‘Child labour’ in US hits retail chains

Three US supermarkets have blacklisted a Michigan blueberry farm found using children as pickers.

Wal-Mart, Meijer and Kroger say they have evidence that children as young as five were seen working at the Adkin Blue Ribbon Packing Company.

Wal-Mart said its dealings with Adkin have been halted ‘pending the outcome of an investigation by our ethical sourcing team’.

In footage obtained by ABC News, children were seen carrying buckets of blueberries and providing other help to their parents who were working on the farm. Wal-Mart said it was unaware of the presence of the children until contacted by ABC. However, the US labour department had already found four children, including a six-year-old, in Adkin’s fields in July.  

Adkin said it does not condone the use of children at its farm. ‘Wal-Mart, Kroger and Meijer are very large customers of ours,’ it said. ‘We’re co-operating with them in providing information about our internal investigation, trying to figure out what the kids were doing there.’

Human rights groups claim children are routinely exploited on US farms. They say farming businesses turn a blind eye because of supermarkets’ demands for cheaper goods.

The latest case is not the only instance of child labour in the state of Michigan, which is the largest US blueberry provider. Earlier this year the labour department fined eight Michigan growers, after a random audit of 35 companies, for violating federal labour laws, which ban farms from using children under the age of 12.