India: Investigation reveals child labour and brutal working conditions for women in Maharashtra sugarcane fields; incl. co. comment
Summary
Date Reported: 24 Mar 2024
Location: India
Companies
Coca-Cola - Other Value Chain Entity , PepsiCo - Other Value Chain Entity , Varun Beverages Ltd - Buyer , NSL Sugars - EmployerOther
Not Reported ( Sugar ) - Labour SupplierAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - India , Sugar , Women , Documented migrants )Issues
Injuries , Forced Labour & Modern Slavery , Gender Discrimination , Child labour , Poverty Wages , Access to Water , ViolenceResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: An executive at NSL Sugars, a Coca-Cola and PepsiCo franchisee supplier that has mills around the country, said that soda-company representatives could be scrupulous in asking about sugar quality, production efficiency and environmental issues. Labor issues in the fields, he said, would almost never come up. The PepsiCo franchisee, Varun Beverages, did not respond to calls for comment. NSL Sugars say they keep virtually no records on their laborers. PepsiCo confirmed that one of its largest international franchisees buys sugar from Maharashtra. The franchisee just opened its third manufacturing and bottling plant there. A new Coke factory is under construction in Maharashtra, and Coca-Cola confirmed that it, too, buys sugar in the state. PepsiCo said the company and its partners purchase a small amount of sugar from Maharashtra, relative to total production in the state. “The description of the working conditions of sugar-cane cutters in Maharashtra is deeply concerning,” PepsiCo said in a statement. “We will engage with our franchisee partners to conduct an assessment to understand the sugar-cane cutter working conditions and any actions that may need to be taken.” Coca-Cola declined to comment on a detailed list of questions.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 24 Mar 2024
Location: India
Companies
Dalmia Bharat Sugar - Employer , PepsiCo - Buyer , Coca-Cola - Buyer , Mondelēz International - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - India , Sugar , Women , Documented migrants )Issues
Forced Labour & Modern Slavery , Gender Discrimination , ViolenceResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: PepsiCo confirmed that one of its largest international franchisees buys sugar from Maharashtra. The franchisee just opened its third manufacturing and bottling plant there. A new Coke factory is under construction in Maharashtra, and Coca-Cola confirmed that it, too, buys sugar in the state. PepsiCo said the company and its partners purchase a small amount of sugar from Maharashtra, relative to total production in the state. “The description of the working conditions of sugar-cane cutters in Maharashtra is deeply concerning,” PepsiCo said in a statement. “We will engage with our franchisee partners to conduct an assessment to understand the sugar-cane cutter working conditions and any actions that may need to be taken.” Coca-Cola declined to comment on a detailed list of questions. Mondelez said it was “deeply concerned to hear allegations of labor issues at one of our suppliers. We will investigate.” Executives at Dalmia say they keep virtually no records on their laborers in the fields.
Source type: News outlet
"The Brutality of Sugar: Debt, Child Marriage and Hysterectomies", 24 March 2024
The two soft-drink makers have helped turn the state of Maharashtra into a sugar-producing powerhouse.
[...]
Young girls are pushed into illegal child marriages so they can work alongside their husbands cutting and gathering sugar cane. Instead of receiving wages, they work to pay off advances from their employers — an arrangement that requires them to pay a fee for the privilege of missing work, even to see a doctor.
An extreme yet common consequence of this financial entrapment is hysterectomies. Labor brokers loan money for the surgeries, even to resolve ailments as routine as heavy, painful periods. And the women — most of them uneducated — say they have little choice.
[...]
Hysterectomy is a routine surgery performed around the world, though infrequently for women in their 20s and 30s. In India, it is more common, including as a form of birth control, and other parts of the country also have high hysterectomy rates. But in Maharashtra’s sugar industry, everyone — contractors, other workers, even doctors — pushes women toward the surgery.
[...]
“The description of the working conditions of sugar-cane cutters in Maharashtra is deeply concerning,” PepsiCo said in a statement. “We will engage with our franchisee partners to conduct an assessment to understand the sugar-cane cutter working conditions and any actions that may need to be taken.” Coca-Cola declined to comment on a detailed list of questions.