APPENDIX 1
Insights from an Auditor in India: Child Labor is Most Prominent Among Subcontractors
APPENDIX 1
Insights from an Auditor in India: Child Labor is Most Prominent Among Subcontractors
Disclaimer: The following story is based on an in-depth interview CCR CSR conducted with a senior auditor based in India. In order to protect his identity, an alias was used throughout the story. The views presented in this article are based on the interview transcripts and do not necessarily reflect the views of CCR CSR.
“ We have been auditing in main manufactory units, where we have never come across child labor. It is in the supply chain outside the main factories where we found instances of child labor.” Mr. Ganesh has over 15 years of auditing experience in industries covering apparels, sports goods, agricultural products, jewelry and home goods and has conducted assessments and verification of reports indicating child labor.
As part of his role, Mr. Ganesh has travelled to provinces far and wide across India to conduct audits. This has given him an in-depth insight into the reasons for child labor and also into how it takes shape.
“ Last year, we did a pilot research study initiated by a social compliance initiative for some European brands on home workers and child labor in the footwear supply chain, in which we witnessed children working from home in some villages in South India. There are some communities, in which women usually work from home due to cultural reasons and preferred to work at home during their spare time after house chores( attaching uppers to shoe soles). We noticed that some shoes were hand stitched at home by children to help their parents after school.”
Mr. Ganesh’ s discovery suggests that routine factory audits do not always represent the full picture when it comes to child labor. Most of the children who work from home are not directly hired but work along with elders at home, to whom work is outsourced through local subcontractors and therefore often fails to come under the radar of brands and auditors.
As far as child laborers go, the ones who have time to study and work are arguably the fortunate ones. There are plenty of children in India who forsake schooling altogether to work. As Mr. Ganesh explains, many schools across India are not well established. Often they are located far from the children’ s homes and many suffer from high teacher absenteeism rates. What’ s more, many parents don’ t see their children’ s education as an investment but as a potential threat to the family unit. Some of the parents who have been involved with such work, expressed reservations about sending their children to school and preferred to involve them with the tradition of work being done so they could carry on with the family business.
“ Parents are scared that if the children go to school, they are exposed and learn too much, they will find a job in the city and leave them alone at home in the villages,” Mr. Ganesh tells us.
One can therefore argue that in many cases, the seeds of child labor have been sewn in the family home, where parents’ lack of awareness of the importance and value in education translates into children shunning the classroom in favor of work. Further adding to the complexity of the situation, Mr. Ganesh does not believe that simply removing the child laborers from the workplace is the best solution:
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