organizations.

Only private sector nonagricultural workers have the right to
form unions and strike; employees of nine autonomous public
agencies may form unions but not strike.  Nevertheless, workers
from other sectors, including the public sector, frequently
have carried out strikes that, while technically illegal, were
treated as legitimate.  Negotiations between public employee
associations and the Government generally settle public sector
strikes, although the Labor Code provides for mandatory
arbitration of public sector disputes.  After a series of
public sector strikes in June and July, the Government issued a
warning that public workers would not be paid for days on
strike, and threatened to use the police to open public
buildings forced shut by strikers.  The Government docked the
pay of striking members of a teachers' union, but in September
announced an agreement, including an almost 30-percent pay
raise, with the same teachers' union.  Labor disputes, and some
strikes, continued in other public sectors, including public
health and the judiciary.

The law prohibits antiunion actions before a union is legally
registered; however, under the previous Labor Code, there were
credible charges that the Government impeded union registration
through exacting reviews of union documentation and strict
interpretation of the Constitution, Labor Code, and union
statutes.  With ILO assistance, the Labor Ministry put together
a restructuring plan in mid-1994.  It is too early to tell if
full implementation of the changes to the Labor Code and the
restructuring of the Ministry will improve union registration.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The Constitution and the Labor Code provide for collective
bargaining rights, but only to employees in the private sector
and in autonomous government agencies, such as utilities and
the port authority.  However, both private sector unions (by
law) and public sector employee associations (in practice) use
collective bargaining extensively.

The Ministry of Labor oversees implementation of collective
bargaining agreements and acts as conciliator in labor disputes
in the private sector and autonomous government institutions.
In practice, ministers and the heads of autonomous government
institutions often negotiate with labor organizations directly,
relying on the Labor Ministry only for such duties as
officially certifying unions.  The Ministry often seeks to
conciliate labor disputes through informal channels rather than
attempting strictly to enforce regulations, leading to charges
of bias against labor.  Corruption continues to be a serious
problem affecting labor courts.

The Constitution prohibits discrimination against unions.  It
provides that union officials at the time of their election,
throughout their term, and for 1 year following their term
shall not be fired, suspended for disciplinary reasons,
removed, or demoted except for legal cause.  Employers
generally observed this provision in practice, but in some
cases fired those attempting to form unions before receiving
their union credentials.  Even under the revised Code, there
were credible reports of government inaction following
dismissal of legally recognized union representatives.  The law
requires employers to rehire employees fired for any type of
union activity, although the authorities sometimes do not
enforce this requirement.  In many cases, employers convince
fired employees to take a cash payment in lieu of returning to
work.

There are six functioning export processing zones (EPZ's).
Labor regulations in these zones are identical to those
throughout the country.  Companies operating in the EPZ's,
while providing higher salaries and benefits than companies
outside the EPZ's, strongly discourage organizing.  There were
credible reports of some foreign-owned factories dismissing
union organizers and, in some cases, physically abusing their
workers.  Government actions against violations have been
ineffective, in part because of an inefficient legal system and
in part because of fear of losing the factories to other
countries.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, except
in the case of calamity and other instances specified by law.
This provision is followed in practice.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The Constitution prohibits the employment of children under the
age of 14.  It provides for exceptions only where such
employment is absolutely indispensable to the sustenance of the
minor and his family, most often the case with children of
peasant families who traditionally work with their families
during planting and harvesting seasons.  Children also
frequently work as vendors and general laborers in small
businesses, especially in the informal sector.  Parents of
children in circumstances such as these often do not allow
their children to complete schooling through the ninth grade as
the law requires, since the labor which the children perform is
considered vital to the family.  Child labor is not found in
the industrial sector.  The Ministry of Labor is responsible
for enforcing child labor laws.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

In July the Government raised the minimum wages for commercial,
industrial, service, and agroindustrial employees by 13
percent.  The new rate for industrial and service workers was
about $4 (35 colones) per day; agroindustrial employees must be
paid about $3 (26 colones) in wages, including a food
allowance, per day.  Despite these increases, minimum wages
were generally inadequate to meet the Ministry of Economy's
standard of basic necessity.  An estimated 40 percent of the
population lives below the poverty level.  The Labor Ministry
is responsible for enforcing minimum wage laws and does so
effectively in the formal sector.

The law limits the workday to 6 hours for minors between 14 and
18 years of age and 8 hours for adults.  Premium pay is
mandated for longer hours.  The Labor Code sets a maximum
normal workweek of 44 hours, requiring overtime pay for
additional work and limiting the workweek to no more than 6
days.

The Constitution and the Labor Code require employers,
including the Government, to take steps to ensure that
employees are not placed at risk in their workplaces, and
prohibit the employment of persons under 18 years of age and
all women in occupations considered hazardous.  Nevertheless,
Salvadoran health and safety regulations are outdated, and
inadequate enforcement remains a problem.  Workers can remove
themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardizing
their employment if they present a medical certificate issued
by a doctor or the Social Security Institute indicating that
their health is at risk while using certain equipment or
substances.  The Ministry of Labor attempts to enforce the
applicable regulations and conducts investigations which
sometimes lead to fines or other findings favoring workers.
The Ministry has very limited powers to enforce compliance,
however, and has suffered cutbacks in resources to carry out
certification and inspection duties, which curb its
effectiveness.