ETI Briefing

Final Report on ETI Child Labour Project
2001-2004

by Juliet Edington, ETI, April 2005

This report aims to communicate the experience and lessons generated by the work of the ETI UK Child Labour Project Group between 2001-2004. It covers the identification of a project location and initial work on garments in Tamil Nadu, India. Ultimately the project was closed without achieving its aims, however there were some positive outcomes as well as useful lessons from negative experiences.

Executive Summary

This report aims to communicate the experience, and lessons generated by the UK ETI Child Labour Project Group between 2001-2004.

The ETI Child Labour project started in 2001 and was closed in August 2004. It involved company, trade union and NGO members of ETI and their suppliers, affiliates and partners in Tamil Nadu. The aim of the project was to assist companies in identifying the likely risk of child labour in their supply chains, develop effective monitoring methodology and provide guidance on how to respond responsibly where it is found. The garment industry in Tamil Nadu India was selected as a the location for colloborative work to test and develop guidance.

Whilst the early stages of the project generated some useful background information and tools, the second phase of the project – practical work in Tamil Nadu - did not proceed as planned. Having failed to recruit a local co-ordinator and after a year of trying unsuccessfully to launch activities in Tamil Nadu, the project was closed. Despite not achieving all its aims there were some positive outcomes from the project and even negative experience generated a number of useful lessons.

Key achievements included:

• Development of a risk mapping methodology with the potential for wider application
• A review of existing work on child labour
• Provision of first hand exposure to child labour for ETI members
• A tool for supply chain mapping to assist corporate members.

Challenges that contributed to the decision to close the project included:

• Limitations posed by location and resources
• Levels of trust and commitment
• Communication and differing expectations.
• Project Design

Both the achievements and challenges generated lessons for the future. In summary:

• The imbalance in capacity/resources of trade union and NGO representatives’ versus corporate members needs to be addressed.
• Tensions within the UK membership in relation to views on child labour need to be resolved before attempting to work with partners overseas on the basis of the agreed ETI code and membership principles.
• Equal time for relationship building among groups overseas as in the UK is required (this can be long.
• A sufficiently strong institutional relationship with suppliers/partners overseas should be in place prior to attempts to develop a longer-term project.
• Future work on child labour should be positioned in the context of a project with a remit to examine the problem within the context of wider fundamental labour rights issues.
• Good communication is key and face-to-face communication can significantly help to build trust, understanding and shared expectations.
• How the project design may need to be altered at in the light of lessons learnt.

ETI remains committed to developing guidance on child labour in line with ILO standards. We will be looking closely at the lessons learned from this process. Discussions will be held with the membership in summer 2005 about how, in the light of this experience, the ETI can most effectively generate learning on how to tackle child labour in global supply chains. A plan for doing so will then put in place.

 

 

See also

ETI Activities: Experimental projects: Child Labour Project

Resources: Child Labour