A new scheme to eliminate child labour in the football stitching industry of northern India has begun under the supervision of the Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) consultancy.
The five year initiative, which was launched on 1 January, will concentrate on factories in Jalandhar, which is one of the worldês main centres for the making of footballs.
SGS, an international consultancy specialising in supply chain auditing work, will oversee the child labour project and provide alternative working arrangements.
Keith Jones, SGS's UK manager for social accountability, said that 27 manufacturers had recently combined to form the Sports Goods Foundation of India.
This body had commissioned SGS as monitoring manager for the project, he added.
‘We will arrange home visits, using local male and female visitors, to ascertain where child labour is happening,ê he said.
‘Although itês a five-year scheme we anticipate achieving very positive results within the first 12 months.ê
The SGS-led project is supported by the Indian government, which has pledged to eliminate child labour in the industry and provide retraining for those affected.
Jones estimates that around 80 per cent of the worldês football stitchers are now covered by child labour projects. This estimate takes into account the Sialkot project in Pakistan, a similar venture launched more than a year ago that also focuses on football stitching.
‘That means we should be able to make big inroads across the sectorê, Jones added. The Sialkot project is currently under review, with SGS being one of the main contenders to take on monitoring work during its next stage.
Six
further companies have become members of SA8000, the ethical trading
standard. Cosmetics retailer Avon, Dole Food Company of the US,
retailer Toys ‘Rê Us, French supermarket chain Promod–s, German mail
order company Otto-Versand, and the US clothing companies Eileen Fisher
and Cutter & Buck will request and eventually require their
suppliers and production facilities to meet the standard, and be
certified for demonstrating that they comply. See also pages 9 and 12.