In August 2011, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) conducted an assessment of labor and human rights conditions in Nestlé’s hazelnut supply chain in Turkey, responding to a request for an external investigation. Nestlé developed and submitted an action plan to FLA in February 2012 based on the results of the assessment.
In order to evaluate the current working conditions in Nestlé’s hazelnut supply chain and the progress made in the implementation of its action plan, FLA conducted five unannounced independent external monitoring visits to Nestlé suppliers and hazelnuts farms in the Black Sea Region during August 2013. During the monitoring visits, FLA and external assessors visited 67 hazelnut gardens (farms) in Nestlé’s supply chain in the Ordu-Giresun (42 visits) and Akcakoca (25 visits) regions.
The visits included interviews with local and migrant workers and their accompanying family members, growers, and labor contractors. A total of 1,117 workers (866 in Ordu-Giresun and 251 in Akcakoca) were reported to be working in the gardens, of which 263 were interviewed (168 in Ordu-Giresun and 95 in Akcakoca).