New global child and forced labor reporting: 3 takeaways

Workers in a cotton factory in Awat County, a Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. Copyright Imago/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy.

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs' 2024 "List of Goods Produced with Child Labor or Forced Labor," released today, provides a sobering glimpse into global labor exploitation, which affects millions and intersects with pressing global issues. Three key trends emerge:

1. The expanding global footprint of labor exploitation

Since 2022, our list has grown from 159 goods in 78 countries to 204 goods in 82 countries and areas. We've added 72 new items across industries, including consumer goods, electronics, garments, textiles and manufacturing. This expansion highlights that current efforts to address labor exploitation are not keeping pace with evolving global manufacturing trends.

Today's global supply chains are complex and ever-changing, spanning countries and regions and involving multiple layers. This obscures visibility into labor practices, particularly at the production level. Combined with consumer demand for cheap products, pressure to keep costs low, and the drive for higher profit margins, this creates conditions where exploitative labor practices persist. In our research, we're not looking at isolated incidents of labor violations, but rather at the big picture - the whole of the supply chain.

2. The growing list of critical minerals

The listed number of critical minerals produced by child or forced labor has grown to 12, and many are vital for green technologies, such as solar products and electric cars. Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Bolivia mine cobalt, lithium and other crucial minerals. Forced labor taints aluminum and polysilicon from China, nickel from Indonesia and cobalt from the DRC.

This trend presents a growing challenge that we don't have the luxury of ignoring: meeting our need for clean energy while also protecting vulnerable workers. As demand for critical minerals accelerates, so does the urgency to address labor exploitation. Delay means more children in hazardous mines, more workers exploited, and more entrenched labor abuses in these supply chains.

3. Labor exploitation driving China's global production dominance

Since 2016, the Chinese government has subjected Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang to state-imposed forced labor. This year we added six more goods produced by forced labor in China to the list - caustic soda, metallurgical grade silicon, polyvinyl chloride, aluminum, jujubes and squid - which means tainted goods are infiltrating an increasing number of global supply chains, from electronics to renewable energy technologies.

While these trends are sobering, there are signs of progress. Four goods have been removed from the list - blueberries from Argentina, salt from Cambodia, shrimp from Thailand and fluorspar from Mongolia - based on evidence that child labor has been eliminated beyond isolated incidents. However, progress in corporate responsibility and governmental efforts to combat child labor remains slow. Our latest "Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor" report offers valuable insights into where governments are falling short. For example, 60% of our recommendations for governments relate to strengthening laws and regulations and their enforcement.

A call for decisive action

To address these persistent issues, we need immediate and concerted efforts from governments and businesses:

• Governments must strengthen and enforce labor laws, implement social programs addressing poverty and ensure access to quality education.
• Companies need to monitor their entire supply chains, increase transparency, collaborate with stakeholders and enforce accountability.
• Both should support workers' rights, ensuring that workers have a voice and the power to bargain collectively for better wages and working conditions.

The complexity of global supply chains is not an excuse for inaction. Instead, it's a call for more innovative, comprehensive and collaborative approaches to ensuring ethical labor practices worldwide.

For more insights, explore our latest reports.

Marcia Eugenio is the director of the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking in the Bureau of International Labor Affairs. Follow ILAB on X/Twitter at @ILAB_DOL and on LinkedIn.

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