Labor Secretary: Work Age May Increase in Mexico's Anti-Child Labor Bid Rocio Zayas - The News
go to original October 10, 2013

Around 300,000 children work illegally in the fields of Mexico, providing produce for dinner tables across the globe. The government recently brought in new labour laws to help crack down on child labour. But authorities are finding it hard to prosecute offenders, who are mostly poor farmers. Al Jazeera's Rachel Levin reports from Sinaloa, Mexico. (AlJazeeraEnglish)

The Mexican government is undertaking actions to eradicate child labor, Labor Secretary Alfonso Navarrete Prida announced on Wednesday.

According to Navarrete Prida, the newly created Intersecretarial Committee to Prevent and Eradicate Child Labor and Protect Working Adolescents will coordinate the efforts of the federal government together with other state agencies, labor unions, employers’ associations and non-governmental organizations that work on this issue.

Navarrete Prida added that President Enrique Peña Nieto has also proposed a reform that would modify Article 123 of the Mexican Constitution, raising the minimum working age from 14 to 15. If this reform is approved by Congress, he said, Mexico would have a stronger legal base to ensure that children would not be forced to work until they finish their education. This reform would bring Mexico up to international standards on child labor.

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