"Risk Analysis of Labor Violations Among Farmworkers in the Guatemalan Sugar Sector: A Report on Findings from Rapid Appraisal Research", July 2017

Rapid appraisal research carried out by Verité and REACH (Research-Education-Action-Change) in the Guatemalan sugar industry found evidence of a range of indicators of human trafficking for labor exploitation and labor rights violatons, including deceptive recruitment, underpayment of wages, forced overtime, child labor, inadequate food and lack of potable water, limits on freedom of movement, and hazardous working conditions. Sugarcane production, by its nature, puts workers at risk, often requiring physically demanding labor with machetes and long hours of exposure to high temperatures, agrochemicals, and smoke from burning cane fields...Verité chose to carry out rapid appraisal research on labor conditions on Guatemalan sugarcane plantations due to Guatemala’s role as a major player in the global sugar trade and indications that workers employed on sugarcane plantations were vulnerable to exploitation...Guided by an analysis of the risks facing workers on sugar farms, Verité has developed actionable recommendations for companies and government seeking to improve working conditions in this industry...Verité’s full report synthesizes and analyzes research by other organizations and uses it to contextualize [its] more recent findings...[For this report] researchers conducted a literature review, expert consultations, and in-depth interviews with 38 workers who performed a range of tasks on sugar plantations, including harvesting sugarcane.