Extreme poverty and lack of livelihood opportunities result in some families sending their children to work on cocoa farms. It is reported that some children are ‘sold’ to traffickers or farm owners, paying for a determined duration of labour. Children as young as 10 years then work for 12-14 hours a day with few breaks, insufficient water and nutrition, forced to carry heavy bags of cocoa beans across long distances, and with exposure to pesticides and other hazardous agricultural chemicals without adequate protection. Almost every child on a cocoa farm will display scars and wounds from swinging the heavy-bladed machetes used to crop the plants.
To comply with international labour standards and norms, such as the ILO convention 138 on the Minimum Age for Employment and the ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, multinational corporations need to ensure that their suppliers are not involved in human trafficking and/or forced labour of children and adults. Companies should further implement monitoring systems, transparent procurement policies, regular auditing activities and training of the supply chain managers on how to detect human trafficking/forced labour or any other irregular incidents.
This discussion gives lessons learned and emerging practices to eliminate child labour within supply chains. How has public policy impacted child labour practices? Can international labour standards and norms continued to be improved? How does culture and gender impact the practices of child labour?
To promote “Safe Living in Dormitories”, this video informs employers and workers (particularly migrant workers) on steps that can be taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (and other viruses), keep common areas safe and ensure the well-being o...Read More
Where:
BT Centre, 81 Newgate Street, London, EC1A, United Kingdom
Given the rapid development of initiatives aimed at helping businesses fight human trafficking, the RESPECT Initiative (comprising Babson College’s Initiative on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and the International Organization for Migration (IOM)),...
The OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct held on 29-30 June 2017 gathered participants from governments, businesses, trade unions and civil society to discuss responsible supply chains through due diligence; driving responsible institutional investment; the role of National Contact...
In this webinar, The Mekong Club explores the repercussions and background of before and after the pandemic, including conspiracy theories, mutations and refinement of the crisis, and references to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Dashboard. It outlines...Read More