APPENDIX 3
Auditors’ Insights from Vietnam: A Run-Down of a Typical Remediation
APPENDIX 3
Auditors’ Insights from Vietnam: A Run-Down of a Typical Remediation
Ms. Ngo recounts another instance where she found child laborers and was not given the contact details of the client to send the report to. Instead, the factory removed the child laborers, hired another audit company and passed the inspection. Because the factory was her client and not the brand, she had to keep her findings confidential.
In addition to the challenges above, Ms. Ngo also feels that a lack of awareness about child labor by factory management contributes to capacity gaps at the HR level:
“ For the initial audit, before the brand signs the agreement with the factory, the factory management is not aware what the definition of child labor is and they are not aware that they cannot hire child laborers. It is very common in Vietnam in the factory’ s first social compliance audit and when the factories are far from Ho Chi Minh City. The parents of the child laborers in these areas are often taking their children with them to factories because they want to control their children. There are two reasons for the factories to hire child laborers: 1) lack of employees; 2) cheap labor( the salary of child laborers is only 50 % of normal workers),” Ms. Ngo explains.
“ Female auditors are more into details, spending more time on auditing and the male [ auditors ] are not too detailoriented. Some auditors don’ t look cross the production line or at the faces and bodies of the workers, so they can not find the child laborer.”
Being able to adapt your communication style is another must-have skill for an auditor, Ms. Ngo stresses. Children shouldn’ t be asked direct questions as this may scare them off.
“ When we talk to the children, we change our voice and we use different ways to address them( brother, sister, etc.), like we talk to the children and family members.”
When it comes to improving the performance of auditors, Ms. Ngo feels that more training is the way to go.“ Brands should pay more attention to monitoring and making sure the auditors are providing the true information. The brands should also provide auditing trainings,” she adds.
With so many challenges thrown in an auditor’ s path, it goes without saying that auditors themselves need to be well trained and tactful. According to the results of CCR CSR’ s online auditor survey, 58 % of auditors interviewed were male and interestingly, Ms. Ngo believes there are some differences:
29 Best Response: Auditors’ Insights on Child Labor in Asia 30