Business, Society, and Policy
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Business, Society, and Policy
Introduction
Child labour is one of the biggest problems being faced by the industrial world in the current business environment. Despite the best efforts from governments around the world, it was very difficult to curb the menace effectively. The problem of child labour is severe in the developing countries like India, China, and many African countries. The practice of employing children has an adverse impact not only on the future lives of children but also on the society they live in. There is a rich literature on the impact of child labour on the future of children and society. The current paper reviews the core literature in the area and a real-life case detailing the steps taken to prevent child labour.
Literature Review
A lot of attention has been given to the issue of child labour and the ways in which can be prevented among the business circles and the government over the past few decades. The issue got widespread attention when a number of corporations in both the developed and developing were found to be employing child labour. Despite not employing child labour directly on their own, many small component manufacturers and suppliers of big corporations like Philip Morris and Victoria’s Secret in the developed world were found to be employing child labour (5 giant companies 2012). Revelations of the use of child labour by corporations either directly or indirectly has led to a severe loss of reputation for reputation for the corporations and the governments of countries where they are incorporated.
The issue of Child labour has been subject to a lot of societal and regulatory attention since the early 20th century. Governments of industrialized countries around the world have passed a number of laws that has restricted the minimum working age for children. International organizations like the International Labour Organization created in the year 1919 too have followed suit and created a number of regulations to restrict the use of child labour in their business operations (Kolk and Tulder 2002). The problem of child labour more rampant in poor developing countries due to the lack of will from the governments and the poor execution of legislations. Since many corporations in the western countries started outsourcing their manufacturing and other business operations to these developing countries, child labour used in factories there started impacting the reputation. Despite the issue of child labour receiving significant global attention since the early 1970s, it was only during the 1990s that the abuse of child rights in developing countries starting gaining momentum globally. Consumers too have started to stay away from buying the products/services of companies which employ child labourers either directly or indirectly. In order to avoid the legal issues arising out of employing child labourers and face the consumer backlash against them, corporations too have started a number of steps voluntarily to avoid employing child labour. One of the most important steps taken by both the corporates and NGOs fighting child labour is using social labelling to make the consumers aware regarding the steps taken by them to prevent the abuse of child rights (Hilowitz 1997). Under this system, companies stick labels on their products stating that their manufacturing process did not involve child labourers. This step had a good effect in impacting the public perception regarding their corporate brands. Some big companies have also started a strict audit of the businesses of their suppliers to ensure that they do not procure raw materials/components utilizing child labour.
Gap Inc. (Gap) is one of the leading apparel brands in the world with presence across a number of developing and developed countries in the world. It products are available in 80 countries around the world (Be the world’s n.d.). It makes high quality and high priced garments that are sold for a premium price. Traditionally, the company used to procure a big chunk of the raw materials required for its products from different parts of the world. The advent of new competition from players in the emerging world and the cheap manufacturing costs in the emerging markets like China and Cambodia have forced it to outsource its manufacturing process to those countries. However, the company faced problems regarding the utilization of child labour in some of the markets where it procured raw materials and outsourced manufacturing operations.
In order to effectively handle any backlash from the consumers regarding the use of child labour, Gap has followed a zero tolerance policy regarding child labour and has come out with policies that prohibited companies doing business with it from utilizing child labour. Right the from the time it started depending upon the emerging markets for procuring raw materials and outsourcing the manufacture of garments, the company has recognized that child labour is one of the most complicated human rights issue it had to deal with. Gap has also put in place a rigorous process in cases where child labourers were found to be used in the factories making apparels for any of its plants. The below analysis of the case give a thorough analysis of the steps taken by Gap in controlling the abuse of child rights.
Despite the rapid technological advancements that have reduced the use of manual labour in many industries across the world, apparel sector still depends a lot on human labourers in its business operations. Use of child labour in this highly intensive sector is highly prevalent in many of the developing markets where apparel manufacturing is concentrated like Bangladesh and India. Gap too has faced a number of problems regarding the utilization of child labour in the fields and factories of developing countries. Some of the instances where Gap faced problems regarding child labour are:
Child Labour Issues in the Garment Industry of Cambodia
Gap outsources a lot of its manufacturing work to factories in Cambodia. Apparel workers in Cambodia were also paid lesser compensation than their global counterparts (Campbell 2013). One of the problems faced by Gap in Cambodia was that the local governments helped factories to get legal certificates that misrepresented the actual ages of the workers. A surprise check conducted by the International Labour Organization has found that three major apparel factories in Cambodia were employing underage workers (Conditions in Cambodia 2013). Since many of the labourers in Cambodia migrate from rural to urban areas for higher incomes, they too go to great lengths to procure counterfeit documents that misrepresent their age. In order to effectively address the problem, Gap started to work closely with the government of Cambodia and international organizations like International Labour Organization to take action of the local authorities who were involved in misrepresenting the ages of underage workers.
Child Labour in the Fields of Uzbekistan
Every year, nearly a million children in Uzbekistan were forced to work in the fields of Uzbekistan (Social & Environmental Responsibility Report 2012). Students and parents who refuse to work in the cotton fields are subjected to physical violence (The Economist 2013). When Gap found that some of the cotton used to make its apparel from these fields, it took urgent steps to prevent any damage to its brand. It has organized a network of stakeholders like human rights experts, trade unions, investors, and other major global apparel brands that procured from Uzbekistan. Together the network of stakeholders have put pressure on the vendors and the local government to stop underage workers from being used as farm labourers.
Strategies to Solve the Problem of Child Labour
Basing on its experience in handling child labour issues, Gap has developed a three pronged strategy to effectively handle the issues related to child labour. The elements of this three pronged strategy developed by Gap are discussed below:
Monitor the Factories that Produced its Apparel
In certain developing countries like Cambodia and Bangladesh where Gap procures its raw materials and outsources the manufacturing process, the enforcement of the laws related to child labour is very weak. Hence, there are a good number of chances for companies to give erroneous information regarding the labour used in its factories. In order to overcome this problem effectively, Gap has started a policy of directly monitoring the manufacturers and sub-contractors involved in the manufacturing of its brands. It had a team of ‘Social Responsibility Specialists’ who conduct surprise visits on the factories and review the age-verifying documents of labourers. The Social Responsibility Specialists also interviewed the workers personally wherever they thought it was necessary. Gap has also aided the factories in improving the verification and records retention system so that factories do not employ underage workers even out of mistake. The idea of conducting personal visits to the factories is an excellent step in controlling child labour as it gave direct control over the factories where its goods are manufactured.
Implement a Comprehensive Remediation Plan
Despite the best assurances given by its manufacturers regarding the non-utilization of child labourers in their factories, there were cases when underage workers were found during the checks conducted by Gap’s Social Responsibility Specialists. In such cases, the company has come out with a comprehensive remediation plan to protect the interests of child labourers. According to the remediation plan, the manufacturer needs to immediately remove the underage worker from work. The factory is also obliged to give the underage workers access to school, pay the ongoing wage during the stay at school and guarantee a job immediately after reaching the employable age. All the costs for the remediation process have to be borne by the vendor. This policy has forced a number of Gap’s vendors to thoroughly check the age details of workers before employing them in their factories. The remediation plan of Gap is one of the best strategies followed by any company to eradicate child labour as it not only gave relief to underage workers but also gave them access to education facilities.
Work Closely with Stakeholders to Identify Solutions that are Locally Relevant
Despite the best efforts of Gap to reduce child labour in factories where its brands are produced, it can understand the intricacies of the local market conditions. In order to overcome this barrier, Gap implemented a strategy of working closely with its suppliers and come out with solutions that are locally relevant. Gap’s executives worked with local NGOs, activists, and development experts to identify the root causes of child labour and try to come out with appropriate solutions to solve them. Some of the organizations with which it has worked closely are India’s Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) and National Homeworkers’ Group (NHG). While working with thee organizations, Gap has come out with a number of solutions to solve the problem of underage workers in the respective countries. Working with the local groups which have a better understanding of the local problems was a good step by Gap to identify the locally relevant issues and trying to come out with proper solutions to them.
Despite having a three pronged corporate strategy to control child labour, Gap has always ensured that the elements of the strategy are always customized to suit the conditions of the local markets.
Conclusion
Child labour is one of the major human rights problems that is being faced by companies around the world. While some smaller companies employ child labourers on their own despite the knowledge that it was wrong to do, big companies end up indirectly employing the child workers through their vendors. The only way in which corporations and governments can solve this problem is through effective monitoring of the business operations of the vendors, providing them proper support to guidance in following ethical business practices, and taking appropriate action where ever it is necessary. The case of Gap, Inc. which has come out with a three pronged strategy to control child labour can be taken as a good example by other corporations. However, corporations like Gap should come out with more effective strategies like imposing blanket bans on countries that are routinely found to the flouting the international laws regarding child rights to further curb the menace of child labour.
References
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Campbell, S 2013, Cambodia’s garment workers needled by low wages and poor conditions. Available from: < http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/16/cambodia-garment-workers-low-wages-poor-conditions>. [23 October 2014].
RFA 2013, Conditions in Cambodia’s garment industry worsen: ILO. Available from: < http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/garment-07182013175956.html>. [23 October 2014].
Hilowitz, J 1997, ‘Social labelling to combat child labour: Some considerations’, International Labour Review, vol. 136, no. 2, pp. 10-20.
Kolk, A & Tulder, RV 2002, ‘Child labor and multinational conduct’, Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 291-301.
Social & environmental responsibility report 2012. Available from: < http://www.gapinc.com/content/csr/html/human-rights/child-labor.html>. [23 October 2014].
The Economist 2013, In the land of cotton. Available from: < http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2013/10/forced-labour-uzbekistan>. [23 October 2014].
