Safe Environments for Sustainable Enterprises

...Would you know it if you did?

Child labour, and specifically hazardous child labour, remains an inherent part of our global supply chain, whether you like it or not. The reality is, despite international conventions and widespread corporate social responsibility (CSR) measures, thousands of businesses around the world continue to indirectly employ children and young workers. The key word here is indirectly.

The complex expansiveness of our global supply chain makes this a piece of cake for businesses. Decrease the cost of production by using child labour while maintaining a reputable name with publicized CSR agreements....it's easy, and ultimately, it works.

A rice company in India follows a strict CSR practice, and vehemently states that they "do not employ minor labour and observe fair trade practices." However, earlier this week, 25 child labourers, between the ages of 8 and 14 were rescued from the company, forced to stitch rice bags under hazardous conditions. One child stated he worked from 9am to midnight, stitching 50 to 100 bags per day, receiving no pay at the end of his month's work.

So, where exactly did the "no child labour" thing get lost in translation? Contractors. Worked sourced out to contractors. Plain and simple. How can a business be responsible for hundreds of contractors that create components of their final product, like rice bags for example?

Phillip Morris uses the same argument. Human Rights Watch documented more than 72 cases of hazardous child labour on tobacco farms in Kazakhstan, where Phillip Morris remains the sole purchaser. Phillip Morris is "committed to prevent child labour, forced labour and other labour abuses in the tobacco supply chain," though in reality, the conglomerate buys its tobacco from hundreds of different farms in various global regions. How can they ensure that the tobacco that is rolled in your cigarette hasn't been picked by an 8 year old child- a child that has been deprived from a decent education and potentially afflicted by conditions such green tobacco sickness?

The corporate response: Well, how can we be responsible for the moralities of our contractors and subcontractors? We follow international regulations and CSF standards, our hands our clean.

My response: By accepting this argument, businesses perpetuate the cycle of hazardous child labour by reinforcing social and economic inequalities within vulnerable communities. Just a quick glimpse of the annual revenue figures of some of these businesses makes a clear case of the feasibility of interventions. How about hired labour inspectors for contracting companies? Systematic inspections of subcontracted plants and factories? Dependence on local contractors rather than distant ones who may be harder to monitor? Specific CSR registry systems for the contractor or subcontractors?

Whatever the decision, the options are there. Whether businesses continue to bemoan their helplessness or move to action remains their own prerogative. A disheartening matter, however, remains the deception for consumers. For you and for me. Because we really cannot be sure what we are and what we are not supporting.  

It's official! The theme for the International Labour Organization's (ILO) World Day Against Child Labour for 2011 will be "Warning! Children in Hazardous Work"

This is big news. Since 2002, the ILO has marked June 12th the World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) - a day that brings attention to the global extent of child labour and the efforts needed to eliminate it. Every year, WDACL brings together national governments, civil society, employers and workers unions, and millions of children and adults throughout the world to highlight the plight of young workers and advocate for change. This year, we have the chance to shed light on the occupational dangers faced by millions of child labourers and young workers trapped in hazardous work.

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But what exactly constitutes hazardous work?                                             

Well, the ILO tells us hazardous work includes any occupational tasks that harm or compromise the health, safety or morals of children and young people. You might say that seems sort of ambiguous. After all, we know that certain jobs can be dangerous (like using sharp tools or working on high scaffolding), but any form of child labour can be or can become hazardous, depending on the working conditions. That's why the ILO drafted Recommendation No. 190, which gives us guidance for determining hazardous work. These factors include: 

• work which exposes children to physical, psychological or sexual abuse;
• work underground, under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces work with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools, or which involves the manual handling or transport of heavy loads;
• work in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging to their health;
• work under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours or during the night or work where the child is unreasonably confined to the premises of the employer

Ok, well are a lot of children involved in this type of work?        

Recent ILO estimates tell us that 115 million children are trapped in hazardous forms of child labour worldwide. This is more than half of all of the children involved in child labour worldwide (215 million).        

Why did the ILO choose hazardous work specifically this year?

Well, unfortunately, hazardous work has actually been increasing among older children between the ages of 15 and 17. In fact, from 2004 to 2008, the number of kids increased by 20%, from 52 million to 62 million. Also, the international community has set a goal to eliminate the worst forms of child labour by 2016. Because hazardous child labour makes up 95% of the worst forms of child labour, tackling this category can bring us closer to meeting our goal.

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Hazardous child labour remains a chilling reality that is often overlooked in our collective global society. The fact is, it can be difficult to define. How can we work to eliminate it if we do not know the face of it, some may ask. That is why this year, and every year, the key message of WDACL is really to end child labour. It is important to know understand and acknowledge the formal definitions for effective policy initiatives and legal action, but in the end, what we really want is simple. We want to get children back into school and young people into decent work. We want to bring them hope. For themselves and for their future societies.

For more information, visit the official WDACL site:

http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Campaignandadvocacy/WDACL/WorldDay-2011/lang--en/index.htm