Businesses Could Do More to Stop Child Labour

Here is an article from the Kielburger brothers in the Monday, November 5, 2007, issue of Toronto Star, World section, page AA2, about the issue of child labour:

Firms could do more on child labour

Craig and Marc Kielburger
Global Voices

With allegations of child labour making world headlines last week, Gap has found itself in a familiar spot - doing damage control.

Executives are hitting the airwaves in full force, expressing shock and anger over a British newspaper investigation that found Indian children as young as 10 working in brutal conditions to make Gap clothing.

Blaming an unethical subcontractor, Gap has promised to fix the problem, saying it will ensure that all its suppliers adhere to its employee rights' policies, and firing those who don't.

But while the company's PR machine has been working overtime to minimize damage to its image, they've failed to realize that their response will actually do nothing to help the very children they are pledging to protect.

By singling out and punishing individual subcontractors, Gap is pushing child labour further underground. The factor owners involved will simply fire their child workers - forcing them to find work elsewhere. Desperate for money, they will likely become easy targets for exploitation at much more dangerous jobs.

Child labour is rampant in India. Kids as young as 4 work in industries from brick manufacturing to fireworks production.

The UN says there are as many as 55 million child labourers in India, most working in hazardous conditions for pennies a day.

They are there because of chronic poverty in rural raeas, where parents are often forced to sell one of their children into slavery to keep the rest alive. Many are working to repay family debts.

It's a vicious cycle, and until we tackle the root causes of child labour - from a lack of education to the world's insatiable demand for cheap goods - children will continue ending up in the workforce.

With its response over the past week, Gap is missing an opportunity to prove to the world that it is truly serious about contributing to a systematic solution to child labour.

Why not help the children in its factory get an education? Or hire their parents at a fair wage? With second-quarters sales of nearly $4 billion this year alone, the company could easily ensure these child workers are well taken care of.

Reebok was rocked by similar allegations last decade, and they did just that. The children working in their soccer ball production factories were sent to school and their parents were given employment training. Reebok was celebrated for showing a long-term commitment to its former young workers.

Gap has been in this position before. In 2000, a BBC documentary showed young girls in Cambodia making clothing for them, causing a huge public backlash.

The company responded by implementing strict policies forbiding the use of child labour. With these new allegations, Gap pointed out that it cut ties with 23 of its factories last year alone with incidences of child labour were discovered.

Executives also said that Gap has 90 full-time inspectors who make unannounced visits to the company's suppliers worldwide, looking for rights violations.

But that is not enough.

The company can instead become a truly responsible corporation by ensuring these child labourers - and any future ones - are not simply rehired somewhere else by providing them and their families with an opportunity to find their way out of poverty.

Now that would be great PR.

Craig and Marc Kielburger co-founded Free The Children, which is active in the developing world. Online:Craig and Marc Kielburger discuss global issues every Monday in the World & Comment section. Take part in the discussion online at thestar.com/globalvoices.