In early December 2023, AIM-Progress and a group of 12 member companies will begin a three-month rollout of a child and forced labor prevention supplier capability building initiative and launch child labor remediation guidance for more than 600 US supply chain partners. Our goal is to address allegations of increased risks of forced and child labor reported in US supply chains in 2023.
Supply chain partners including co-packers, co-manufacturers, labor providers and service providers will receive access to training via webinars or online, designed and delivered by Verité, experts in addressing serious labor rights issues, The goal of the training is to support supply chain partners to adhere to applicable labor laws, recruit labor responsibly and minimize risks of forced and child labor.
Evidence from the US Department of Labor and the National Human Trafficking Hotline indicates that cases of forced labor and child labor nationwide have increased significantly in the last five years. Cases of minors employed in violation of hazardous occupation laws and working outside of federally allowed hours have also increased across states and industries. Research indicates that increased global poverty, volatility and migration, alongside shortages in the US labor market are contributing factors in these trends.
AIM-Progress aims to positively impact people’s lives and promote respect for human rights, while delivering value to our members and their supply chains. With these goals in mind, our initiative will aim to increase the identification of cases of forced and child labor, promote the provision of remediation for exploited workers and intends to help tackle root causes, including empowering workers to realize their rights and to raise issues. It will focus on both directly employed workers and those sourced via temporary staffing agencies or service providers, recognizing that the risks of forced and child labor apply to, or can impact, both groups.
AIM-Progress recognizes that we will only effectively address these issues and enable remediation for those affected if there is transparency about forced and child labor.
As initial steps, the initiative will support members’ co-manufacturers, co-packers, suppliers, labor providers and service providers to:
- Enable all workers and staff on site to understand the indicators of forced and child labor and know who to report risks to
- Reaffirm systems for identifying cases of forced and child labor including grievance mechanisms, hiring protocols and age verification processes
- Strengthen the systems, grievance mechanisms, hiring protocols and age-verification processes of any providers of on-site outsourced labor to manage forced and child labor risks
- Increase focus on management and wellbeing of third-shift worker
- Support increased awareness of, and linkages to, organizations able to provide remedy to survivors of forced labor and child labor
- Identify and address, wherever possible, root causes of forced and child labor with workers, government, civil society and communities.
AIM-Progress recognizes that we will only effectively address these issues and enable remediation for those affected if there is transparency about forced and child labor. AIM-Progress encourages its members to promote openness about issues identified with their co-manufacturers, co-packers, suppliers, labor providers and service providers, and responsible and supportive remediation for cases of forced labor and child labor wherever feasible.
Download our full statement here.