Child Labor, Corporate Social Responsibility, Health and Safety, Latin America, Recycling
You have likely seen the photos of children from around the world scavenging gutters and mountains of garbage. You might not, however, associate those photos with positive ecological stories about recycling, circular supply chains, and the benefits of buying products that incorporate recycled content.The environmental benefits of the large-scale recycling industry are significant — landfill waste is reduced, pollution is minimized, greenhouse gases are reduced, and natural resources are preserved, among others. In many locations, the recycling sector is rapidly expanding as companies, governments, and NGOs recognize the critical impact recycling can make.However, what is often hidden in these efforts are the abusive and often hazardous conditions under which material is collected for reuse.
Africa, Asia, Compensation and Hours, Diversity, Domestic Work, Europe, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Institutional Capacity, Latin America, Middle East, North America, Partnership, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Verité
The pace of work at Verité often means conversations across the Verité global network focus on the nuts and bolts of report writing, assessments, trainings, and tool development, among other projects. Rarely do we find the time to reflect on long-term approaches to tackling global labor abuses and considering our evolution as a global network to meet those challenges. This past April, thirty-four Verité partners paused in their day-to-day commitments to gather in Bangkok to share and strategize about the issues most critical to the Verité network’s goal of promoting fair, safe, and legal work.
Extractives, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Freedom of Movement, Latin America, Manufacturing, Migrant Workers, South Asia
Links to stories we’re talking about in January 2018.
Africa, Agriculture, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Latin America
Verité is pleased to announce it is the recipient of two U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs (DOL-ILAB) grants for its work in Guatemala and Ghana. DOL-ILAB’s mission is to promote a fair global playing field for workers in the United States and around the world by enforcing trade commitments, strengthening labor standards, and combating international child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking.
Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking, Health and Safety, Latin America, Partnership, South Asia, Sub Saharan Africa
Target 8.7 of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires that child labor be eliminated by 2015, yet according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 152 million children around the world are in situations of child labor. Verité is currently working with Winrock and Lawyers without Borders to implement CLEAR II, a project to reduce the prevalence of child labor in eight countries. Lisa Cox is spearheading Verité’s role in this partnership, improving the capabilities of public inspectorates and private companies to identify and address child labor.
