Smartphone manufacturers are ignoring child labor, says Amnesty
Major electronics brands includingApple,Samsung, andSonyare ignoring child labor practices in their supply chains, according to a new report fromAmnesty International。
The report found children as young as seven working in dangerous conditions incobalt minesin theDemocratic Republic of the Congo(DRC).
Cobalt is a key component oflithium-ion batteriesused in smartphones and other electronic products. Over half of all cobalt comes from the DRC.
According to the report, a joint investigation with the NGOAfrewatch, workers in cobalt mines face bothlong-term health risksand a high risk offatal accidents。研究人员发现children working up to12 hours a dayin the mines, earning betweenone and two dollarsa day. Workers are not supplied withprotective clothingto protect them from lung and skin diseases.
Amnesty’sMark Dummettcommented that: “Millions of people enjoy the benefits of new technologies but rarely ask how they are made. It is high time thebig brands took some responsibilityfor the mining of the raw materials that make their lucrative products.”
Eric Edmondshas written for IZA World of Labor aboutthe effect that minimum age of employment regulation has on child labor。He writes that: “Minimum age regulations have the potential to reduce child labor. As currently implemented, however, they do not appear to substantively influence child employment and may lessenpolitical pressurefor moremeaningful reforms。If enforced, minimum age regulations can be a useful tool to change how children work, but there is little evidence ofwidespread enforcement。Minimum age regulations are not a tool to promoteschooling。”
The Amnesty report,This Is What We Die For, can be downloadedhere。
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