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I. Introduction
Footnotes
1 International Programme on the Elimination of Child
Labour (IPEC) (Geneva: International Labor Organization) 1996 [hereinafter
IPEC Brochure].
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2 ILAB's first two reports are titled, By the Sweat
and Toil of Children (Volume I): The Use of Child Labor in U.S. Manufacturing
and Mining Imports (1994), and By the Sweat and Toil of Children (Volume
II): The Use of Child Labor in U.S. Agricultural Imports & Forced and
Bonded Child Labor (1995). In addition, in March 1996, ILAB published Forced
Labor: The Prostitution of Children, the proceedings of a symposium on the
sexual exploitation of children held at the Department of Labor in September
1995.
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3 See Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and
Appropriations Act of 1996, P.L. 104-134 (April 26, 1996); S. Rpt. 104-145,
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related
Agencies Appropriation Bill, 1996.
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4 For purposes of this report, the terms "apparel"
and "garment" are used interchangeably.
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5 Child Labour: What is to be done? Document for
discussion at the Informal Tripartite Meeting at the Ministerial Level (Geneva:
International Labor Office) ITM/1/1996, June 12, 1996, 26 [hereinafter Child
Labour: What is to be done?].
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6 See Child Labour: What is to be done? at 27.
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7 See Trade, Employment and Labour Standards: A Study
of Core Workers' Rights and International Trade (Paris: Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development) May 14, 1996, 19-21.
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8 IPEC Brochure.
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9 Child Labour Today: Facts and Figures (Geneva:
International Labor Organization, ILO/CLK/1) June 10, 1996 [hereinafter Child
Labour Today: Facts and Figures].
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10 Child Labour Today: Facts and Figures.
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11 Child Labour Today: Facts and Figures. The ILO is
currently working to develop better statistical information on child labor.
Experimental statistical surveys have been carried out by the ILO in four
countries: Ghana, India, Indonesia and Senegal. See Child Labour Surveys,
Results of methodological experiments in four countries 1992-93 (Geneva:
International Labor Office) 1996. The ILO's IPEC program is now utilizing its
survey techniques in other countries -- Turkey, Pakistan and the Philippines
(funded by the U.S. Department of Labor).
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12 Globalization of the footwear, textiles and
clothing industries: Report for discussion at the Tripartite Meeting on the
Globalization of the Footwear, Textiles and Clothing Industries: Effects on
Employment and Working Conditions (Geneva: International Labor Organization)
1996, 75 [hereinafter ILO Textile Report].
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13 In the case of the People's Republic of China -- the
second largest exporter of garments to the U. S. in 1995 -- documenting labor
practices, including child labor, remains extremely difficult. The 1994 study
noted newspaper reports and other anecdotal accounts of children 12 to 15 years
old working 15 hours a day in garment factories. It is not known whether there
has been any demonstrable change in the number or situation of child workers in
the Chinese apparel industry.
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14 For example, there is a recent report on possible
child labor in a Cambodian garment factory. See American Embassy - Phnom Penh,
unclassified telegram no. 2594, September 16, 1996.
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15 In June 1995, the National Labor Committee (NLC)
alleged that more than 100 workers at the Mandarin International garment
manufacturing plant in El Salvador producing garments for The Gap were between
the ages of 14 and 17. Although the employment of the young workers seemed to
comply with Salvadoran law and The Gap's code of conduct, it was alleged that
the young workers were forced to work longer hours than allowed by law. In
December 1995, The Gap signed an agreement consenting to independent monitoring
of its code of conduct. It also agreed to re-approve the Mandarin factory as a
contractor when the factory could effectively implement The Gap's code. The
independent monitoring group consists of local volunteers from Salvadoran NGOs.
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16 In April 1996, the NLC presented testimony at a
Congressional hearing alleging that clothing bearing the Kathie Lee Gifford
label sold at Wal-Mart was made by illegal child labor in Honduras. The NLC
claimed that the Global Fashion factory employed workers as young as 13 and
forced them to work long overtime hours, and sometimes through the night. The
NLC asserted that, during peak production times, the girls were not permitted to
attend night school because they were forced to stay at work. A letter sent to
Ms. Gifford outlining these allegations, requested her to publicly disavow the
use of child labor and allow independent human rights monitors access to plants
producing Kathie Lee clothing. Ms. Gifford's first response was to distance
herself from the allegations, saying that she had no knowledge of illegal labor
practices and no means to oversee the employment practices in the overseas
production of her clothing. Later, she announced that she would take
responsibility for ensuring that no children produced garments bearing her
label, and encouraged other companies and celebrity endorsers to do the same.
Ms. Gifford has announced her intention to hire an independent monitor to ensure
that her clothing is made under appropriate labor conditions.
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17 U.S. Embassy - Manila unclassified telegram no. 12371,
September 17, 1996.
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18 In contrast to the Philippines experience, a 1996 ILO
study on the textile, clothing and footwear sector notes a trend towards
outsourcing. The ILO reports that this is reflected in the use of homework and
in recourse to moonlighting in small enterprises and clandestine workshops.
Such practices tend to undermine basic employment and working conditions. See
ILO Textile Report at 64.
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19 A recent article on labor conditions in Honduran
garment factories states: "Union leaders and workers say factory owners
have also been reviewing their personnel records and dismissing all employees
who are minors. But that does not mean the dismissed youngsters are returning
to school. On the contrary, management and labor agree that most of the
children have instead sought new jobs outside the assembly sector that are lower
paying and more physically demanding or are buying fake documents in an effort
to sneak their way back into the apparel plants." Larry Rohter, "Hondurans
in 'Sweatshops' See Opportunity," The New York Times, July 13, 1996
[hereinafter "Hondurans in Sweatshops"].
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20 Child Labour: Report to the ILO Committee on
Employment and Social Policy (Geneva: International Labor Office) ILO Doc.
GB.264/ESP/1, November 1995, 18.
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21 According to Levi Strauss & Co., its Global
Sourcing & Operating Guidelines adopted in 1991, were the first ever
developed.
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22 See International Child Labor Hearing
(Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor) June 28, 1996.
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