"A better articulated work can help us achieve more rights for children and adolescents"

BUENOS AIRES (OIT Noticias) — From a very young age, she watched her father work for excessive time and little pay. At the age of 14, she began working as a model. "It was child labor, but it was not yet regulated," explained Jimena Álvarez Parma, who is currently a lawyer and labor inspector at the Agencia Territorial del Ministerio de Trabajo, Empleo y Seguridad Social de la Nación (National Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security) in the province of Salta.

Her commitment to labor rights is connected to her experiences in childhood and adolescence. Although at the beginning she took her work as a game, she recognized that it implied restrictions and precarious conditions that today she can understand as violations of rights.

This story is part of a series of six audiovisual testimonies presented by the Country Office of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for Argentina, which were produced within the framework of the project "Offside: ¡Marcando la cancha!” These stories make visible the problem of child labor, which in Argentina affects 1 out of every 10 children and adolescents under 15 years of age. This figure doubles in rural areas of the country, where poverty and vulnerability levels are higher.

In Jimena's case, her early entry into the labour market made her interested in the protection of adolescent labor. She wanted to contribute what she could so that adolescents could participate in the labour market under the conditions of care established by law. "With my studies and my training, I saw how in different areas adolescents are always exposed to certain risks or vulnerability," she added.

The Argentina Offside project allowed Jimena to deepen her knowledge of child labour prevention and to get in contact with other enforcement agencies in the country. "With a more articulated work and reinforcing the actions of the State and, above all, of society, better things and more rights for children and adolescents can be achieved in the future," she said.

In 2010, Jimena started working for the Ministry in Salta. As an inspector, her role consists of inspecting labor environments and detecting child labour, unprotected adolescent work and signs of exploitation. She stated that numerous cases have been identified in the north of the province, especially in rural areas. "This has been increased after the pandemic due to the economic needs of the families," he said.

Jimena highlighted the impact on the prevention of child labour of the Buena Cosecha program, implemented by the Ministry in the tobacco-growing area of Salta since 2016. In articulation with the provincial state, municipalities, the employer sector and civil society organizations, this public policy seeks to create or strengthen care and containment centers for children of rural workers. These centers include specific training and recreational proposals for adolescents: "They express the need to leave home and feel useful. These centers are always successful," said Jimena.

Offside: ¡Marcando la cancha!

Led by the ILO office in the country and with the participation of a broad institutional network, the project "Offside: ¡Marcando la cancha!" aims to generate knowledge and public policies to eradicate child labour in rural areas of Argentina. The program, which focuses on the garlic, tomato and cotton production sectors in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Mendoza and Santa Fe, is funded by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL).