Date of publication: September 11, 2009
Source: Rubber and Plastics News
» Read the original article [1]
Liberia, Burma, Cambodia and the Philippines use child labor in the production of natural rubber, according to a list compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
Developed from procedural guidelines published in the Dec. 27, 2007, Federal Register, the ILAB list presents 122 agricultural or manufactured goods in 58 countries that it says are produced in violation of international standards against child labor and forced labor.
Cambodia uses forced labor as well as child labor in the production of rubber, according to the ILAB list. Footwear manufacturers in Bangladesh, Brazil, India and Indonesia use child labor, whereas those in China use forced labor, the list states.
ILAB quoted statistics from the International Labor Organization stating that some 218 million children work worldwide, 126 million of them in hazardous occupations. Also, the ILO estimates that some 12.3 million people, both children and adults, are trapped in forced labor around the world.