Impactt, an organisation helping companies improve working conditions in their supply chain, has directly helped 138 child labourers leave work and return to education. On top of that, its step-by-step guide encouraging companies to take action against child labour is shepherding more children back into school.
With roughly 12 million children working in industry or a similar environment, child labour is a pressing global problem. Impactt works to prevent child labour by addressing root causes, improving wages and strengthening factory systems. When the organisation finds cases of child labour it works quickly to facilitate a remediation programme (pdf), supporting the children to go to school or join a vocational course.
Each programme is based on the interests and aspirations of the child. Staff work closely with children and their families to build trust and select the best school or training college, whether a child is returning to school or learning a skill such as graphic design, nursing or hairdressing. Programmes last at least six months or as long as it takes for the child to reach the legal minimum age for work. During that time, each child receives a monthly stipend.
As well as helping children directly, Impactt consulted with 90 stakeholders worldwide to develop guidance on tackling individual cases of child labour. Among the organisations adopting the procedures are B&Q, Monsoon, New Look and Tesco.
The remediation programmes have an immediate and long term effect. Children benefit from increased confidence, better job prospects, higher earnings and the chance to study further. One child helped by Impactt plans to open a computer maintenance store; another says her mother will now support her to go to university.
And by getting the factories that employ child labourers to pay for the remediation programmes, Impactt has found a powerful way to discourage child labour in the future.
Lorna Thorpe is part of the wordworks network
The Guardian Sustainable Business Sustainability Case Studies contain articles on all the initiatives that met the criteria for the GSB Awards.
