Ending dangerous child labour in firework factories

Children in communities in Honduras were working long hours at the dangerous task of assembling fireworks, but a Plan project has helped to change attitudes of factory owners and parents.

Ivan de Jesús is a fifteen year old boy from the municipality of Nueva Arcadia who has spent half of his life working in the fireworks factories from six in the morning until five in the evening.

His parents' poverty and the fact that the fireworks factory is the only solid source of employment in his community have diminished his right to an education and even his right to health.

Until recently, his entire universe was limited to the dangerous tasks given to him by his employers: to place the fuse in the firecracker and to "refinish", using an iron tool which can cause sparks.

The International Labour Organisation and Plan collaborated in a project to improve conditions in the factories and raise consciousness among the producers, parents and municipal authorities through training on children's rights and legal requirements for employment.

A survey at the start of the project found that more than 600 children were working in firework production in the area, half of whom were not attending school. Those who did go to school were performing poorly due to the long working hours, children were performing the same repetitive actions for 10 to 12 hours at a time in unhealthy and risky conditions.

Marcia Alvarado, the coordinating consultant for the project, says, "At first we visited each community to establish an initial contact and tried to meet with the producers or owners of the fireworks factories; it was extremely difficult because they had decided that what we wanted was to close the factories.

"It was also difficult to begin working with the children since we would invite them and people would gossip that we were working against the fireworks factories, so they wouldn't allow them to attend the meetings.

"For the first meeting we invited 40 producers but only 14 arrived. During this first training we signed some commitments and when they left they were more aware of what we were trying to do with the project.

"After that it was easier. Thirty seven producers arrived for the following meeting and after that we were able to go to any producer's home and ask for help."

Awareness of the problem rose to such a level that the producers themselves, during the legal training, took the initiative of creating regulations to govern hiring children.

The regulations were drawn up by a lawyer and when ready an open town meeting was proposed in each municipality at which the regulations were approved and became law.

When asked what was most important, Marcia said, "I think the children's participation was essential; those who participated in the training and were involved in the project greatly influenced the attitude of their parents.

"I met with them to talk about their experiences and they were able to speak to other children about the effects of working in the fireworks factories and about the rights of children. After the training, they told me that they would spread the word and they would take charge of everything. They met with other children in school and discussed the subject all day long."

Carlos Manuel is a young man from the community of San Juan Planes who has worked in the fireworks factory since he was eight years old. He is now in the eighth grade and says, "Almost all of the children around here who work in the fireworks factories know about the rights of children and about child labour, thanks to the training we received."