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Inquiry Based Essay

What is Modern Day Slavery and how do companies use child labor to offset costs for production?

What is Modern Day Slavery?

“Modern forms of slavery can include debt bondage, where a person is forced to work for free to pay off a debt, child slavery, forced marriage, domestic servitude and forced labor, where victims are made to work through violence and intimidation (BBC p2).” “the total control of one person by another for the purpose of economic exploitation. [The person] is controlled by violence and denied all of their personal freedom to make money for someone else” (Weitzer p8). Modern Day Slavery has many forms and affects millions of persons around the world. These include forced labor, Debt bondage, human trafficking, descent-based slavery, child slavery and forced and early marriage.

Forced Labor can be described as any work or services which people are forced to do against their will under the threat of some form of punishment(antislavery.org). Debt bondage as a situation in which “people give themselves into slavery as security against a loan or when they inherit a debt from a relative” (Bales p9 2004). Human trafficking involves transporting, recruiting or harboring people for the purpose of exploitation, using violence, threats or coercion(antislavery.org). Descent-based slavery is where people are born into slavery because their ancestors were captured and enslaved; they remain in slavery by descent(anti-slavery.org). The term “child labor” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. Extreme forms of child labor involve children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves in large cities (Chelliah p1).

How widespread is Modern Day Slavery?

“Estimated 40.3 million people were victims of modern slavery in 2016. In other words, on any given day in 2016, there were likely to be more than 40 million men, women, and children who were being forced to work against their will under threat or who were living in a forced marriage that they had not agreed to.”
(International Labour Organization “ILO” p9)

It gets even worse as according to Kate Garbers in a 2018 TedTalk, that number increased to 46 million. This means a lot of the things we consume on a regular basis are actually the result of the blood sweat and tears that are shed by these workers. It also means that the number of people by the years are only increasing as well.

“One in four victims of modern slavery were children. Some 37 per cent (5.7 million) of those forced to marry were children. Children represented 18 per cent of those subjected to forced labor exploitation and 7 per cent of people forced to work by state authorities. Children who were in commercial sexual exploitation (where the victim is a child, there is no requirement of force) represented 21 per cent of total victims in this category of abuse.”
(ILO p10)

One of the largest sectors for this exploitation of children is the chocolate industry. “It is said that an estimated 1.8 million children are currently working in cocoa plantations. Children, between 10 to 15 years old and often younger, are used as slaves to pay off their family’s debts and being forced to do hazardous work” (TheWorldCounts). It is said that up to 200,000 children work in Côte d’Ivoire, the biggest cocoa producer in the world, who supplies 35% of global demands. The problem is most prevalent in West Africa’s Ivory Coast, which supplies 65% of the world’s cocoa (TheWorldCounts).

These involved areas of construction, manufacturing, agriculture and fishing. The largest share was ones under domestic worker with almost a quarter of the amount

“Most victims of forced labor suffered multiple forms of coercion from employers or recruiters as a way of preventing them from being able to leave the situation. Nearly one-quarter of victims (24 per cent) had their wages withheld or were prevented from leaving by threats of non-payment of due wages. This was followed by threats of violence (17 per cent), acts of physical violence (16 per cent), and threats against family (12 per cent). For women, 7 per cent of victims reported acts of sexual violence.”
(ILO)

“Slavery thrives on threat, coercion and deception” (Garber). It sets generations in a perpetual cycle of slavery. People are deceived into the promise of better lives and ended up being trapped in hellish conditions.

What are the conditions that children face when working on Cocoa Fields?

A child’s workday typically begins at six in the morning and ends in the evening. Some of the children use chainsaws to clear the forests (Lamb). Other children climb the cocoa trees to cut bean pods using a machete. These large, heavy, dangerous knives are the standard tools for children on the cocoa farms, which violates international labor laws and a UN convention on eliminating the worst forms of child labor (Kirkhorn).

“ Once they cut the bean pods from the trees, the children pack the pods into sacks that weigh more than 100 pounds when full and drag them through the forest Aly Diabate, a former cocoa slave, said, “Some of the bags were taller than me. It took two people to put the bag on my head. And when you didn’t hurry, you were beaten.””
(foodispower.org)

Being forced to open pods with various tools. Prying the cocoa pods with a machete which exposes them to many cuts and bruises. Being “recompensated” with ¼ of what a livable wage is.

Children working in cocoa field


Men and young boys working on a small cocoa farming commune near Abengourou, Côte d’Ivoire

Why do companies involve themselves with Modern Day Slavery?

“Fast fashion has engendered a race to the bottom, pushing companies to find ever-cheaper sources of labor. (Moulds)” Companies spend a lot less on producing goods with the utilization of child and forced labor. “Agrupación de Fabricantes de Aceites Marinos (AFAMSA), Colgate-Palmolive, Elevance Renewabe Sciences, The Kellogg Company (Kellogg’s), Nestlé and Reckitt Benckiser are sourcing palm oil from refineries where the palm oil has been directly supplied or, at the very least, been mixed with palm oil produced on plantations where there are severe labour rights abuses”(Amnesty p10) .The non-factor of keeping people in “humane” conditions as well as not necessarily worrying of paying at minimum wage allows a company to reap a lot more profit that they are really supposed to get. They maneuver through many loopholes to keep them above the law. One of these is with the stakeholder theory. “In the realm of stakeholder theory, employees are regarded as a key direct stakeholder in an organization. Yet when labor inputs are externalized through third party sourcing arrangements there is no recognition of third-party workers (including children) as stakeholders even as indirect stakeholders. Thereby, their welfare does come under the corporate radar (Chellia).” Therefore, the company is not accountable for the mistreatment of the workers that are not directly under their care.

Why won’t companies stop utilizing child and forced labor even after being exposed using it?

Money. Money is the reason for companies refusing to stop utilizing forced and child labor in their workforces

“The relatively low wages paid to children are often a reason why employers prefer them to adult workers. Some children work unpaid, particularly as domestic workers, in conditions that would be termed as “slavery” if they involved adults. Employers find children more obedient and easier to control. Unlike older workers, they are unlikely to initiate protests or form trade unions.”
(newlanark.org p.3)

 Chocolate is a huge industry in which child labor is used to produce its goods. “The world’s chocolate companies have missed deadlines to uproot child labor from their cocoa supply chains in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Next year, they face another target date and, industry officials indicate, they probably will miss that, too” (Whoriskey and Seigel).  As a result, the odds are substantial that a chocolate bar bought in the United States is the product of child labor. “About two-thirds of the world’s cocoa supply comes from West Africa where, according to a 2015 U.S. Labor Department report, more than 2 million children were engaged in dangerous labor in cocoa-growing regions.” 
(Whoriskey and Seigel)

The issue is not they don’t know how to stop this sort of slavery from continuing. The issue is it would limit the amount of revenue the incur. “In all, the industry, which collects an estimated $103 billion in sales annually, has spent more than $150 million over 18 years to address the issue” (Whoriskey and Seigel). The extra incentive to remove child labor from their system would force them to spend more money on salaries which would increase the price of chocolate. This increase in prices would deter some consumers from spending on the product and that would lessen their overall profit. Profit… the word that keeps “an estimated 1.8 million children are currently working in cocoa plantations.” (TheWorldCounts). 1.8 million children that should be in school, that should be looking in the future at jobs and education that can provide for them and their families.

What is being done to combat Child Labor in the Chocolate Industry?

Well with the proliferation of social media and easy access to information, companies are now being forced to put a proactive stance against child labor. Large companies have started to put in long term plans that will cut the amount of child workers and even give back to the communities that they affected with their venture. “Nestle’s goal is to plant at least 1 million higher-yielding, disease-resistant cocoa trees in plantations within the Ivory Coast annually to ensure a reliable supply” (Forshee 18). “The plan also calls for building or fixing up 40 schools in the Ivory Coast by next year in an effort to keep children away from farms” (18).

What would be the result of completely removing child laborers and forced labor from the chocolate industry?

In the 2018 edition of the Cocoa Barometer, a report examining the economics of cocoa, showed that there are over 2 million “legitimate” farmers in Côte d’Ivôire and Ghana alone. 2.2 million child laborers from West Africa are also a part of the industry. This makes up 15% of the total contributors in the cocoa market. According to Cocoa Barometer, they make and average 78¢ per day. A living wage is over 3 times that amount. To remove all or most of the children plus raise the wages to that of a livable condition, this would cause companies billions of dollars to do. Rapid improvement of the situation is not something we can look forward. With the various plans that companies like Nestle are putting in place, the goal of zero child slaves seem to be long term. Unfortunate as it is, progress is progress, and this is something we can look at positively.

In conclusion, slavery is still and will continue to be a major factor in goods we consume around the world. The chocolate industry is just one of the tens of hundreds of businesses that is wrapped and strives off child slavery. On paper, things are being done to rectify the horrid situation we find ourselves in with modern day slavery. But it has been on paper for 20+ years. With the prevalence of social media and awareness of situations, issues like these can be brought to light much easier and reach a wide range of people. So, it is my hope that in our near future, people around the world can achieve emancipation as this country did centuries ago.

Cites

  • Lamb, Christina. “The Child Slaves of the Ivory Coast – Bought and Sold for as Little as £40.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 22 Apr. 2001, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/cotedivoire/13170

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/cotedivoire/1317006/The-child-slaves-of-the-Ivory-Coast-bought-and-sold-for-as-little-as-40.html

http://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_575479/lang–en/index.htm

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/files/the_great_palm_oil_scandal_lr.pdf?NKAyOStHpSN2j7oq1k8nFEpK16YTgb0O=

  • Moulds, Josephine. “Child Labour in the Fashion Supply Chain.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, https://labs.theguardian.com/unicef-child-labour/.
  • Whoriskey, Peter and Siegel, Rachel.“Hershey, Nestle and Mars Won’t Promise Their Chocolate Is Free of Child Labor.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 5 June 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/business/hershey-nestle-mars-chocolate-child-labor-west-africa/.
  • “Child Labor in Chocolate Industry.” The World Counts, https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Child-Labor-in-Chocolate-Industry.
  • https://www.voicenetwork.eu/cocoa-barometer/
  • https://www.newlanark.org/uploads/Reasons%20for%20CHILD%20LABOUR.pdf

Academic

  • Forshee, Stephanie. “Taking a chomp out of child labor.” San Fernando Valley Business Journal, 8 Sept. 2014, p. 1+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A385806451/ITOF?u=cuny_ccny&sid=ITOF&xid=fe3ef5db. Accessed 28 Oct. 2019.

“Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery.” 41 (2015): 223. Web.

Event

  • Modern slavery, hidden in plain sight | Kate Garbers | TEDxExeter, 2018
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