Entries by Reid Maki

UK Child Labor Record Worsens

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Britain’s record on protecting children from workplace exploitation worsened over the past year, new research claims. The UK was rated “medium risk” in the annual child labour index compiled by Bath-based global analysts Maplecroft. It rose 12 places to be ranked 142nd this year, ahead of low-risk countries including Hong Kong (160th), France (163rd), Germany and Ireland (jointly at 175th) and Australia (185th). Maplecroft said Britain fared worse in the index than other Western nations because large numbers of children were trafficked to and within the UK for labour and sexual exploitation. The survey of 197 countries was topped by Burma, North Korea, Somalia and Sudan in joint first place, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. A total of 76 nations were judged to pose an “extreme risk” to children’s welfare through the use of underage workers, up more than 10% from 68 last year. The analysts put this sharp increase down to deteriorating security, resulting in greater numbers of children fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced or refugees, and the global economic downturn. The research also highlighted the risk to multinational supply chains from the prevalence of child labour in rapidly-growing emerging countries including India (ranked 27th), China (36th), Vietnam (37th) and Brazil (54th). Maplecroft human rights analyst Chris Kip said: “Business can be […]

Donna Ballman: Why Repealing Child Labor Laws Is a Truly Stupid Idea

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RedRoom By Donna Ballman Did you hear the one where the Republican contender for president said we ought to repeal child labor laws? Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but if you weren’t paying attention due to all the holiday parties, you might have missed Newt Gingrich’s comments on the subject. He said that child labor laws are “truly stupid.” He wants poor 10-year-olds to become school janitors. As the mother of a 10-year-old, Mr. Gingrich’s comments have been weighing on me. I had to speak up. Talk like this might get some headlines and votes, but it’s shortsighted to even think about abolishing child labor laws. Anyone who is thinking that this proposal is anything but idiotic needs a little history lesson: In the beginning of the industrial age, factory owners figured out that the machines were so simple, even a child could operate them. Children were less likely to push for those pesky unions. So poor children were sent to work in factories with dangerous equipment. Children would work 12 to 18 hours a day, six days a week, to earn a dollar. Factories were creative in ways to keep the “young imps” inside, using barbed wire and locked fire exits. Children would do dangerous jobs like carrying hot glass, working in coal mines, hauling heavy loads, and working in textile mills.

California tells Apple, Others not to use Slaves

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This isn’t a repeat from the 19th century | by Nick Farrell in Rome | Filed in Business Apple California California has introduced a law requiring Apple and thousands of others to make sure that slave labour isn’t part of the supply chain. According to Reuters,  the law was written following allegations that Apple and Gap used forced labour to create their products. The law will force manufacturers to explain how they guard against slavery and human trafficking throughout their supply chain. More than 3,200 major companies which do business in California  will be required to disclose steps they take, if any, to ensure their suppliers and partners do not use forced labour. Companies will risk getting sued by the state attorney general if they flout that law. Apple declined to comment on the new legislation but the law comes after controversy about working conditions at huge supplier Foxconn, where there were a string of suicides. However, it’s not clear how this law could cause Apple much trouble as the last we heard, none of the workers at Foxconn were actually forced to work there. Apparently the law defines child labour and slavery as forced labour. Apple had some problems with some of its suppliers using child labour, but said that it sorted that out.

More than 1 million Children ages 10 to 14 still Forced by Poverty to work in Brazil

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By Associated Press SAO PAULO — A newspaper says that despite the economic advances achieved by Brazil over the past few years, children from low-income families are still forced to work in Latin America’s biggest country. The Folha de S.Paulo newspaper says Wednesday that its analysis of preliminary 2010 census figures compiled by Brazil’s government statistics agency shows that more than 1 million children between the ages of 10 and 14 were working last year. 0The newspaper says that many cases of child labor are difficult to eradicate because most of them involve work as domestic help or on small family farms in remote regions. The statistics agency known as IBGE said it could not immediately confirm the newspaper’s report. Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

U.S. to support Peru in fight against Child Labor

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By Manuel Vigo [from LivinginPeru.com] On Tuesday the U.S Department of Labor awarded a $13 million grant in support of NGOs that fight against child labor in Peru. The 4-year program will be carried out in Huancavelica, Junin and Pasco, and will target 6,500 children working in agriculture and other sectors in rural Peru, said the press release. NGO ‘Desarrollo y Autogestión’ (DYA) will lead an international group of NGOs in the fight against exploitative child labor in Peru.

45% Reduction of Child Labor in 5 Years: Labor Minister

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Printed from The Times of India NEW DELHI: Labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge told the Lok Sabha that there has been 45% reduction in child labour between 2004-05 and 2009-10. Replying to a question by C M Chang, Kharge admitted India has not ratified convention number 182 of International Labour Organization about worst forms of child labour. He explained to ratify this convention, Centre has to not only consult all the states but also assess wider repercussion to the entire country. “At present, we are trying our best to prohibit persons up to the age of 14 years,” Kharge said. The minister also listed out host of steps taken by the government that has helped in reducing child labour. He said government programmes like Right to Education, MNREGA, Mid-Day Meal scheme and others are inclusive in nature and help in reduction of child labour. “Many children are going to get education. Parents are also sending them. As the economic status is improving children are getting better education,” he said. Kharge said child labour is a problem that cannot be sorted out quickly, and concerted efforts of various government departments is needed.

New Law Aims To Shine Light On Conflict Metals

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By: Michele Kelemen December 20, 2011 Delly Mawazo Sesete wants American consumers to know what is in their smart phones, computers and other electronics and where U.S. companies like Apple are getting those rare metals. Sesete says that, without knowing, consumers in the U.S. could be fueling conflicts in Eastern Congo. The human rights activist is from a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where armed groups are wreaking havoc and get much of their funding from mining rare metals. “All the money that armed groups get from that exploitation is used to buy weapons and other ammunition so that they may cause injury to people … men slaughtered, pillage, rape of women and young girls,” he says. Some of Sesete’s own family members have been forced from their homes in mineral rich areas of eastern Congo. The country’s riches, he says, have been a curse.

Victoria’s Secret Revealed in Child Picking Burkina Faso Cotton

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By Cam Simpson – Dec 15, 2011 Bloomberg Markets Magazine Clarisse Kambire’s nightmare rarely changes. It’s daytime. In a field of cotton plants that burst with purple and white flowers, a man in rags towers over her, a stick raised above his head. Then a voice booms, jerking Clarisse from her slumber and making her heart leap. “Get up!” The man ordering her awake is the same one who haunts the 13-year-old girl’s sleep: Victorien Kamboule, the farmer she labors for in a West African cotton field. Before sunrise on a November morning she rises from the faded plastic mat that serves as her mattress, barely thicker than the cover of a glossy magazine, opens the metal door of her mud hut and sets her almond-shaped eyes on the first day of this season’s harvest. (Follow her journey in videos, photos and more here.) She had been dreading it. “I’m starting to think about how he will shout at me and beat me again,” she said two days earlier. Preparing the field was even worse. Clarisse helped dig more than 500 rows with only her muscles and a hoe, substituting for the ox and the plow the farmer can’t afford. If she’s slow, Kamboule whips her with a tree branch.

Fairtrade Response to Bloomberg Article

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Bloomberg article “Victoria’s Secret Revealed in Child Picking Burkina Faso Cotton” published yesterday draws attention to the plight of “enfants confies”, foster children common across West Africa. The article highlights the story of one particular child, allegedly from a Fairtrade certified cotton farm. We take this allegation on the violation of human rights of the child very seriously and have put in place appropriate actions. Fairtrade International first learned of the specific child labour allegation last week when we were contacted by the Bloomberg journalist Cam Simpson. This allegation immediately triggered our internal Child Protection Policy and Procedures. We developed this policy and procedure to respond to detections and/or allegations of vulnerable children engaged in unacceptable labour within Fairtrade operations. Our first and foremost priority is the safety and welfare of impacted children and their communities.

Sudan’s Lost Boys: Our Hopes for a New Country

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When South Sudan was created as an independent country in July, it offered a new hope and possibilities for a whole generation whose childhood was blighted by civil war. Among the victims of Sudan’s conflict were 27,000 boys orphaned by the fighting. Known as the Lost Boys, some were forced to fight as child soldiers, while others fled and became refugees. An estimated 1.5 million people were killed and another four million were displaced in what became Africa’s longest-running conflict. The refugees fled to camps in Ethiopia and other neighbouring countries. It was a dangerous journey – many drowned or died from hunger. Others were killed by wild animals. Some of those who survived ended up far away, in countries such as the US.