Child Labor and Obstacles to Organizing on
Ecuador's Banana Plantations

Human Rights Watch
New York- Washington- London- Brussels

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I. SUMMARY 

Child Workers 
Freedom of Association 
Corporate Responsibility 
Government Obligations 

III. BACKGROUND 

History of Ecuador Banana Production and Exports 
Ecuador Banana Production and Exports Today 
Banana-Exporting Corporations 

Child Labor under International Law 
Exposure to Hazardous Substances 
Insecticide-treated plastics 
Applying pesticides in the packing plants
Working during aerial crop fumigation 
Work with Dangerous Tools 
Transport of Heavy Loads 
Lack of Potable Water and Sanitation 
Sexual Harassment 
Incomplete Schooling 
Child Labor under Domestic Law 
Enforcement of Domestic Legal Protections for Child Laborers 
Ministry of Labor 
Juvenile courts 
Other governmental bodies 

Freedom of Association under International Law 
Freedom of Association under Domestic Law
"Permanent temporary" workers 
Use of subcontractors 
Weak protections for permanent workers 

Codes of Conduct 
Dole 
Chiquita 
Favorita 

European Union Banana Importation Regimes 

To the Government of Ecuador: Preventing the Worst Forms of  Child Labor
Legal and labor reforms 
Enforcement 
To the Government of Ecuador: Protecting the Right to Freedom of Association 
To Banana-Exporting Corporations and Local Suppliers 
To the International Labor Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund 
To Countries Engaged in or Preparing to Engage in Trade with Ecuador 
To International Financial Institutions 

APPENDIX B: LETTERS TO CORPORATIONS 

APPENDIX C: RESPONSE LETTERS FROM CORPORATIONS