Verite’s analysis of thousands of recent recruitment transactions between employers and labor recruiters in high-risk labor migration corridors into the Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Gulf Cooperation Council regions finds that fewer than 10% of employers are recruiting workers ethically by paying the full cost of recruitment and preventing workers from being charged for their job1.
Verité’s CEO Shawn MacDonald, who has spent more than 25 years advocating for effective labor policies and practices through civil society advocacy, contributed to the Model Contract Clauses Project with the book chapter A Supply Chain Accountability Practitioner’s Perspective on the Model Contract Clauses Project. The chapter is part of the newly published American Bar Association (ABA) book Contracts for Responsible and Sustainable Supply Chains: Model Contract Clauses, Legal Analysis, and Practical Perspectives.
As part of Verité’s Supply Chain Tracing & Engagement Methodologies (STREAMS) project, Erin Klett, Director of STREAMS, led a panel discussion with STREAMS partner Better Cotton and the U.S. Department of Labor at the annual Better Cotton Conference in Amsterdam in June. Traceability and data were at the forefront of this two-day conference, which brought together 350 industry leaders from 38 countries to explore the most salient issues in sustainable cotton production.
In Mexico, sugarcane production and processing is comprised of a complex web of actors. Alongside sugar refineries, mills and farmers, the supply chain is made up of less visible actors, such as cabos or crew leaders and field leaders, who largely operate informally. The least visible and most vulnerable actors in the sugar cane supply chain are the sugarcane cutters, who are exposed to many labor risks, including severe risks to their health and safety.
On July 19, Verité and the International Cocoa Initiative kicked off a forced labor indicators training for human rights advisors of the National Council of Human Rights (Conseil Nacional des Droits de l’Homme— CNDH), an independent body that is tasked with ensuring the Côte d’Ivoire government’s adherence to all international treaties and cooperation agreements that the government has signed.