Toolkit for Business on Reducing Child and Forced Labor
Originally published on www.omiusajpic.org on July 31st, 2013
“Reducing Child Labor and Forced Labor: A Toolkit for Responsible Businesses” is guidance from the US Department of Labor designed for companies to help them make sure they are not using forced or child labor in their operations or their supply chain. It is very clear and comprehensive.
We all know someone who owns or has a responsible position in a business – spread the word! Access the toolkit here….
The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are 215 million children in child labor worldwide, 115 million of them in hazardous forms of work. It also estimates that 21 million people are in forced labor, six million of them children.
By utilizing this toolkit, companies show that they are concerned about these grim statistics. Using the tool-kit reduces the chance that their products — and the raw materials they come from — are manufactured, mined or harvested by children who should be in school, or by workers locked in sweatshops or forced into work through false promises or threats.
In order to effectively combat the risks of child labor and forced labor in a company’s operations and global supply chains, it is essential to have a comprehensive and transparent social compliance system in place. The goal of this toolkit is to assist companies that may not have such a system, as well as companies whose existing systems may need strengthening — particularly in the areas of child labor and forced labor.