Employmentweb_low

EmpLoymEnT, work, And HEALTH inEquALiTiES - a global perspective
today children still toil, picking cacao in unsafe and unfair conditions. in 2006, an in-depth investigation in ivory coast
by the bbc reporter humphrey hawksley found no evidence that industry efforts were changing cacao plantations and
concluded that "no one is in charge of the efforts put in place under the cocoa protocol. there's no place the buck stops. in
the cocoa belt, it's only a short drive to find children working with machetes amid some of the worst poverty anywhere in
the world". the cocoa protocol doesn't address the lack of educational opportunities suffered by child labourers in West
africa either.
While some ngos and activists want to abandon the protocol, and some governments want to adopt a social label and
ban imports of cacao that can't be shown to be fairly traded, these strategies have not addressed the economic factors that
perpetuate forced child labour in West africa. First, the oversupply of cacao makes its price low, and farmers have very little
power to bargain effectively for higher prices. second, in a region where nearly two-thirds of the population lives on less
than $1 a day, the compensation for the temporary loss of a child keeps the rest of the family from going hungry.
this exploitation will only stop when policymakers in developed and poor countries meet their human rights obligations,
enforce the law, and address the lack of opportunities, power, and education, as well as the cultural customs that allow
individuals to be abused. also, companies must take responsibility for their supply chains and develop strategies to ensure
that their suppliers don't rely on forced labour.
Sources
ryan, o. (2007, april 27). labouring for chocolate. BBC News. retrieved october 30, 2008, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/
2/hi/business/6575713.stm
aaronson, s. (2007, march 13). globalization and child labor: the cause can also be a cure. YaleGlobal.
Case study 28. The beer-girls of Cambodia. - Françoise barten and martha s. cedeño gargano
according to recent estimates in cambodia, between 4,000 and 5,000 young women are employed in selling beer for large
multinational companies such as heineken and carlsberg dommelsch to clients that visit the restaurants in big cities.
the work of the young girls consists first of ensuring that the clients that visit the restaurant select the type of beer that
they represent, and second in ensuring that they will consume as much of that beer as possible.
the young beer sellers earn approximately us$60 per night, this being about half the amount needed to satisfy minimal
needs. in order to complement this salary, one third or half of the girls prostitute themselves twice or three times monthly. it is
estimated that the annual revenue of beer selling ranges between us$15,000 and us$42,000.
the young beer sellers are continuously exposed to several health risks. a large number of the girls consume alcoholic
drinks, since one of the selling strategies is to drink jointly with the client. a recent study among 42 beer sellers found that 75
per cent of the sellers consume an average of one and a half litres of beer each night, 27 nights per month.
Source
baltesen, F., & schouten, e. (2007, october 6). biermeisjes is gevaarlijk beroep. NRC Handelsblad.
Case study 29. Slavery and intentional violent deaths in Brazil. - iberê thenório
brazil’s level of mortality due to intentional violent
Mortality rate of homicides per 100,000 in
causes is one of the highest in the world. these deaths
Brazil, 2002-2004
have traditionally occurred in great metropolitan urban
areas where organised crime established their
headquarters and expanded their actions to slums and
vulnerable poor neighbourhoods. however, a recent
analysis of the geographic distribution of violent deaths
Dorothy Stang (made in 2007 by Waiselfisz for unesco) revealed that
violent-death areas are quickly spreading towards the
1931 - 2005
countryside, particularly in regions where slavery has been reported.
specifically, it has grown in municipalities located in deforested areas in the
amazon, where there are areas of farming expansion, such as the north region
of the mato grosso state, and in the south and southeast of the para state.
these are the places where most slave work has been reported and addressed.
according to the shepperd commission for the earth, comissão pastoral da
terra (a prominent catholic organisation) from 1995 to 2006, around 4,553
bonded workers were freed in mato grosso and 8,177 from para, which
< 3
3,0 - 6,7
6,7 - 10,9
10,9 - 16,6
16,6 - 29,7
29,7 - 165,3
Source: Organization of the Ibero-american States
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