| CHILD LABOR IN SUGAR INDUSTRY The sugar industry has been central to the economy of Negros since the British introduced sugarcane in the 1800’s. The industry went into a tailspin when the Philippines became a member of the WTO in the 1990’s. While layoffs and contractualization became the fate of thousands of sugar workers, many owners managed to reap super profits. Danding Cojuangco is reputed to have profited from both legitimate and illegal importation of sugar under the Estrada government. CARP does not cover sugar lands. Moreover, sugar workers have paid into a sugar amelioration fund over the years from which they have received no benefit. The current state of the sugar workers in the mills and plantations is basically a continuation of what they have undergone through the years – low wages, lack of benefits, inhuman working conditions. The National Federation of Sugar workers (NFSW) has documented cases where wages are as low as P15 per day. Given the poverty, the NFSW has noted a trend of the re-emergence of child and women labor in the fields. This they state, suits big commercial farms that are paying the women only half what they pay the men. “Children, on the other hand, who usually work from sunrise to sundown, are being paid a measly P5 for a row of sugarcane that they can cut and load”. The children do not attend school and are malnourished.The NFSW has launched a campaign “Sugarlandia”. Because this is the “dead season” when no work is available, they are requesting relief goods and medical missions. The RMP can provide more details for anyone wanting to help or become involved with the campaign to free the sugar worker from slavery.
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