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   Child labour: Apr. 2002 to present  

See also other materials on "Child labour"

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Leaders Urged to End Child Labour [Uganda] - The workshop was organised by the Federation of Uganda Employers and Rural Development Media Communications (RUDMEC). Mr Rwebembera urged religious and political leaders to advocate an end to hazardous child labour...RUDMEC executive officer, Hamidu Kizito, said the worst forms of child labour were in sugar plantations, brick-laying sites, commercial sex and homes. (Wossita Samuel, The Monitor [Uganda], 12 May 2003)

Unilever denies child labour link - Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant, has denied that its policies encourage child labour in India...The report, published by the India Committee of the Netherlands, said Unilever buys hybrid cotton seeds from farmers who pay children a handful of rupees to work long hours in hazardous conditions. (Simon Fraser, BBC News, 6 May 2003)

COLOMBIA: 1.5 Million Children Work, New Study Says (UN Wire, 1 May 2003)

GUATEMALA: Child Labor Rate Triples In Eight Years, New Report Says -...Guatemala has the highest number of child laborers in the Central American region, with 62.8 percent of its child laborers working in agricultural activities...many of the children are also employed in dangerous activities, such as mining or making fireworks. (UN Wire, 30 Apr. 2003)

Central America: More than 1.9 Million Child Workers -...The preliminary results indicate that there are 1.94 million children aged five to 17 working -- and often not attending school -- in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. (Néfer Muñoz, Inter Press Service, 28 Apr. 2003)

Rural Slavery Tough to Root Out [Brazil] - An estimated 25,000 men, women and children continue to work today as slave labourers in rural Brazil, despite persistent complaints by human rights organisations and promises by the new government to eradicate the practice over the next four years. But slave labour, in the form of debt bondage, is not exclusively employed by Brazilian plantation owners, as shown by the Senor estate in the northern state of Maranhao, which is owned by a Belgian company, and was holding more than 200 workers in slavery conditions...The Belgian company that owned the Senor estate was prosecuted and forced to pay back wages to its 200 workers. (Mario Osava, Inter Press Service, 23 Apr. 2003)

Study: Brazil's child laborers exceed 5.5M - There are more than 5.5 million child laborers in Brazil, a study released Wednesday said, and more than 2 million are ages 5 to 14...Most of the child laborers are in the impoverished northeast and south, and just over 43 percent work in agriculture. More than 51 percent of those surveyed said they worked with potentially dangerous chemicals or hazardous machinery. (Carmen Gentile, UPI, 16 Apr. 2003)

Apr. 2002 to present:

2003:

Leaders Urged to End Child Labour [Uganda] - The workshop was organised by the Federation of Uganda Employers and Rural Development Media Communications (RUDMEC). Mr Rwebembera urged religious and political leaders to advocate an end to hazardous child labour...RUDMEC executive officer, Hamidu Kizito, said the worst forms of child labour were in sugar plantations, brick-laying sites, commercial sex and homes. (Wossita Samuel, The Monitor [Uganda], 12 May 2003)

Unilever denies child labour link - Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant, has denied that its policies encourage child labour in India...The report, published by the India Committee of the Netherlands, said Unilever buys hybrid cotton seeds from farmers who pay children a handful of rupees to work long hours in hazardous conditions. (Simon Fraser, BBC News, 6 May 2003)

COLOMBIA: 1.5 Million Children Work, New Study Says (UN Wire, 1 May 2003)

GUATEMALA: Child Labor Rate Triples In Eight Years, New Report Says -...Guatemala has the highest number of child laborers in the Central American region, with 62.8 percent of its child laborers working in agricultural activities...many of the children are also employed in dangerous activities, such as mining or making fireworks. (UN Wire, 30 Apr. 2003)

Central America: More than 1.9 Million Child Workers -...The preliminary results indicate that there are 1.94 million children aged five to 17 working -- and often not attending school -- in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. (Néfer Muñoz, Inter Press Service, 28 Apr. 2003)

Rural Slavery Tough to Root Out [Brazil] - An estimated 25,000 men, women and children continue to work today as slave labourers in rural Brazil, despite persistent complaints by human rights organisations and promises by the new government to eradicate the practice over the next four years. But slave labour, in the form of debt bondage, is not exclusively employed by Brazilian plantation owners, as shown by the Senor estate in the northern state of Maranhao, which is owned by a Belgian company, and was holding more than 200 workers in slavery conditions...The Belgian company that owned the Senor estate was prosecuted and forced to pay back wages to its 200 workers. (Mario Osava, Inter Press Service, 23 Apr. 2003)

Study: Brazil's child laborers exceed 5.5M - There are more than 5.5 million child laborers in Brazil, a study released Wednesday said, and more than 2 million are ages 5 to 14...Most of the child laborers are in the impoverished northeast and south, and just over 43 percent work in agriculture. More than 51 percent of those surveyed said they worked with potentially dangerous chemicals or hazardous machinery. (Carmen Gentile, UPI, 16 Apr. 2003)

Banks in drive for project principles - The drive by Citigroup and large European providers of project finance in emerging markets to obtain industry-wide adherence to the International Finance Corporation's social and environmental guidelines may increase pressure on export credit agencies to do the same..."In the past, the US Export-Import bank has taken the lead on environmental standards and issues of transparency," said John Sohn, an expert on export credit agencies at Friends of the Earth...The impetus behind the US lead was in part due to financing of the controversial Three Gorges dam in China in 1996. The US Export-Import bank decided not to finance the project...Non-US ECAs, such as Germany's Hermes and Export Development Canada, less constrained by environmental standards, provided some finance for the dam. In an attempt to create a level playing field, the US Export-Import Bank began promoting within the OECD the concept of common and transparent environmental standards but its moves have generally been met with resistance. (Demetri Sevastopulos, Financial Times, 9 Apr. 2003)

TANZANIA: Country Touts Legal Reforms In Line With Child Labor Treaties - The government of Tanzania is working to align its labor laws with international treaties banning child labor, Minister for Labor, Youth Development and Sports Juma Kapuya told parliamentarians Wednesday...According to the International Labor Organization, 1,109 Tanzanian children were taken out of jobs in mining, agriculture, construction, prostitution and domestic work in 2002. (UN Wire, 4 Apr. 2003)

Burundi government criticized by world labour body - New ICFTU Report on labour standards - In a new report on Burundi, produced to coincide with the 2 April WTO review of that country’s trade policy, the ICFTU reports on the continued violations of core international labour conventions and calls on the authorities to cease interference in the affairs of trade unions...The 7-page report also observes pervasive discrimination against women, including as concerns access to employment...The situation of child labour is alarming...Forced labour is prohibited by law but occurs in practice. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 2 Apr. 2003)

press release: West Africa: Stop Trafficking in Child Labor - Child labor on cocoa farms "tip of the iceberg" - West African governments are failing to address a rampant traffic in child labor that could worsen with the region’s growing AIDS crisis, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today...Human Rights Watch called on the Togolese government to ratify international treaties prohibiting child trafficking, and made detailed recommendations to the governments of Togo, Gabon, Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Ivory Coast and Ghana regarding the prevention and punishment of trafficking, as well as the protection of trafficked children. (Human Rights Watch, 1 Apr. 2003)

As Bolivian Miners Die, Boys Are Left to Toil - In Latin America, languishing in its worst economic cycle in decades, the use of child labor is becoming more widespread. The children sell knickknacks on streets, work the fields, tend restaurants and, increasingly, work in dangerous jobs in industry and mining. The problem is particularly pervasive in Bolivia, a poor, isolated country of 8.3 million people gripped by political turbulence and recession. An estimated 800,000 children work in this country, with thousands toiling in mines or assisting in the sugar cane harvests, some of the riskiest work. (Juan Forero, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2003)

Judge: Tyson Foods immigration case going to jury [USA] -...A Tyson personnel manager Thursday disputed earlier testimony, saying there was no 9-year-old working at a Missouri poultry plant.  Ahrazue Wilt, the company's complex human resources manager in Sedalia, agreed with earlier testimony that a 14-year-old Hispanic worker was injured on the job at the plant.  Wilt said a subsequent U.S. Department of Labor investigation found "about five" underage workers. (Bill Poovey, Associated Press, 21 Mar. 2003)

She has designs on global activism [USA] - Stephanie Odegard...started what has become a multimillion-dollar hand-woven rug business [Odegard Inc.] that also combats child labor and inhumane practices. (Neal St. Anthony, Star Tribune, 21 Mar. 2003)

Working conditions: Results of the monitoring of Chinese garments suppliers - The pilot project on independent monitoring set up by the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) and by Migros, Switcher and Veillon makes today public the reports on its follow-up visits to Chinese suppliers of these three Swiss companies (Press release of the Clean Clothes Campaign in Switzerland and the companies Migros, Switcher and Veillon, 19 Mar. 2003)

DR Congo bans child labor, eases women's access to jobs - Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has revised its laws, banning child labor and lifting a requirement on women to obtain their husband's permission before getting a job, the labor and social minister said Tuesday. (Nando Media/Agence France-Presse, 18 Mar. 2003)

External Monitor Gives Chiquita SA8000 Certification for Costa Rica Banana Farms - Chiquita Brands International Inc. said that Bureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI), an external auditing organization, has certified that Chiquita’s banana farms in Costa Rica meet the Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000) labor standard. According to the AFX Global Ethics Monitor, BVQI has certified that Chiquita’s Costa Rica farms forbid the use of child and forced labor, guarantee the right to unionize, require a safe and healthy workplace and provide other safeguards for workers. (Business for Social Responsibility News Monitor summary of article in AFX Global Ethics Monitor, 18 Mar. 2003)

CHILD LABOR: ILO, Inter-American Development Bank Examine Strategies -...Most child laborers in Latin America work in agriculture, especially coffee growing, but urban areas are the scene of child labor and exploitation, including child prostitution (UN Wire, 13 Mar. 2003)

Freeing the Child Slaves of Volta Lake [Ghana] - Just over a year ago, IOM [International Organization for Migration] became involved in the issue of child trafficking for labour exploitation in Ghana [in fishing communities]. (Dr Ernest Taylor, International Organization for Migration - Ghana, 11 Mar. 2003)

IOM Calls for an End to Violence Against Migrant Women and the Trafficking of Women and Children into Sexual Bondage (International Organization for Migration, 7 Mar. 2003)

UN Envoy Stunned by Magnitude of Child Slavery [Sierra Leone] - ''I cannot believe that in this day and age, so many children could be forced to slave away in the mines earning next to nothing; this is appalling,'' says UN Under Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, who is visiting the war scarred West African country. (Lansana Fofana, Inter Press Service, 28 Feb. 2003)

International Right to Know Campaign Promotes Disclosure of Global Corporate Impacts - In a recent report, the International Right to Know Campaign outlines the benefits of corporate disclosure of global environmental and social policies and practices...The McDonald's (MCD) case study illustrates the use of child labor in China to produce its Happy Meal toys, the Nike (NKE) case study focuses on labor rights abuses in Indonesia, and the Unocal (UCL) case study discusses human rights abuses in its use of security forces in Burma. The ExxonMobil (XOM) case study alone illustrates several of the environmental as well as human rights abuses that the IRTK guidelines are meant to expose. (William Baue, SocialFunds.com, 27 Feb. 2003)

VIETNAM: Government, ILO. Launch Project To Combat Child Labor (UN Wire, 26 Feb. 2003)

China Serves as Dump Site for Computers - Unsafe Recycling Practice Grows Despite Import Ban -...The real costs are being borne by the people on the receiving end of the "e-waste." In towns along China's coast as well as in India and Pakistan, adults and children work for about $1.20 a day in unregulated and unsafe conditions. As rivers and soils absorb a mounting influx of carcinogens and other toxins, people are suffering high incidences of birth defects, infant mortality, tuberculosis and blood diseases, as well as particularly severe respiratory problems, according to recent reports by the state-controlled Guangdong Radio and the Beijing Youth newspaper. (Peter S. Goodman, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2003)

UN Looks for Action Against Child Labor [Russia] - The head of a UN [ILO] program to eliminate child labor said Friday that Russia is moving in the right direction, but actions would speak louder than words and pacts...The ILO estimates that about 50,000 children younger than 14 are working in Moscow, while 16,000 are working in St. Petersburg (Oksana Yablokova, Moscow Times, 17 Feb. 2003)

Bittersweet Chocolate -...The most recent survey of conditions on West African cocoa farms...estimated that nearly 300,000 children work in dangerous conditions on cocoa farms in the four countries surveyed -- Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon...[D]espite committing themselves 16 months ago to a highly publicized four-year plan to abolish child slaves and laborers from the cocoa farms with whom they do business, the chocolate industry...has managed to continue making and selling products without demonstrating any discernible progress in solving the child labor problem. [refers to Hershey's, M&M/Mars, Nestlé, Archer Daniels Midland, Cadbury, Guittard, Bernard Callebaut, Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill; Fair Trade licensees: Dean's Beans, Ithaca Fine Chocolates, Day Chocolate, Cocoa Camino; companies choosing not to buy from West Africa: Scharffen Berger Chocolate; companies selling "slave free" organic chocolate: Newman's Own, Dagoba] (Caroline Tiger, Salon.com, 14 Feb. 2003)

Clampdown on child labour [South Africa] - The department of labour is investigating claims that children as young as nine are being employed on a farm in the Leeuwehoek district in the Western Cape. (South African Press Association, 11 Feb. 2003)

An inhuman bondage [regarding Human Rights Watch report: "Small Change: Bonded Child Labor in India's Silk Industry"] (Ashwin Mahesh, rediff.com, 7 Feb. 2003)

El Salvador: Violations of Labour Standards Rife, says new ICFTU Report - ...the ICFTU has condemned El Salvador's failure to protect basic trade union rights in the country's Export Processing Zones...One of the many major allegations of the report was the unsafe working conditions workers face ...Gender discrimination is also widespread...The report also mentions the fact that indigenous people in El Salvador face discrimination in employment...Child labour is also widespread in much of the rural and unregulated urban economies (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 5 Feb. 2003)

Anti-Child Labour Laws Are Toothless [South Africa] -...Anti-child labour lobbyists say that a lack of awareness about the Basic Conditions of Employment Act [BCEA] by police, employers and the public was contributing to the use of children under 15 years on commercial farms, the taxi industry, as well as the manufacturing and trading sectors. (African Eye News Service [South Africa], 28 Jan. 2003)

Child labour shock for SA [South Africa] - About 36 percent of minors in South Africa are engaged in child labour, according to a fresh survey commissioned by the department of labour. (Mokgadi Pela, Business Report [South Africa], 27 Jan. 2003)

press release: Coalition Tells World Economic Forum: Building Trust Requires Disclosure - New Report Highlights U.S. Multinationals' Shameful Human Rights, Environmental and Labor Records - a coalition of environmental, development, labor and human rights groups today released a joint report entitled "International Right to Know: Empowering Communities Through Corporate Transparency."  The report documents the irresponsible environmental, labor and human rights practices committed by ExxonMobil, Nike, McDonald's, Unocal, Doe Run, Freeport McMoRan and Newmont Mining. (AFL-CIO, Amnesty International USA, EarthRights International, Friends of the Earth-US, Global Exchange, Oxfam America, Sierra Club, Working Group on Community Right to Know, 22 Jan. 2003)

Kids as bonded slaves in Indian silk industry: Human Rights Watch - The Government of India stands accused of failing to protect the rights of hundreds of thousands of children who toil as virtual slaves in the country's silk industry. (Trevor Barnard, ANI, 22 Jan. 2003)

ICFTU says the Maldives is paradise for tourists, not workers -...the ICFTU has condemned "a glaring lack of protection for workers' rights" as well as the situation of child labour in the country (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 15 Jan. 2003)

CHILD TRAFFICKING: Experts Examine Problem In Bangladesh, Asia -...The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 1 million children working in the sex industry throughout the region, mainly in Thailand, India, Taiwan and the Philippines. (UN Wire, 6 Jan. 2003)

Push to stop child trafficking [Bangladesh] - International experts are meeting in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, on Monday to look at ways to stop child trafficking and exploitation. (Alastair Lawson, BBC News, 6 Jan. 2003)

2002:

CHILD LABOR: Jordan Signs Agreement With ILO -...The plan will pay children and families close to ...what they would have earned as workers, with an emphasis on girls and children employed in dangerous conditions, such as chemical and steel factories, mining and manufacturing positions (UN Wire, 4 Dec. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: ILO Official Calls For More Efforts In Central America -...During his visit to Guatemala, director of the ILO's International Program on the Eradication of Child Labor Frans Roselaers cited various programs already working in the region to benefit children who work in dangerous conditions, such as firework factories, quarries, agricultural labor that involves direct contact with insecticides and pesticides, domestic labor and sexual exploitation (UN Wire, 4 Dec. 2002)

ICFTU harshly criticises Venezuela for trade union rights abuses and 'widespread' child labour [including child labour in agriculture] (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 29 Nov. 2002)

The Co-op switches to Fairtrade chocolate in move to fight slavery - Anti-Slavery International welcomes the Co-op's announcement that it will switch its entire own-brand chocolate bars to Fairtrade chocolate in 2,400 stores across the UK, bringing fairly traded cocoa firmly into the mainstream market. (Anti-Slavery International, 26 Nov. 2002)

National Seminar on Child Labour and the Role of Trade Unions [Pakistan] (Labour News Network, 25 Nov. 2002)

Child Labour War Boosted [Kenya] (Vincent Bartoo, East African Standard [Kenya], 23 Nov. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: Cocoa Industry Plans To Educate West African Farmers -...Government, private sector and nongovernmental organization representatives said they would seek to set up educational organizations in the region's major cocoa-producing nations -- Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ghana -- to find alternatives to child labor. (UN Wire, 19 Nov. 2002)

Child Labor Suffers in West Africa - Poverty and poor education will make it tough to end child labor on the West African plantations that produce most of the world's cocoa, delegates at a conference said Monday. (Kwasi Kpodo, Associated Press, 18 Nov. 2002)

EL SALVADOR: ILO Cites Progress Toward Ending Child Labor - El Salvador's El Diario de Hoy reported yesterday that the International Labor Organization said it is making progress in efforts to assist an estimated 265,000 child laborers in the country, 30,000 of whom participate in the worst forms of child labor. The ILO said child participation in such industries as fishing, cane and fireworks production and garbage collection has declined in several Salvadoran regions. (UN Wire, 15 Nov. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: U.S. To Give Jordan $1 Million Through ILO (UN Wire, 7 Nov. 2002)

I pick cocoa beans but I've never tasted chocolate [Ghana]...But Day Chocolate is different. It buys all its cocoa through Fairtrade...Kuapa Kokoo is the only cocoa-buying company in Ghana which integrates women's projects into its business...To date, there have been 504 loans from Kuapa Kokoo to help women set up businesses in 22 cocoa-farming communities. (Jill Foster, Mirror [UK], 5 Nov. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: At Least 300,000 Children Working In Colombian Mines - At least 300,000 children as young as 5 are working in Colombian mines, risking contraction of respiratory disease and other respiratory ailments (UN Wire, 31 Oct. 2002)

ZAMBIA: Hunger, HIV/AIDS Push Children Into Labor, ILO Warns - Hunger and high HIV/AIDS infection rates are forcing more than 500,000 Zambian children to quit school and take up often hazardous work in farms and factories, the International Labor Organization said yesterday. (UN Wire, 29 Oct. 2002)

ICFTU Report Denounces Massive Child Labour and Deteriorating Workers’ Rights in Zambia -...children are still toiling in even the worst forms of child labour such as small scale mining operations, agriculture and stone crushing...a deteriorating situation as regards violation of basic workers’ rights in the private sector, including by multinationals...Women are severely disadvantaged....Zambians...infected [with HIV-AIDS] face discrimination in employment as a result of their condition. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 25 Oct. 2002)

HONDURAS: UNICEF Addresses High Numbers Of Child Laborers (UN Wire, 25 Oct. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: Activists Seek Preventive Action In Nicaragua, Ecuador - Human Rights Watch Investigates Child Labor Issues In Ecuador (UN Wire, 22 Oct. 2002)

NATURAL RESOURCES: Consumer Demand Still Fueling Wars, NGO Says - A new report released today by the nongovernmental Worldwatch Institute urges better monitoring of trade in natural resources taken from conflict zones, saying that such imports fuel brutal conflicts in the developing world..."Brutal wars over natural resources like coltan -- a mineral that keeps cell phones and other electronic equipment functioning -- diamonds, tropical woods and other rare materials have killed or displaced more than 20 million people and are raising at least $12 billion a year for rebels, warlords, repressive government and other predatory groups around the world," the institute says...Opium, gems, oil, timber, natural gas, precious metals, coffee and cocoa are among the resources cited as helping to pay for wars over the past 50 years. (UN Wire, 17 Oct. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: China Bans Practice; ILO Signs Agreement With Mongolia (UN Wire, 17 Oct. 2002) 

Our hidden shame: textile sweatshops [Australia] - About 4000 underpaid textile workers are slaving in Third World conditions in illegal Brisbane sweatshops, according to a clothing industry union...Children as young as 10 were also forced to work long hours in appalling conditions. (Nikki Voss, Sunday Mail [Australia], 13 Oct. 2002)

ILO, ADB join forces to improve labour standards, promote development - The International Labour Office (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have joined forces to improve labour standards as a means of promoting development and reducing poverty in the Asia-Pacific region...The meeting recommended that Governments, the ADB and the ILO highlight labour standards in policy dialogue with governments; promote improved labour standards by designing projects, e.g., to address child labour, improve occupational safety, reduce discrimination at the workplace or eliminate bonded labour; strengthen monitoring of working conditions in the region... (International Labour Organization, 11 Oct. 2002)

COSTA RICA: Minister Announces Incentive Plan To Counter Child Labor (UN Wire, 9 Oct. 2002)

Disney Pressed on Factory in Bangladesh -...The Campaign for the Abolition of Sweatshops and Child Labor...accused Disney of ending an eight-year relationship with Shah Makhdum garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh earlier this year. Coalition members claim Disney pulled out after workers publicly complained about poor working conditions. The company denies the allegations. Rahman described 14-hour days, seven-day work weeks and beatings if workers did not meet quotas..."  The women's demand is that Disney return to the factory immediately, but this time do it correctly (Associated Press, 8 Oct. 2002)

GARMENT INDUSTRY: Bangladesh, ILO Seek Better Work Conditions - The International Labor Organization and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association have launched a $2.1 million program to improve working conditions in Bangladeshi garment factories...The program...will seek to promote occupational health and safety, improve human resource management and monitor the elimination of child labor. (UN Wire, 3 Oct. 2002)

ILO gives Cambodian garment factories thumbs up - The International Labour Organisation (ILO) gave working conditions in Cambodia's garment factories a relatively clean bill of health on Wednesday, saying there was scant evidence of forced or child labour. (Reuters, 2 Oct. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: Asian Nations Draft National Plans At ILO Meeting (UN Wire, 2 Oct. 2002)

GUATEMALA: Government Steps Up Efforts To Eradicate Child Labor (UN Wire, 2 Oct. 2002)

The short life of Afghanistan's child workers (SAPA-AFP, in Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 1 Oct. 2002)

Crescent Moon Fibers uses U.S. wool for child labor-free RUGMARK rugs from Nepal - Crescent Moon Fibers of Buchanan, Virginia joins RUGMARK’s child labor-free rug production program as the first licensee to use U.S.-produced wool in the making of their rugs in Nepal. (Rugmark Foundation, Oct. 2002)

Peru jungle farmers raise cups to fair trade coffee -...Farmers in Alto Incariado have joined up with the local La Florida Cooperative selling coffee carrying the "fair trade" label - a seal guaranteeing consumers that producers comply with conditions like a "decent wage" for farmers, the right to unionize, environmental standards and shunning child labor. [refers to fair trade coffee generally, and to Starbucks, Costa/Whitbread PLC, Cafe Direct, Max Havelaar] (Missy Ryan, Reuters, 27 Sep. 2002)

Protests target retail chains [USA] - The National Organization for Women is calling for a day of protest against Wal-Mart on Saturday, charging the retail chain with such offenses as failing to promote women to managerial and supervisory jobs, failing to pay women wages equal to their male counterparts, violating child labor laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and trying to force out pro-union workers. (Christine Gillette, Portsmouth Herald [USA], 25 Sep. 2002)

Clothing firms in court over workers' rights [Australia] - Thirty leading fashion companies, including Rip Curl and Laura Ashley, have been taken to court as part of a crackdown on the alleged exploitation of clothing outworkers. (AAP, in Sydney Morning Herald, 25 Sep. 2002)

PHILIPPINES: UNICEF Estimates Child Laborers Total 4 Million - The number of Philippine children working as family breadwinners has reached 4 million, an increase of 800,000 children in recent years, a UNICEF official has estimated...About two-thirds of the children work in the agricultural sector, although some work in more hazardous industries such as mining...The Employers Confederation of the Philippines and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry implemented a program to address the plight of working children. (UN Wire, 20 Sep. 2002)

LABOR: ILO, ADB Meet On Standards, Development - The International Labor Organization and Asian Development Bank yesterday opened a two-day workshop on labor standards and social and economic development...The bank said Asia's "progress ... has been uneven" on compliance with labor standards, citing in particular the prevalence of child labor and reports of bonded labor and discrimination, as well as repression of unions and workers' meetings, exposure to health hazards and frequent avoidable accidents. (UN Wire, 19 Sep. 2002) 

Labor Department and USAID Release Data from Collaborative Survey on Child Labor on Cocoa Farms in West Africa - West African Governments and U.S. Chocolate Manufacturers Working Jointly with U.S. to Eliminate Problem (U.S. Department of Labor, 17 Sep. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: U.S. Pledges $4 Million For ILO Program In Tanzania -...Up to an estimated 400,000 children below the age of 15 are working in Tanzania, mostly domestically and in the mining and agricultural sectors (UN Wire, 12 Sep. 2002)

ICFTU report: slavery slow to fade away in Mauritania - In a scathing new report on Mauritania, produced to coincide with the WTO trade policy review taking place from 11-13 September, the ICFTU has condemned the continued use of child labour and even forced labour reminiscent of slavery in the country. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 10 Sep. 2002)

Army of Child Labour [UK] - A south Devon pub manager and his bosses have been fined more than £7,000 for employing children illegally. (Torquay Herald Express [UK], 7 Sep. 2002)

CSR Trainings - Human Rights Trainings - Shenzhen, China - Two-Day Workshop on Labor Practices and CSR - Shenzhen, China, October 24-25, 2002: This workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to learn effective ways to: build better factory management systems, and strengthen compliance with codes of conduct and legal requirements on issues including: wages, and working hours; health and safety; child labor; forced labor; and other labor issues. (Business for Social Responsibility) [posted on this site 23 Aug. 2002]

CSR Trainings - Human Rights Trainings - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - Two-Day Workshop on Labor Practices and CSR - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, September 24-25, 2002: This workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to learn effective ways to: build better factory management systems, and strengthen compliance with codes of conduct and legal requirements on issues including: wages, and working hours; health and safety; child labor; forced labor; and other labor issues. (Business for Social Responsibility) [posted on this site 23 Aug. 2002]

India's child labour laws failing - India is coming under increasing pressure to take action over massive human rights abuses against child workers and indentured labourers [includes reference to lack of safety measures in quarries] (Humphrey Hawskley, BBC News, 20 Aug. 2002)

CHILD LABOR: Funding Shortages Slow Eradication Efforts In India, Nicaragua (UN Wire, 19 Aug. 2002)

Dominican Republic - Trafficking of Haitian Children -...Many children go to the Dominican Republic for a few months and then return, but some decide to stay there permanently, joining the ranks of a large informal sector of low-wage farm workers. They live under extremely precarious conditions, in terms of housing and food, and because of their age and illegal status are prone to physical and verbal abuse. (International Office for Migration, 9 Aug. 2002)

WEST AFRICA: Institute Says Most Child Cocoa Workers Not Trafficked -...The institute studied at least 1,000 households in each of four countries: Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire...The report indicates that about one-tenth of 130,000 children working in the Ivorian cocoa industry have no family ties to their employers, adding that under 1 percent of Ivorian farmers acknowledged employing full-time permanent child workers. (UN Wire, 8 Aug. 2002)

Child labour rife in cocoa sector - A survey released on Thursday details the true extent of child labour in the cocoa sector of West Africa. Dr Rodomiro Ortiz at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria, told the BBC's World Business Report that 254,000 children had been identified as working in hazardous conditions. (BBC News, 1 Aug. 2002)

Jordanian Workers applaud amendments expanding their rights -...The amendments to Article 31 of Labour Law have been applauded by the Jordanian Society for Human Rights, which also commended the government's decision to raise the legal age for juveniles working in potentially hazardous conditions from 17 to 18...Hazardous jobs include working in chemical and steel factories, mining and manufacturing. (Hassan Shobaki, Jordan Times, 30 July 2002)

Child jockey ban busters face fine, jail [United Arab Emirates] - Effective September 1, 2002, race camel owners who employ children under 15 years as camel jockeys will face a series of penalties, Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Emirates Camel Racing Federation (ECRF) announced yesterday. (Gulf News, 30 July 2002)

CHILD LABOR: U.S. Says 284,000 Do Hazardous Work On Cocoa Farms - As many as 284,000 child laborers work in hazardous conditions on cocoa farms in West Africa, the bulk of them in Cote d'Ivoire and the majority alongside their parents, the U.S. Agency for International Development and Labor Department said as they released new figures Friday. (UN Wire, 29 July 2002)

Bananas get on tables courtesy of child labor [Ecuador] - Plantation owner top candidate for Ecuador president (Juan Forero, New York Times, in San Francisco Chronicle, 28 July 2002)

Human rights society welcomes Labour Law amendment [Jordan] - The Jordanian Society for Human Rights on Wednesday welcomed the government's recent decision to raise the legal age for juveniles working in potentially hazardous conditions from 17 to 18. But the society pointed out in a statement that considerable efforts should be exerted to address the social and health problems caused by child labour. (Jordan Times, 25 July 2002)

ECUADOR: Accord Signed To Eliminate Child Labor On Banana Plantations - Ecuador has moved to eliminate child labor in a new accord signed Tuesday by representatives of the banana industry, UNICEF, the International Labor Organization and the country's ministries of labor and education...Ecuador's four largest exporters -- Bananera Noboa, Rey Banano del Pacifico, AGROBAN and the Del Monte subsidiary in Ecuador, Bandecua -- are included in the agreement (UN Wire, 25 July 2002)

New ICFTU report reveals widespread discrimination and occurrences of child labour in Europe - Salary discrimination against women of up to 35% still exists across Europe... The report also finds “unacceptable exploitation of children” occurring in most countries to some degree, “mainly in unregulated activities and in agriculture.” (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 24 July 2002)

CHILD LABOR: ILO Says 500,000 Honduran Children Help Support Families - The International Labor Organization has said in a new report that nearly 500,000 Honduran children are forced to work to supplement their family's incomes, with many working in high-risk occupations such as shellfish diving, handling dangerous chemicals and making fireworks (UN Wire, 23 July 2002)

CHILD LABOR: IDB Approves $450,000 Grant For Latin America, Caribbean - The Inter-American Development Bank yesterday said it had approved a $450,000 grant to select and finance innovative programs to reduce child labor in Latin America and the Caribbean and to disseminate information throughout the region. (UN Wire, 19 July 2002)

Internationally-recognised Core Labour Standards in the 15 Member States of the European Union - Report for the WTO General Council review of the trade policies of the European Unions  (Geneva, 24 and 26 July 2002) - All eight of the core ILO conventions have been ratified by all fifteen European Union (EU) member states. In certain areas however, law and practice in several EU countries require further government efforts in order to respect the commitments to fundamental workers’ rights [refers to pay gap between men and women, child labour, trafficking in women and girls for the purposes of forced prostitution] (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 18 July 2002)

NICARAGUA: Majority Of Child Laborers Are Not Paid, Ministry Says - About 314,000 Nicaraguan children have worked during their lifetime and 59 percent of them were not paid for their labor, according to a new report by the country's Labor Ministry. (UN Wire, 17 July 2002)

NIGERIA: Conference on human trafficking set for August - An international conference is to be held from 1 to 3 August in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to develop a framework for combating human trafficking and child labour. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 17 July 2002)

Child Workers at Risk from Mercury - Ten-year Tanzanian children are involved in mining activities including washing of rock and collecting and carrying crushed rock that expose them to serious health risks. (from East African, in Child Labour News Service, 15 July 2002) 

Mining Chamber fights to eradicate child labour [Ecuador] - The Ecuadorian mining chamber has launched a campaign to promote sustainable mining based on a socially responsible and concerted effort, and to eradicate child labour in the industry, the chamber's executive director Alfredo Sebastia informed. The chamber is working on the project together with the ILO and Ecuador's labour, and mining and energy ministries. (from Business News Americas, in Child Labour News Service, 15 July 2002)

Government prepares plan to combat child labour [Jordan] - The Jordanian government is set to draft a national strategy to combat child labour. (from Jordan Times, in Child Labour News Service, 15 July 2002)

Trade unions campaign against child labour [Indonesia] - Trade unions vowed to fight the child slave and sex industry in Indonesia and called for legislation banning work for children aged under 18. (from Jakarta Post, in Child Labour News Service, 15 July 2002)

Group to wage war on child labour [Philippines] - A multisectoral group has formed a task force to fight child labour in Western Visayas, which has drawn more than 200,000 children to work under mostly hazardous conditions. (from Philippine Daily Inquirer, in Child Labour News Service, 15 July 2002)

CSR-World launches online labour law database for South Asia [web site] - CSRWorld recently launched an online database called "Country Profiles". This section contains labour law database of South Asian countries like India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Country Profiles section is mainly designed for social compliance needs in India and other South Asian countries. Social Compliance requires compliance with local labour laws on issues like child labour, minimum wages, social security benefits, workers' welfare, workplace conditions etc. Accessible at www.csrworld.net, this is the first online labour law database of key sourcing countries for big American and European Retailers. (Child Labour News Service, 15 July 2002)

ECUADOR: Presidential Hopeful Accused Of Using Child Labor On Plantation - A dozen Ecuadorian children and many adults have said in interviews with the New York Times that leading presidential candidate Alvaro Noboa, the richest man in Ecuador, uses child labor on his Los Alamos banana plantation, the Times reported Saturday. The 1,300-worker plantation produces Bonita bananas sold in the United States. (UN Wire, 15 July 2002)

Labor Department [USA] Issues Report on Child Labor in Trade Beneficiary Countries - Report Required by Trade and Development Act - The Labor Department today released the first annual report on the worst forms of child labor in 143 trade beneficiary countries and territories as required under the Trade and Development Act of 2000. (U.S. Department of Labor, 12 July 2002)

PAKISTAN: Authorities Arrest Alleged Agents Of Child Camel Jockeys - Pakistani police Sunday intercepted three boys and two girls aged 3 to 7 who were allegedly being taken to Dubai to serve as camel jockeys (UN Wire, 9 July 2002)

Pennies an Hour, and No Way Up -...Two billion people in the world make less than two American dollars a day. As voters and consumers of sweatshop products, Americans can make a difference in ending the miserable conditions under which these people work...Under our customs laws, we ban imports made with inmate and indentured labor, so why not extend the ban to include those made with sweatshop and child labor? (Tom Hayden & Charles Kernaghan, in New York Times, 6 July 2002)

32,000 children working in 1,600 stone quarries [Nepal] (sourced from Kathmandu Post [Nepal], 6 July 2002)

New Initiative to Combat Child Slave Labor in Cocoa Fields Hailed - The launch of a new initiative to fight child and slave labor in West African cocoa fields, announced this week in Geneva, is being hailed as a new landmark in pressuring big corporations to take responsibility for social and working conditions in impoverished countries where they buy their primary commodities. (Jim Lobe, One World, 4 July 2002)

Trade unions campaign against child labor [Indonesia] - Trade unions vowed on Monday to fight the child slave and sex industry in Indonesia and called for legislation banning work for children aged under 18. (Jakarta Post, 3 July 2002) 

CHILD LABOR: ILO To Fund Paraguayan-Brazilian Border Initiative - The International Labor Organization is planning to invest $2 million over a three-year period in the Paraguayan-Brazilian border region to help combat the sexual and commercial exploitation of children, O Estado de Sao Paulo reports. (UN Wire, 3 July 2002)

CHILD LABOR: New Foundation Launched To Fight Problem In Cocoa Industry - The world's chocolate and cocoa companies yesterday announced a new industry-funded foundation to combat child slavery on cocoa farms. The initiative is the result of an agreement reached last October between world chocolate industry representatives, child labor activists and U.S. lawmakers. (UN Wire, 2 July 2002)

Farm probe to focus on conditions for workers [South Africa] - The SA [South Africa] Human Rights Commission is launching its national inquiry into human rights abuses in farming communities after receiving several complaints from the public. The commission will hold hearings into all aspects of farming. These include farm killings, working conditions, child labour, education, land rights and tenure rights. (Business Day, 2 July 2002)

{···français} Enfants exploités - Plus de 211 millions d'enfants âgés de 5 à 14 ans sont contraints de travailler...Les entreprises multinationales ne sont pas les dernières à profiter de cette exploitation des mineurs. Entre autres, celles du tabac (Philip Morris, Altadis), de la banane (Chiquita, Del Monte) et du cacao (Cargill). Au Malawi, par exemple, dont l'industrie du tabac est le premier employeur, des dizaines de milliers d'enfants sont exploités pour la récolte et le séchage des feuilles de tabac. En Equateur, des enfants de 7 à 8 ans travaillent dans les champs de bananes douze heures par jour. En Côte d'Ivoire, premier producteur mondial de cacao, des milliers d'enfants-esclaves seraient utilisés pour le travail dans les plantations. (Ignacio Ramonet, Le Monde diplomatique, juillet 2002)

Customs Complaint on Forced Child Labor in Cocoa Production in Cote D'Ivoire - On May 30, 2002 the International Labor Rights Fund filed a petition with the US Customs Service on May 30, demanding enforcement of laws prohibiting the importation of goods made with forced child labor. The petition focused on the existence of child slavery in the production of cocoa from Cote D'Ivoire, used in the manufacture of chocolate in the United States. (International Labor Rights Fund, 27 June 2002)

12 Million Child Laborers [Indonesia] - The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates the number of child laborers in Indonesia could be as high as 12 million as a result of the country’s prolonged economic crisis...Many boys work full-time on plantations, coastal fishing platforms or in the construction sector, while many young girls work as domestic servants, prostitutes or factory laborers. (Laksamana.Net [Indonesia], 27 June 2002)

Death And Injuries of Farm Labourers Including Children [Egypt] -...Indeed, these children are often working up to 12 hours a day, 6 days per week, and with only one meal per day...Exposure to pesticides, causing diarrhoea, vomiting, faintness or difficulty to breathe is frequent. (World Organisation Against Torture, 25 June 2002)

NOW Blasts Wal-Mart Workplace Abuses, Names the Company a Merchant of Shame [USA] - "Today the National Organization for Women is naming Wal-Mart — the nation's largest company with close to one million employees — a Merchant of Shame," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "Wal-Mart faces numerous allegations of sex discrimination in pay, promotion and compensation; of wage abuses, violation of child labor laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act; exclusion of contraceptive coverage in employee insurance plans and discrimination on the basic of sexual orientation. (National Organization for Women [USA], 22 June 2002)

High street shops under attack for their ethics [UK] - High street shops have scored poorly in a survey rating businesses on their support for ethical trading practices. The survey...awarded marks to businesses according to their stance on issues such as child labour, poverty wages and poor working conditions. The Co-op, Body Shop and DIY chain B&Q all scored highly. But the survey said most high street shops either had no code of conduct to cover unfair trading issues, refused to publish one or declined to allow their codes to be independently checked. (Henrykl Zientek, Huddersfield Daily Examiner [UK], 20 June 2002)

ICFTU condemns abuses of all core labour standards in India in new report - In a new report on India, produced to coincide with the 19-21 June WTO trade policy review, the ICFTU has condemned flagrant violations of workers’ trade union rights, including violence against trade union activists. The report also highlights “widespread child labour” with approximately 50 million children at work, at least 50% of whom are engaged in dangerous professions. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 19 June 2002)

Nike may move back in to Cambodia: New scrutiny of labour laws bring transparency - U.S. sportswear giant Nike may be about to make a comeback in Cambodia, two years after a television documentary on underage girl workers prompted the company to stop using factories in the country...Nike's possible change of heart has come about following the launch of independent monitoring in the country by the International Labour Organization. (National Post [Canada], 18 June 2002)

ILO Launches Report On Child Labour (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 12 June 2002)

End Child Labour, World's Unions Say - One child in five is at work - most in dangerous jobs -..."Child labour is found in a number of ICEM industries," he [Fred Higg, ICEM General Secretary] emphasised, "notably in the very hazardous sectors of mining, diamond and gem polishing and building materials" (ICEM - International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions, 12 June 2002)

5-pronged ICFTU campaign to stop child labour - Agriculture, industry, domestic labour, sexual exploitation and trafficking. These are 5 focal points of global trade union action which the ICFTU will be targeting in a redoubling of its campaign to stop child labour (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 12 June 2002)

World Day Against Child Labour - Today marks the first ever World Day Against Child Labour, a day proclaimed by the International Labour Organization to observe the massive international child labour problem and the determination of the global community to combat it. Below are the statement of ILO Director-General Juan Somavia on the first observance of the day, and background information on child labour. (Accra Mail [Ghana], 12 June 2002)

Govt plans concerted move to save child workers [Indonesia] (Debbie A. Lubis, Jakarta Post, 12 June 2002)

Internationally-recognised Core Labour Standards in India -...India has only ratified four of the core ILO labour conventions. In view of serious problems of child labour and forced labour, as well as restrictions on the trade union rights of workers in EPZ’s and continuing gender discrimination in employment, determined measures are needed (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 11 June 2002)

Burma's military junta losing its shirts - Apparel imports [into USA from Burma] plummet 35% as companies act on human rights, business uncertainty -...Concerned with human rights abuses including forced labor and forced child labor, dealing with a sudden cancellation of import licenses for foreigners, and facing legislation that would ban all imports from the country, 30 U.S. importers and/or retailers have announced they will not sell goods from Burma since June 2000, including retail giants Wal-Mart, Kenneth Cole, Hanes, and Gart Sports. (Free Burma Coalition, 6 June 2002)

U.S. Vows to End Human Trafficking - The government is committed to ending worldwide trafficking in humans, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday..."Approximately 50,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year," Powell said. "Here and abroad, the victims of trafficking toil under inhuman conditions in brothels, sweatshops, fields and even in private homes." Most of the victims are women and children, he said. (Harry Dunphy, Associated Press, in Washington Post, 5 June 2002)

ILO launches first "World Day Against Child Labour" 12 June 2002 (International Labour Organization, 5 June 2002)

TANZANIA: Child labour common in Zanzibar - A recent rapid assessment by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an associate organisation of the United Nations, has found that child labour is "common" in Zanzibar, with prostitution, fisheries and seaweed farming among the "most hazardous" sectors in which children are involved. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 4 June 2002)

Haiti, a country mired in the past: WTO must act says ICFTU report - In a new report on Haiti, produced to coincide with the WTO trade policy review, the ICFTU has condemned “flagrant violations of workers’ trade union rights, including violence against trade union activists,” and uncovered “serious problems with child labour, including bonded child labour.” (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 4 June 2002)

World leaders tackle child labour - The eradication of child labour tops the list of challenging issues at this year's International Labour Organisation (ILO) conference. (BBC News, 4 June 2002)

H&M builds Bangladeshi children a bridge to safe work - H&M [international clothes firm] say they worked with the ILO and other UN agencies to define the four month technical training programme which would enable teenagers to build on their initial UN education and avoid slipping back into a life of exploitation where they could risk dangerous working conditions and, in extreme cases, prostitution. (International Chamber of Commerce, 3 June 2002)

{···français} En Algérie aussi on exploite les enfants [le phénomène du travail des enfants en Algérie] (Agence Algérienne d'Information, 2 juin 2002)

Our Fruit, Their Labor and Global Reality [banana companies in Ecuador] - Noboa, an Ecuadorean company that is the nation's largest banana producer, sent an armed force of several hundred men to confront the striking workers; Human Rights Watch released a report alleging widespread abuses in the industry, including the use of child labor. If globalization is to benefit all, why are the big banana companies so comfortable with the use of child labor, with violations of workers' rights and with substandard wages? [refers to Noboa, Dole, Del Monte, Chiquita] (Dana Frank, Professor of American Studies at the University of California Santa Cruz, in Washington Post, 2 June 2002)

India: 400 child labourers rescued - Around 400 children from Bangladesh and Kolkata, working as bonded or child labourers in Nagarathpet, Bangalore, were rescued. They have been working with jewellery-making units without pay for the last five years. The fume filled environment of these units exposed them to lung disease and TB. (from Economic Times [India], in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

India: Seed firms warned - Kurnool District collector G. Sai Prasad warned cottonseed companies in the district against employing children in the cotton fields...The official survey revealed that there were about 150,000 children working in the fields and factories in the district (from Times of India, in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

Bangladesh: Govt to rehabilitate 10,000 child labourers under a pilot project - A pilot project has been taken up that would initially cover Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan cities. Under this 10,000 child labourers would be withdrawn from selected hazardous sectors and provided non-formal education and skill development training. . Moreover, 5,000 parents of those children would get micro-credit to enable them to do income generation activities (from Independent [Bangladesh], in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

Lead poisoning hits kids in battery units [India] - About 90% of children working in the battery industry in Bangalore suffer from lead poisoning (from Economic Times [India], in Child Labour News Service, 1 June 2002) [scroll down on linked page to find this item]

Backgrounder: Child Labor in Agriculture - Of nearly 250 million children engaged in child labor around the world, the vast majority- 70 percent, or some 170 million-are working in agriculture...Their work is grueling and harsh, and violates their rights to health, education, and protection from work that is hazardous or exploitative...In investigations in Egypt, Ecuador, India, and the United States, Human Rights Watch has found that the children working in agriculture are endangered and exploited on a daily basis. (Human Rights Watch, June 2002)

U.S. ban sought on cocoa produced by child slaves - A labor-rights advocacy group [International Labor Rights Fund] asked the U.S. government Thursday to ban imports of cocoa from Ivory Coast, saying a new investigation revealed that little had been done to stop the use of child slave labor in its harvesting. (Steven Thomma, San Jose Mercury News [USA], 31 May 2002)

A Third of Our Children Are Workers [South Africa] - Close to a third of South Africa's estimated 13,4-million children work, mostly on farms and in family businesses, according to a Department of Labour document on child labour. (Marianne Merten, Mail & Guardian [South Africa], 31 May 2002)

Retailers Join Together to Ensure Child Labor-free Carpet Production [USA]: RUGMARK Launches Socially Responsible Retail Sponsor Program (RUGMARK, 29 May 2002)

Internationally-recognised Core Labour Standards in Haiti: Report for the WTO General Council Review of Trade Policies of Haiti (Geneva, 5 and 7 June 2002) -... flagrant violations of workers’ trade union rights, including violence against trade union activists, and serious problems with child labour, including bonded child labour...Discrimination against women is a problem, especially in export processing plants and as concerns the representation of women in senior positions. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 28 May 2002)

Millions 'forced into slavery' (BBC News, 27 May 2002)

Campaign for World Cup labour rights - Labour activists throughout Asia are taking advantage of the final countdown to the World Cup to highlight the exploitation of children and adults in sports-related industries [refers to India & Pakistan] (Caroline Gluck, BBC News, 27 May 2002)

KENYA: 1.9 Million Children Working, U.N.-Funded Report Says (UN Wire, 24 May 2002)

Football Dreams Stitched with Children's Hands: India, China and Pakistan Still Harbour Child Labourers and Unfair Labour Conditions - Child labour and highly unfair labour conditions for adult stitchers in the football industry are still common practices, despite the fact that the contracts between FIFA and sporting goods companies promise the opposite. This was revealed by the Global March Against Child Labour in a presentation of three new reports on China, India and Pakistan. (Global March Against Child Labour, 23 May 2002)

Unocal Shareholder Move on Labor Rights Makes Major Headway - A resolution calling on United States oil giant Unocal Corporation to adopt a workers' rights policy gained the support of almost one third of the shares voted at the company's annual shareholder's meeting in California this week in what corporate social responsibility advocates hailed as an unprecedented advance in the movement to press companies to respect human rights...The move was targeted in particular at Unocal's operations in Myanmar (formerly Burma), which have been accused by the ILO and the U.S. state department of using forced labor and child labor. (Jim Lobe, OneWorld US, 22 May 2002)

Child labour used to manufacture 'World Cup' balls -...The footballs...were stitched by children in Pakistani villages for around 70p a day, according to a campaign group based in Delhi. (David Rowan, Times [UK], 22 May 2002)

BSR Unveils Labor Law Database: Web-based Tool to Improve Labor Compliance and Safeguard Human Rights in the Supply Chain - Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) today unveiled Labor Law, a unique Internet database of labor law reports and supply chain compliance resources. Compiled from hundreds of primary sources, Labor Law will provide users with independently verified, in-depth reports on more than 60 countries' labor requirements relevant to corporate codes of conduct - from child labor and discrimination to working hours and wages. (Business for Social Responsibility, 21 May 2002)

CHILD LABOR: Sub-Saharan Africa Suffers World's Worst Rates, ILO Says (UN Wire, 20 May 2002)

Sweet success for anti-slavery lobby - Britain's major chocolate-makers have endorsed an initiative to phase out slavery and child labour in cocoa plantations in West Africa...Industry associations, whose members include Cadbury Schweppes, Mars and Nestlé, signed an agreement with the International Labour Organisation this month to persuade cocoa-growers to eliminate illegal labour practices by 2005. (Severin Carrell, Independent [UK], 19 May 2002)

Report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Elimination of the Exploitation of Child Labour [replies received from Cyprus, Germany, Guatemala] (U.N. Secretary-General, document for U.N. Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, 17 May 2002)

LABOR: ILO, Philippines Sign "Decent Work" Deal - The Philippines, one of four countries selected for the initial three-year phase of the International Labor Organization's Action Program for Decent Work, signed an agreement yesterday in Manila with the ILO and employers' and workers' groups to launch the program in the country. The Philippines is bound under the joint declaration to support freedom of association and collective bargaining and to seek the elimination of forced labor, child labor and discrimination in the workplace. (UN Wire, 14 May 2002)

Fighting child labour -...The conference, Mrs Mubarak added, was a chance to announce Egypt's ratification of ILO Convention 182 which introduces sweeping reforms that target the worst forms of child labor..."The convention will be a cornerstone in the national program to eliminate child labor," Mrs Mubarak said. (ArabicNews.com, 13 May 2002)

{···español} La pobreza y el trabajo infantil (editorial, Clarín [Argentina], 13 mayo 2002)

Internationally-recognised Core Labour Standards in Slovenia: Report for the WTO General Council review of trade policies of Slovenia (Geneva, 13 and 15 May 2002) -...women receive lower wages than men and are under-represented in senior positions, and discrimination in employment against Roma continues to be a problem...Child labour does not generally occur, although there are credible reports of children under 16 working, largely on family farms, during the harvest. (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 13 May 2002)

{···español} Ecuador buscará erradicar trabajo infantil - El país suscribirá el convenio contra el trabajo infantil, así lo prometió el ministro de Trabajo, Martín Insua, al referirse a denuncias que ubican a Ecuador como el país con el mayor número de personas que laboran desde tempranas edades. (La Hora [Ecuador], 11 May 2002)

CHILD LABOR: Panel Urges Education, Development As Solution -...Somavia [International Labor Organization Director General Juan Somavia] urged putting pressure on employers, especially those "who prefer to hire children instead of adults." (Michael Kitchen, UN Wire, 9 May 2002)

New Child Labour Book “The Next Steps” Commissioned by the ICFTU Released on 7 May, 2002 (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 7 May 2002)

Child labour in SA not common, says Mdladlana [South Africa] - Even though SA experienced its first child labour court case a few months ago, child labour here, unlike in most parts of the world, was not commonplace, nor was it necessarily harmful, said Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana. (Business Day [South Africa], 7 May 2002)

Third of Africa's kids work - Sub-Saharan Africa had the highest proportion of labouring children between the ages of five and 14, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) reported on Monday. (News24.com, 6 May 2002)

CHILD LABOR: 246 Million Children Still At Work, ILO Reports - Child labor is still a major global problem, involving 246 million minors worldwide, according to an International Labor Organization report issued today. (UN Wire, 6 May 2002)

Child labour on a high: global report - Sub-Saharan Africa has shown to have the most intense problem with three out of every ten children involved in child labour. Seven out of every 10 children involved in child labour work on farms (South African Broadcasting Corporation, 6 May 2002)

TANZANIA: ILO Project Targets Child Labor, Women's Work Opportunities - The International Labor Organization has launched a project in cooperation with the government of Tanzania and the Akiba Commercial Bank to reduce the use of child labor in Tanzania by bolstering employment opportunities for women. (UN Wire, 6 May 2002)

Child Labour to Be Combated in Cocoa Regions - Pilot programmes against abusive child and forced labour in West Africa's cocoa industry are to be launched in September, in accordance with a memorandum of cooperation signed between stakeholders in the cocoa and chocolate industry. (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 3 May 2002)

CHILD LABOR: ILO Examines Bolivia, Brazil; Nicaragua Hears From Children - The International Labor Organization said in a report released last week that 800,000 Bolivian children enter the labor market each year. Many of the children, the report said, are forced to work for mining and agricultural companies or suffer from sexual exploitation. (UN Wire, 3 May 2002)

WEST AFRICA: Coalition Aims To Abolish Child Slavery In Cocoa Fields - An international coalition of chocolate makers and processors, human rights groups and unions joined forces Wednesday to adopt a memorandum of cooperation that aims to eradicate the use of child slaves on West African cocoa fields (UN Wire, 3 May 2002)

Pact to end African 'chocolate slavery' - Chocolate manufacturers, human rights groups and the Ivory Coast Government have signed pact aimed at ending the abuse of child labour in the chocolate industry. (BBC News, 2 May 2002)

Chocolate industry signs African child labour pact - The cocoa and chocolate industry yesterday took a step toward ending long-standing abusive child labour practices in the cocoa trade of West Africa, where 56% of cocoa beans are grown. Chocolate makers and processors said they want to end the mistreatment in Ivory Coast and Ghana in particular. (Reuters, on website of South African Broadcasting Corporation, 2 May 2002)

Summary: "Child Labour and Labour Rights in the Sporting Goods Industry: A Case for Corporate Social Responsibility" [India] (Social Sector Group, Tata Consultancy Services, report contracted by India Committee of the Netherlands, May 2002)

Bangladesh's stolen lives: Servitude and sex slavery await children abroad -...Boys, some as young as 4 or 5, are mostly put to work as camel jockeys in the Gulf. Most girls are sent to India and Pakistan to work as prostitutes and maids (Somini Sengupta, New York Times, in International Herald Tribune, 30 Apr. 2002)

{···français} Lutte contre le trafic et le travail des enfants: Le BIT fait accélérer le processus -...L’installation d’un comité national de lutte contre le trafic des enfants et un projet de loi visant à définir un cadre institutionnel afin de sanctionner plus efficacement les trafiquants sont autant de mesures prises dans le sens sus-indiqué. (Cendres Glazaï, Notre Voie [Côte d’Ivoire], 27 avril 2002)

Ecuador: Widespread Labor Abuse on Banana Plantations - Harmful Child Labor, Anti-Union Bias Plague Industry -...Banana-exporting corporations such as Ecuadorian-owned Noboa and Favorita, as well as Chiquita, Del Monte, and Dole fail to use their financial influence to insist that their supplier plantations respect workers’ rights (Human Rights Watch, 25 Apr. 2002)

MEXICO: ILO Says Girls More Vulnerable To Child Labor, Exploitation -...The ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor says Mexican girls on average work longer hours, receive less pay and begin at a younger age than boys, mainly in the agricultural sector. (UN Wire, 24 Apr. 2002)

Now, boys also trafficked [from Nepal] to India, finds a new study -...Many boys are working in the carpet factories under highly exploitative conditions..."The boys as young as six years of age have to work for at least 11 hours and at maximum 18 hours a day"...Those working in the hotels have to sleep on the tables, if not on the chilly floor..."Most of the trafficked boys don’t get money for the first three years, as the money has to go to the traffickers." (Tilak Pokharel, Kathmandu Post, 17 Apr. 2002)

Open Letter on Plan to Combat Abusive Child Labor - We are extremely concerned about allegations of abusive labor practices on cocoa farms in Africa. We condemn any abusive practices and are committed to bringing about permanent change. (Larry Graham, President of Chocolate Manufacturers Association and National Confectioners Association, 15 Apr. 2002)

Child Labour Thrives at Shuttle Cock Unit [India] -- The sheer exploitation of child labour is apparent when one visits Rajapur...where nearly one fifth of the children are employed to prepare shuttlecocks. (Child Labour News Service, 15 Apr. 2002)

First Women Bank, ILO to combat child labour in Pakistan: The First Women Bank Ltd (FWBL) and ILO’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) have signed a memorandum of Understanding to set up micro finance projects for carpet weavers in the three cities of the Punjab as part of efforts to combat child labour. (Child Labour News Service, 15 Apr. 2002)

More than 200 child miners withdrawn from Western Niger: Over 200 children working at the Komanbangou gold mine have been withdrawn from the site to be integrated into the school system (Child Labour News Service, 15 Apr. 2002)

Jons paying fine for underage staff [USA]: Jons Marketplace settled a federal complaint for child labour violations, paying $113,225 for illegally employing 63 young workers [allowed underage employees to operate paper crushing and baling machines and forklift] (Child Labour News Service, 15 Apr. 2002)

Woolworths falls foul of child labour regulations [UK] (Child Labour News Service, 15 Apr. 2002)

Kenya: Child labourers hit 3 million mark -...Labour Commissioner Abisai Ambenge...identified some of the areas where child labour is rampant including salt harvesting in Malindi, miraa farming in Meru North, and tea and coffee plantations in Central, Eastern and Rift Valley Provinces (Child Labour News Service, 15 Apr. 2002)

Nike attempts to distance itself from child-labor history [at] annual event organized by UW [University of Washington] Net Impact — a group of MBA students trying to raise awareness about the advantages of socially and environmentally responsible business (Kevin Jones, University of Washington Daily, 3 Apr. 2002)

Nations Press Ahead to End Child Exploitation: African ministers from French-speaking countries [Mali, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo (Republic of), Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia] vowed on Friday, at the end a two-day conference on child exploitation, to enact laws and strengthen subregional and international cooperation to protect child rights...The conference heard that child exploitation included trafficking for sex and labour, violence and other mistreatment, enrolment in armed conflict, as well as forcing school-age children to work. (U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks, 2 Apr. 2002)

Document to stop child slavery: Six West African countries [Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ivory Coast, Mali] have developed a travel document aimed at combating the exploitation of more than 200 000 children in the region. (South African Press Association, 2 Apr. 2002)

FieldsofHope.org Highlights Child Labor in Agriculture: Child labor is a tragedy around the globe. At least 250 million children ages 5-14 work, primarily in agriculture. (AFL-CIO, 2 Apr. 2002)

Pakistan: Violation of child labour rules on increase in Sialkot [including hard labour in commercial centres and hotels] (from Pakistan Newswire, in Child Labour News Service, 1 Apr. 2002)

Bidar DC to conduct survey of sugar factories [India]: The State Government will direct the Bidar District Deputy Commissioner to conduct a survey of all sugar factories to find out the prevalence of bonded labour...nine bonded labourers including one child worker were freed from the New Karnataka Khandsari Sugar Factory (from Economic Times [India], in Child Labour News Service, 1 Apr. 2002) 

Ecuador tackles child labour: Ecuador is aiming to rescue children working in the country's mines and brick factories and scavenging on garbage dumps and get them back into school in a program to slash child labour (from Orlando Sentinel, in Child Labour News Service, 1 Apr. 2002)