Sugar industry rebuffs scathing US State child labor report

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s National Sugar Union (Unazucar) assures that the industry rejects child labor and considers inadmissible the assertion that highlights the report of the United States Department of Labor 2020, on the worst forms of child labor, which it cites among them the clearing of land for the production of sugar cane, its sowing, and harvesting.

In a note to Diario Libre, César Heredia, president of Unazucar, indicated that the production chain of each private sugar company is evaluated and certified under international standards, which establish non-tolerance of children in work activities.

74.3% of children who work in the DR do so in services, which includes dangerous work

According to the recent report of the United States Department of Labor, the majority of children between the ages of 5 and 14 who work in the Dominican Republic do so in service activities, followed by industrialists and thirdly in agriculture