governing child labor in a global supply chain
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Governing child labor in a global supply chain. Insights from a child labor intervention in India’s carpet industry. Akshay Mangla Presented at Just Supply Chains Conference, Stanford University May 16, 2008. Background on child labor in Carpet Belt. Based in eastern Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Governing child labor in a global supply chain
Insights from a child labor intervention in India’s carpet industry
Akshay Mangla
Presented at Just Supply Chains Conference, Stanford University
May 16, 2008
Background on child labor in Carpet Belt Based in eastern Uttar Pradesh (U.P.)
Pop. 170 million Developmentally “backward” state Socially and politically fragmented
Carpet Belt is largest production region of India 85% of Indian carpets in 2006
Industry is highly export-oriented $620 million export revenue in 2006
Relies heavily on informal production and home-based work in rural areas
Estimates for child labor range from 130,000 – 350,000
Late 1980s witnessed domestic public scrutiny on child labor in the industry Domestic activists focus on state policy for
bonded child labor Joined by international activists in 1990s
targeting all forms of child labor 80% of exports go to Germany and United
States
Challenge of governing labor conditions in carpet supply chain
Foreign Buyer
Exporter
Washer
Raw Material Supplier
Finisher
Dyer
Loom Owner/ Weaver
Weaver Weaver Weaver
Three alternative responses to “child labor” in the Carpet Belt Indian state responds to domestic activism with greater legal enforcement
1986 Child labor Act identifies carpets as “hazardous” sector in accordance with ILO Convention 182 Chief strategy to deter child labor (ages 5-14) through inspections, fines and legal prosecution 1987 National Child Labor Project (NCLP) directs resources towards rescue and rehabilitation Labor Dept. primarily focused on factory and bonded child labor Informality and conflicting legal norms complicates implementation
CLA does not apply to informal or home-based production
Private sector responds to activism and consumer sentiment with social labeling initiatives Chief strategy to monitor suppliers and reward (penalize) good (bad) behavior Various labels emerged with little coordination between them
E.g. STEP Rugmark, Kaleen, Care and Fair Child labor identified according to Indian legal definition but with focus on home-based weaving implementation challenge due to geographic scale, informality, and disaggregated supply chain
UNICEF-IKEA Bal Adhikar Initiative A community-based intervention that addresses “supply side” causes of child labor
Involves local NGOs working at the community-level Identify target communities and “at-risk” families with help from local NGOs and IKEA suppliers Strategy includes social mobilization, alternative schooling, and women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs)
UNICEF abides by U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Initiative recast definition of child labor as “non-schoolgoing children” Challenge of gaining community support and mobilizing residents under conditions of poverty, child
labor norms, and existing caste and gender hierarchies
Local NGOs harness the “moral basis” of social capital to facilitate change Work through existing norms and
hierarchies to gain legitimacy and community participation Morally sensitive language Street plays conveys injustice without
offending Women qua mothers mobilized as social
change agents Network of community members monitor
school enrolment Alternative school run by residents SHG members, teachers and even children
monitor attendance Shared moral understanding provides
framework for negotiating tradeoffs Yet the same strategies that facilitate
change also constrain it Parents cannot be coerced into sending
children to school Drawing on caste identities may hinder
concerted public action on a larger scale Working around state agencies can limit
sustainability
Summing up
Child labor can be addressed in a global supply chain Social and political factors keep children away from school, not just poverty
Governing child labor in a global supply chain requires contextual knowledge: industry, legal conditions, state resources, local institutions, as well as moral norms and hierarchies that govern society
Methods of “top-down” regulation by the state can address some forms of child labor but also may lead to greater informality
Under conditions of informality, geographic dispersion and organizational fragmentation, standard monitoring approaches are constrained
Participatory interventions have more flexibility to work within communities to effect change from the “bottom-up”
Yet community participation carries a price as global child labor norms may clash with local norms and developmental states Some local norms and hierarchies are highly resistant to change
State is still the “legitimate” provider of public goods and services Challenge of working with state agencies despite weak rule of law In large federations like India local interventions can have spillover effects