Child Labour Platform (CLP) Meeting

Forum on Tackling child labour in supply chains

The Child Labour Platform, a business-led forum for exchange and action to tackle child labour in supply chains, will hold a meeting on 17-18 October, in Geneva.




Day 1
13:15-13:45 Venue: Salle Le grenier, Château des Penthes, Geneva
Welcome by CLP Co-Chairs, UN Global Compact and ILO (Beate Andrees) and Introductions
13:45-15:00 When child labour is found: expert insight on remediation of child labour
Moderator: Linda Kromjong
  • Yann Wyss, Nestle
  • Jose Maria Ramirez, ILO
  • Leonie Blokhuis, Stop Child Labour
Child labour most often occurs in the informal economy, deep in supply chains, in communities deprived of quality educational systems and social protection. Parents often feel obliged to send their children to work to boost household income. In such a context, ensuring that children and their families have viable alternatives to child labour is not necessarily simple. This panel will discuss how to meet such challenges to securing remediation for child labourers.
15:00-15:30 Future ILO work on global supply chains
  • International Labour Conference global supply chain discussion (Deborah Greenfield, Deputy Director General, ILO)
The 2016 discussion at the International Labour Conference on Global Supply Chains (GSC) was an historic first: the tripartite constituents of the ILO engaged in in-depth discussion, debate and analysis of global supply chains and their profound and complex effects on the achievement of decent work for all.

DDG Greenfield led the Office’s support to the GSC discussion and will provide an insider’s perspective on the key topics of debate, the implications for the ILO’s work on GSCs, including the Child Labour Platform.
15:30-16:00 Coffee break
16:00-16:30 Cross-sectoral collaboration against child labour in Myanmar (ILO)
In 2016 CLP member companies and other employers in Myanmar began to exchange experience and explore a joint strategy to tackle child labour in industrial zones in Yangon, Myanmar. Such a cross-sectoral initiative will focus on child labour in teashops and other forms of child labour in selected communities. An update on this promising new CLP initiative will be provided.
16:30-17:45 Dialogue on eliminating child labour in agriculture
Moderator: Philip Jennings
  • FAO-ILO collaboration on supply chains (Bernd Seiffert, FAO)
  • Cindy Sawyer, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Success stories in sugarcane (ILO)
59% of child labour is found in agriculture, making agriculture a critical sector to address in order to meet the SDG target of elimination of child labour by 2025. Most is unpaid family work, and finding ways to boost productivity and incomes on small holder farms to meet adult labour shortages is a key challenge. This panel will provide information on new tools, and review experience in tackling child labour in agriculture.
17:45-18:15 Remarks from Desta Raines, Apple, on child and forced labour due diligence
18:15-19:30 Reception


Venue: Château des Penthes

Day 2
9:00–10:30 Panel discussion on Fair Recruitment Initiative and labour supply chains
Moderator: Beate Andrees
  • Manuela Tomei, ILO
  • Farhan Ifram, MAS Holdings
  • Shakir Ismail, Maliban Textiles
  • Frederick Muia, IOE
A major source of forced labour risk for business lies in what can be described as the labour supply chain. The Fair Recruitment Initiative (ILO-FAIR), launched in 2014, aims to: help prevent human trafficking and child labour; protect the rights of workers, including migrant workers, from abusive and fraudulent practices during the recruitment and placement process; reduce the cost of labour migration; and enhance development gains. This multi-stakeholder initiative puts social dialogue at the centre, and is implemented in close collaboration with governments, representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, the private sector and other key partners. This panel will review how the Fair Recruitment Initiative assists companies to strengthen systems of due diligence and remediation to prevent and respond to unfair recruitment practices in their operations and supply chains, including the occurrence of child labour.
10:30-11:00 Coffee Break
11:00-12:15 Company updates and trends analysis
Moderator: Simon Steyne

Participants provide updates on developments and trends, within their organization and more broadly. Participants are encouraged to provide recommendations in the following areas:
  • How do company policies mitigate risks of child labour in the supply chain?
  • How do you engage effectively with suppliers?
  • What approaches to supply chain and risk mapping work best?
12:15-13:45 Lunch
13:45-14:30 The strategic direction of the CLP
  • Membership developments and consultations
  • CLP action at the global and local levels
14:30-15:00 Closing remarks (ILO, IOE, ITUC, UN Global Compact)