Children around the globe thrust into scary work environments
Trick or treat. Three simple, little words. Uttered countless number of times, by countless number of kids, dressed in countless different costumes. That’s how most Canadian kids spend Halloween, and they have a grand time doing it.
It’s one of the things that exemplifies what childhood is all about. Good times with friends and family, taking part in fun activities and traditions and learning along the way on the path to becoming an adult.
This Halloween, however, the news that was making headlines put the spotlight on a very different kind of childhood experience. As I was handing out candy to excited young ghosts and goblins, there was a copy of a Toronto Star article sitting on my coffee table with the headline: “Kids work in filth with no pay.” It was a striking contrast — what the kids were doing on my street that night and what was happening to children thousands of kilometres away in India.
The story, broken by a reporter at the British newspaper The Observer, is that child workers, as young as 10, were found working in a textile factory “in conditions close to slavery” to produce garments for clothing retailer The Gap.
I’m not naive. I know a typical night in Canada is better than a typical night in most countries, for children and adults alike. And child labour isn’t exactly a new or isolated problem. There are an estimated 218 million children aged five to 17 engaged in child labour around the world, according to UNICEF. That’s a staggering number. That’s more than the entire populations of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Australia — combined.
The Gap, predictably, moved quickly to distance itself from the problem. It said a subcontractor was hired in violation of its policies, and none of the products being made — beaded children’s blouses destined for America and Europe in time for Christmas — would be sold in its stores.
The San Francisco-based retailer, which has been plagued by similar problems in the past, pointed out it has 90 full-time inspectors who make unannounced visits around the world to ensure vendors are abiding by The Gap’s guidelines. Mark Hansen, president of Gap North America, said the company strictly prohibits the use of child labour.
“This is a non-negotiable for us, and we are deeply concerned and upset by this allegation,” said Hansen.
He said The Gap has called an urgent meeting with suppliers in the region to reinforce its policies and mentioned it stopped working with 23 factories last year over violations uncovered by these inspectors.
Not good enough. As companies continue to outsource and offshore work, they have a responsibility to ensure vulnerable workers aren’t being taken advantage of to save a few bucks. If The Gap was truly serious about eliminating the problem, it would have its managers in place overseeing work done by the suppliers. If the behaviour isn’t good enough for the head office, then it shouldn’t be tolerated overseas.
In a retention survey by David Aplin Recruiting (see related article below), HR practitioners said the number-one thing that would make them think about looking for a new job is being asked to do something unethical. Rounding out the top five was finding out the company was doing something unethical.
It’s hard to think of anything more unethical than forcing children to work for little or no pay. But problems related to offshoring and outsourcing go beyond children. Many adults, working for contractors and subcontractors for Western organizations, toil in conditions that would never be tolerated in Canada. Stories such as the one uncovered by The Observer are, unfortunately, not scarce. But they should be. And they can be.
If an organization is going to go down the outsourcing path, it should treat overseas operations like a subsidiary. Managers should be sent to start up, and run, operations. It’s simply not good enough for an organization to go overseas, look for the cheapest supplier, and just sit back and let the shipments come in without a thought as to who is actually doing the work and under what conditions.
This doesn’t just make sense from an ethics point of view, but from a business one too. How much damage has The Gap’s image suffered as a result of this one article? If The Gap was truly serious about eliminating this problem, it would put those inspectors permanently at every plant where it does business. It shouldn’t be relying on British reporters to spot the problem.
Organizations can’t rely on government to solve the problem either. India’s trade minister, Kamal Nath, seemed more incensed by accusations flung by activists than the plight of children in his own country. He warned the bad publicity could result in rich countries limiting exports from poor nations such as India. To be fair, India has repeatedly tried to ban the use of child workers. In 1986 it barred them from working in dangerous industries, such as glassmaking, and last year it banned them from being employed as domestic servants or in restaurants.
There are other problems associated with outsourcing and offshoring. Just ask Menu Foods, which is still recovering from a pet-food scare from tainted wheat gluten it bought from a Chinese supplier, or toy giant Mattel, which seems to be recalling a product made in China almost every week because of excessive lead levels in paint.
The following headline appeared in the Oct. 31 issue of the New York Times: “2 arrested for slavery in Mauritania.” Mauritania didn’t even outlaw slavery until 1981, and it only became a crime punishable by prison time in August this year. Slavery. There’s a word that should have disappeared from everything but history books a long time ago, and yet it’s still occurring. That’s more fuel on the fire to support the notion of treating overseas operations like subsidiaries.
None of this is to suggest organizations shouldn’t be doing business overseas. And there are plenty of great employers in places such as India, China and Mauritania that care deeply about workers and are doing the right thing. But what it does show is when organizations decide to outsource or offshore work they have a responsibility to ensure the workers doing the job are treated properly. This is the same whether the work is being done in Flin Flon, Man., New Delhi or Beijing.
After all, kids who are being forced into labour have had enough tricks played on them. It’s about time they got some treats.
It’s one of the things that exemplifies what childhood is all about. Good times with friends and family, taking part in fun activities and traditions and learning along the way on the path to becoming an adult.
This Halloween, however, the news that was making headlines put the spotlight on a very different kind of childhood experience. As I was handing out candy to excited young ghosts and goblins, there was a copy of a Toronto Star article sitting on my coffee table with the headline: “Kids work in filth with no pay.” It was a striking contrast — what the kids were doing on my street that night and what was happening to children thousands of kilometres away in India.
The story, broken by a reporter at the British newspaper The Observer, is that child workers, as young as 10, were found working in a textile factory “in conditions close to slavery” to produce garments for clothing retailer The Gap.
I’m not naive. I know a typical night in Canada is better than a typical night in most countries, for children and adults alike. And child labour isn’t exactly a new or isolated problem. There are an estimated 218 million children aged five to 17 engaged in child labour around the world, according to UNICEF. That’s a staggering number. That’s more than the entire populations of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Australia — combined.
The Gap, predictably, moved quickly to distance itself from the problem. It said a subcontractor was hired in violation of its policies, and none of the products being made — beaded children’s blouses destined for America and Europe in time for Christmas — would be sold in its stores.
The San Francisco-based retailer, which has been plagued by similar problems in the past, pointed out it has 90 full-time inspectors who make unannounced visits around the world to ensure vendors are abiding by The Gap’s guidelines. Mark Hansen, president of Gap North America, said the company strictly prohibits the use of child labour.
“This is a non-negotiable for us, and we are deeply concerned and upset by this allegation,” said Hansen.
He said The Gap has called an urgent meeting with suppliers in the region to reinforce its policies and mentioned it stopped working with 23 factories last year over violations uncovered by these inspectors.
Not good enough. As companies continue to outsource and offshore work, they have a responsibility to ensure vulnerable workers aren’t being taken advantage of to save a few bucks. If The Gap was truly serious about eliminating the problem, it would have its managers in place overseeing work done by the suppliers. If the behaviour isn’t good enough for the head office, then it shouldn’t be tolerated overseas.
In a retention survey by David Aplin Recruiting (see related article below), HR practitioners said the number-one thing that would make them think about looking for a new job is being asked to do something unethical. Rounding out the top five was finding out the company was doing something unethical.
It’s hard to think of anything more unethical than forcing children to work for little or no pay. But problems related to offshoring and outsourcing go beyond children. Many adults, working for contractors and subcontractors for Western organizations, toil in conditions that would never be tolerated in Canada. Stories such as the one uncovered by The Observer are, unfortunately, not scarce. But they should be. And they can be.
If an organization is going to go down the outsourcing path, it should treat overseas operations like a subsidiary. Managers should be sent to start up, and run, operations. It’s simply not good enough for an organization to go overseas, look for the cheapest supplier, and just sit back and let the shipments come in without a thought as to who is actually doing the work and under what conditions.
This doesn’t just make sense from an ethics point of view, but from a business one too. How much damage has The Gap’s image suffered as a result of this one article? If The Gap was truly serious about eliminating this problem, it would put those inspectors permanently at every plant where it does business. It shouldn’t be relying on British reporters to spot the problem.
Organizations can’t rely on government to solve the problem either. India’s trade minister, Kamal Nath, seemed more incensed by accusations flung by activists than the plight of children in his own country. He warned the bad publicity could result in rich countries limiting exports from poor nations such as India. To be fair, India has repeatedly tried to ban the use of child workers. In 1986 it barred them from working in dangerous industries, such as glassmaking, and last year it banned them from being employed as domestic servants or in restaurants.
There are other problems associated with outsourcing and offshoring. Just ask Menu Foods, which is still recovering from a pet-food scare from tainted wheat gluten it bought from a Chinese supplier, or toy giant Mattel, which seems to be recalling a product made in China almost every week because of excessive lead levels in paint.
The following headline appeared in the Oct. 31 issue of the New York Times: “2 arrested for slavery in Mauritania.” Mauritania didn’t even outlaw slavery until 1981, and it only became a crime punishable by prison time in August this year. Slavery. There’s a word that should have disappeared from everything but history books a long time ago, and yet it’s still occurring. That’s more fuel on the fire to support the notion of treating overseas operations like subsidiaries.
None of this is to suggest organizations shouldn’t be doing business overseas. And there are plenty of great employers in places such as India, China and Mauritania that care deeply about workers and are doing the right thing. But what it does show is when organizations decide to outsource or offshore work they have a responsibility to ensure the workers doing the job are treated properly. This is the same whether the work is being done in Flin Flon, Man., New Delhi or Beijing.
After all, kids who are being forced into labour have had enough tricks played on them. It’s about time they got some treats.
