USA: Poultry processing firms Tyson and Perdue are under investigation after contractors allegedly hired migrant children, incl. cos comments
Краткое изложение
Date Reported: 23 Сен 2023
Местонахождение: Соединенные Штаты Америки
Компании
Perdue Farms Inc. - Buyer , Fayette Industrial - EmployerЗатронуто
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Мигранты и рабочие-иммигранты: ( 1 - Гватемала , Уборка и техническое обслуживание , Gender not reported ) , Мигранты и рабочие-иммигранты: ( Number unknown - Гватемала , Уборка и техническое обслуживание , Men , Unknown migration status )Темы
Охрана труда и безопасность , Травмы , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure Time , Детский трудОтвет
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Принятые меры: Representatives for Perdue said it was not trying to avoid accountability and would cooperate with any investigations. The company, which has policies prohibiting underage labor, said it had not known children were working in its Virginia plants. Perdue said it had hired an outside auditor to suggest new policies. “We recognize the systemic nature of this issue and embrace any role we can play in a solution,” a Perdue spokeswoman, Andrea Staub, said in a statement. Fayette said it had policies against child labor and was not aware of the federal investigations. Perdue has told Fayette that it may end its contract.
Вид источника: News outlet
Краткое изложение
Date Reported: 23 Сен 2023
Местонахождение: Соединенные Штаты Америки
Компании
Tyson - Buyer , QSI (part of Vincit) - EmployerЗатронуто
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Мигранты и рабочие-иммигранты: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Уборка и техническое обслуживание , Gender not reported , Unknown migration status )Темы
Детский труд , Охрана труда и безопасность , Reasonable Working Hours & Leisure TimeОтвет
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Принятые меры: Representatives for Tyson said it was not trying to avoid accountability and would cooperate with any investigations. The company, which has policies prohibiting underage labor, said it had not known children were working in its Virginia plants. Tyson said it had hired an outside auditor to suggest new policies. The Labor Department took the additional step of sending out an alert to hundreds of investigators nationwide about a child labor “enforcement action” against QSI. The alert outlined a clearinghouse system for tips about the company that will be run through the department’s Tennessee office, where the sanitation company is based. QSI said it had policies against child labor and was not aware of the federal investigations. Tyson said it planned to end its relationship with QSI at several plants.
Вид источника: News outlet
“Tyson and Perdue Are Facing Child Labor Investigations”
…Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms…are under federal investigation into whether they relied on migrant children to clean slaughterhouses…
The Labor Department opened the inquiries after an article … found migrant children working overnight shifts for contractors in the companies’ plants … [in] Virginia…
…federal law bans minors from working in slaughterhouses because of the high risk of injury…
… the Biden administration is now examining whether large corporations can be considered employers even when children enter their factories through contractors…
Tyson said it was now directly employing cleaners at 40 percent of its slaughterhouses and aimed to bring more of this work in house. Perdue said it had hired an outside auditor to suggest new policies…
The Labor Department has also opened investigations into the companies that have been running the cleaning shifts for Perdue and Tyson in Virginia: Fayette Industrial, which works with Perdue, and QSI, which works with Tyson and is part of a conglomerate, the Vincit Group.
Fayette and QSI said they had policies against child labor and were not aware of the federal investigations. Tyson said it planned to end its relationship with QSI at several plants, while Perdue has told Fayette that it may end its contract…
Weekly Update
Our international team of expert researchers monitor developments relating to allegations of corporate abuse, also highlighting where progress has been made. We work alongside grassroots civil society, businesses and governments to keep our audience up to date with related legal developments and coverage of ground-breaking research. Read past updates and subscribe.