Garment Workers In India, Bangladesh Are Reporting Child Labour Using A Toll Free Number

Admin 01-Oct-2016 13:40:30 Inothernews

Garment Workers In India, Bangladesh Are Reporting Child Labour Using A Toll Free Number


When we shop, we don't realise that the things we buy may cost someone their entire childhood. Exploitation of children has been a fallout of industrialisation for ages and it may take a few more years before we completely eradicate child labour from our system. But now, textile workers from countries from Bangladesh to Turkey are reporting child labour using their mobile phones. By pressing 1 on their phones, they are directly reaching the authorities and reporting everything wrong about the system. Two US-based mobile service providers are behind this, and encourage workers to use a toll-free number and register their case using 1 or 2; 1 being yes and 2 being no. Child labour, daily wages and trafficking are the most common issues of all. “One of the big challenges for companies in locations far from their suppliers is: How do you hear from workers directly?” said Sarah Labowitz, co-director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at the NYC Stern School of Business in New York. The motive behind this agenda is to make it easier for labourers to report their cases. They also wish to inform brands about what is happening on the other end of the organisation, so they can either tighten their regulations or take charge of things.



Modern slavery and exploitation must come to an end.

“When it comes to issues such as discrimination, harassment and abuse, workers have a role in flagging these problems. And as with a lot of social problems, we often look to technology for solutions,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The two systems are called Labor link and LaborVoices, and are essentially the same in nature. 'Are you being treated fairly?', 'Are wages paid on time?', 'Are fire exits locked?, 'Have you seen a child worker?' are the sort of questions asked. As a result, many organisations even across India are at a high risk of Child Labor, says a spokesperson.

Since mobile phones are omnipresent, these companies are using technology to get to the bottom of the problem. This comes as a real deal-changer since conventional audits are hard to conduct and labourers do not confess things easily in person.

But while technology can help flag abuses in the supply chain, it cannot single-handedly solve them, Labowitz said.

title=

Related Post