UNITED KINGDOM: REPORT ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN

UNCLAS LONDON 001406 DOL/ILAB FOR RACHEL RIGBY DRL/ILCSR FOR MARK MITTELHAUSER G/TIP FOR STEVE STEINER SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI UK SUBJECT: UNITED KINGDOM: REPORT ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF GOODS REF: STATE 00043120 ¶1. (U) There is no record of forced or child labor in the production of legal goods in the UK. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) informed Post that it does not collate information on goods produced with child labor and that it is not aware of any private research in this area. Its most recent reports to the International Labor Organization on compliance with Conventions on child labor contain information on what the UK is doing in the areas of child trafficking, sexual exploitation and occupational safety and health, but do not refer to the manufacture of goods, whether for export or otherwise. The DWP requests that the final USG report be shared with them, however, to assist them in tracking child labor in other countries. ¶2. (U) A representative of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) told Post that there is no evidence of legal goods being produced using child labor. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that children trafficked into the UK are used in cannabis farms. The representative added that this year the UK's anti-trafficking teams within the Home Office, the Borders and Immigration Agency, and CEOP, will be focusing on labor exploitation. As such, more research is likely to be conducted on forced labor and child labor in the production of goods over the course of the year. ¶3. (U) The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) is not aware of specific products produced as a result of child or forced labor. The GLA is a UK government body charged with enforcing work rules on labor brokers ("gangmasters") in the sectors of agriculture, shellfish harvesting and related fields. The current position for children working in the GLA's sectors is that the labor providers must be able to demonstrate that they comply with the following (Licensing standard 9): keep details on file of any work activities, including times and dates worked, carried out by children and young workers; there should be copies of adequate and suitable risk assessments available where young persons are employed; children and/or young persons are only carrying out work permitted by law. The GLA has not found any examples of child labor since it began inspecting in April 2006. ¶4. (U) A recent report by the Trades Union Congress Commission on Vulnerable Employment, 'Hard Work, Hidden Lives', cites a survey (TUC (2001) Class struggles: a Survey of School Age Employment in England and Wales. London:TUC) conducted by MORI which indicated that regulations relating to working children are frequently broken: nearly half of working children surveyed were employed after 8pm, and nearly a quarter before 6am, both breaches of UK law. Children in the survey also reported working in significant excess of their legally permitted hours and there was evidence of children under 15 working over 40 hours a week. The findings also highlight the consequences of these breaches, with one in ten children admitting to having played truant in order to do paid work, and one in four children under 13 admitting to doing paid work either during term or in the summer holidays, even though this is illegal. The Vulnerable Employment report also mentions research which suggests that in a minority of cases, employment practices used by employers of migrant workers fall under internationally agreed definitions of forced labor. However, no specific goods are mentioned. The full report can be found at vulnerableworkers.org.uk/files/CoVE_full_repo rt.pdf TUTTLE