APAMA continues its campaign to prevent child labor in the blueberry harvest. As every year, their purpose is to prevent the presence of minors in the fields.
"Our contribution is the work we do every year explaining that child labor perpetuates poverty," said Alejandro Pannunzio, president of APAMA.
APAMA Campaign in the Blueberry Fields of Concordia
The World Day against Child Labor, which is being held on Monday, was set up by the International Labor Organization to alert the public about this scourge affecting millions of children across the globe. According to data from UNICEF's United Nations Children's Fund, there are more than 150 million children working around the world. According to the Social Debt Barometer produced by the Universidad Catolica Argentina, there are more than one million children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 17 who work.
In Argentina, child labor is a crime. Work is prohibited for children under the age of 16, according to Law No. 26.390 on Prohibition of Child Labor and Protection of Adolescent Labor.
The eradication of child labor is one of the goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, which calls on companies, social organizations, governments, and society at large to commit to eradicate it.
"Children should be in school. Without school, they will not escape poverty. They won't have a future and our country will not have a decent future," he added.
The association that groups the blueberry producers is part of the Provincial Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor COPRETI, together with the government of Entre Ríos and other entities. At the national level, through the Argentine Blueberry Committee, APAMA is also a member of the Network of Companies against Child Labor, which is part of CONAETI, i.e. the National Commission for the Erradication of Child Labor.