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Child Labor
WORKPLACE CODE PROVISION: "No person will be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where the law of the country of manufacture allows) or younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the country of manufacture where such age is higher than 15."
Click here to access FLA Benchmarks for this provision.
FLA Year Two IEM Findings - Child Labor
* Please note that these findings represent the 1,595 incidences of separate noncompliance issues as found in 105 of the 110 factories subjected to IEMs in Year Two.
Click here for more about the way this data was collected.
Of the 110 factories that were independently monitored in Year Two, there were no reported instances of children working in factories. The 2 percent of all noncompliance issues that related to the Child Labor Code provision totaled 26 incidents, 42 percent of which related to incomplete or fraudulent age documentation. In other cases, factories had not taken adequate measures to verify the age of workers (19percent). Most of these cases related more to adequate record-keeping on the part of the factory than to issues directly related to Child Labor. As a result, factories were required to improve those systems. Click here to access a breakdown of Year Two reported noncompliance issues tallied according to the Child Labor benchmarks.
In six instances (19 percent), factories failed to comply with legal provisions for juvenile workers, who have reached the minimum legal working age as defined by local law, but due to their age are limited in the kind of work that they are allowed to do. Working with dangerous chemicals or using heavy or dangerous machinery are among the kinds of work that these workers are restricted from doing in many countries. In the reported instances of noncompliance, juvenile workers were engaged in restricted work, such as dying cloth or cutting. In these cases, the companies worked with factories to ensure that the legal limitations for juvenile work were understood, and that necessary arrangements were made for these workers.
The presence of child care facilities in factories also arose as an issue in two audits. In some countries, factories are required to provide child care if the production workforce exceeds a certain number. Not all laws provide specifications about the quality of the facilities, however, leaving room for substandard child care facilities. In these cases, companies required factories to provide clean and safe child care facilities.
Please click here to visit the tracking charts to review how various companies have worked to remediate these and other issues.
Link to:
FLA BENCHMARKS: CHILD LABOR
A. WORKPLACE CODE PROVISION: No person will be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where the law of the country of manufacture allows) or younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the country of manufacture where such age is higher than 15.
B. Benchmarks
- If the law requires government permits or permission from parents, as a condition of employment, the employers will keep documentation on-site for inspection at all times.
- Employers will maintain proof of age documentation for all workers, such as a birth certificate, which verifies date of birth.
- In those cases where proof of age documentation is not readily available, employers will take precautions to ensure that all workers are at least the minimum working age, including medical or religious records, or other means considered reliable in the local context.
- Apprentices or vocational students will be at least the minimum working age.
- Employers will comply with all regulations and requirements of apprentice of vocational education programs, and will be able to document to monitor that these are legally recognized programs. Informal arrangements, which result in students leaving school prior to attaining the compulsory age for schooling, are not acceptable.
- Childcare facilities will not physically overlap with production areas, and children will not have access to production areas.
- Children under the local minimum working age will not be allowed in the factory work area at any time, unless they are part of a guided school group tour or other such unusual event. Children must not visit parents in the factory production areas.
- Employers will comply with applicable laws that apply to young workers, i.e., those between the minimum working age and the age of 18, including regulations relating to hiring, working conditions, types of work, hours of work, proof of age documentation, and overtime.
- Employers will have a system for identifying work stations and operations that are inappropriate for young workers according to applicable laws.
- Employers will ensure that, all workers engaged in operating or working close to hazardous equipment, working at dangerous heights or lifting heavy loads, or exposed to hazardous substances, are above the legal age for such work.
| Child Labor Benchmarks |
Number of Noncompliance Issues |
Percent of Total |
| Parent Consent Documentation |
0 |
0% |
| Age Documentation |
11 |
42% |
| Age Verification |
5 |
19% |
| Legal working Age (Vocational) |
0 |
0% |
| Legal Compliance (Apprenticeships) |
0 |
0% |
| Childcare Facilities |
2 |
8% |
| Children on premises |
0 |
0% |
| Legal Compliance for Juvenile workers |
5 |
19% |
| Juvenile worker Identification System |
1 |
4% |
| Lack of protection of under age workers |
2 |
8% |
| Child Labor Other |
0 |
0% |
| Total |
26 |
100 % |
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