2020 World Day Against Child Labour_CCR CSR Info Package_June 12 | Page 4

CHILD LABOUR IN FOCUS: CHAL
TAKES POSITIVE TUR
Taotao* was 13 years old when he decided to
quit school. He had not yet finished his 9 years of
compulsory education in China, but was determined
to swap homework for an income. He struggled in
class and found no pleasure in learning. His home
life was also in disarray with his parents divorced and
siblings scattered between relatives’ homes. In his
spare time, he played games on his phone and kept
to himself. Although he had decided to take the huge
step of ending his education, he had no clear life plan
or goals in sight.
His mother tried everything to convince him to stay
in school, and finally resorted to letting him work in
a printing factory to learn for himself that work life is
not easy. She hoped the long hours and tiring work
would prompt him to change his mind and go back
to school after the summer holidays. But her plan
backfired. Instead, Taotao insisted on continuing to
work. That October, Taotao was spotted by an auditor.
As he was under the legal minimum working age and
handling hazardous chemicals, the brand immediately
notified CCR CSR to conduct a rapid assessment
and to put a remediation plan into motion. The
swift action allowed CCR CSR to track down Taotao
before he “disappeared” to assess his situation and
interview him, his relatives and the responsible
factory staff. The factory was also co-operative and
gave CCR CSR access to worker files and staff for
interviews. A health check for Taotao was arranged
to make sure that his health wasn’t harmed by the
exposure to chemicals, which was paid for by the
factory as part of the remediation programme.
Taotao clearly didn’t thrive in the public education
system, so CCR CSR explored a wide range of
vocational training options and proposed these to
Taotao. It was 2018 when he was discovered, but
throughout the almost 2 years of regular monitoring,
visits and training proposals, Taotao refused each and
every offer that came his way. Throughout this period,
he received a monthly living stipend to discourage
him from working again and CCR CSR was in regular
contact with him to keep an eye on him and to offer
support.
The breakthrough finally came in Spring 2020 after
Taotao spent an extended period in lockdown in his
hometown due to COVID-19. Taotao’s grandmother
– whom Taotao was staying with at the time – was
taken away ill for two months. His mother was in
lockdown in another city so Taotao was left home
alone to fend for himself. During that time, he lived
almost exclusively off instant noodles. Another blow