HR
should be involved in drawing up companies’ standards of engagement to avoid
using child labour in their supply chain, claims a leading HR academic.
Dr
Diana Winstanley, senior lecturer in HR management at Imperial College, is calling
for employers to have clear specifications on child labour when using overseas
suppliers.
Winstanley’s
report, Approaches to child labour in the supply chain, urges companies to work
in partnership with other employers to combat child labour.
She
said, "Ignorance and indifference are no longer options for companies
faced with human rights abuses further down the supply chain, yet to stick
their heads above the parapet and take action often invites more critical
attention."
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Winstanley
says the cost of addressing child labour is equivalent to 5 per cent of company
profits.
Industries
such as sportswear, football stitching and carpet manufacturers have come under
the spotlight for using child labour in developing countries.
