Risk Assessment

Firm is facing risk whether its a legitimate protest or illegitimate protest.

Illegitimate are those which are without any authority. They are carried out
to cause maximum disturbance to business. If our firm has departed from
the route that has been agreed and implemented by the firm, it would be
a legitimate protest. The impact of protest can range from minor
inconvenience to severe disruptions.
The demonstrations can hurt the firms reputation, brand equity and
productivity. If activists call for people participation against child labour
issues in the firm, it could dissuade costumers from buying firms product,
may cause some investors to avoid investing in the firm and may hamper
the productivity.
It will affect the firm in social performance as well as financial
performance. The protest will bring attention and show investors, workers
and consumers that the firm is dealing with potential issues. It might
possible that there may not be a sort of direct affect in the immediate
future but there can be incremental changes that might be profound. Child
labour found in a products supply chain can creates a consumer and
public relations nightmare.

Addressing the concern and ensuring that the

firm is responsible
Children are future citizens of the country and their adequate protection
and development should be utmost priority. Unfortunately, child labour
engulfs across the world. However, despite its menace in various forms,
the data shows (ILO) variation in prevalence of child labour, an estimated
168 million child labourers worldwide, more than half of them are in
hazardous work.

Child Labour-tackling the root cause

The term Child Labour is often defined as work that deprives children of
their childhood, their potential and their dignity, which is harmful to
physical-mental development. The negative impact on the physiological
and psychological levels of children includes specific concerns of child
labour and its consequences on mental health.
Poverty is one of the important factors for this problem. Education is a
very significant part of development. Children who are drawn to child
labour are basically driven because of economic deprivation, lack of
schooling and engagement of family for daily needs. The endurance of
young children is higher and they cannot protest against discrimination
which is also a major factor. The child labour can be stopped when

knowledge is translated into legislation and action, moving good intention

and ideas into protecting the health of the children.

Steps to tackle child labour

We do not support child labour in our supply chain. We need to strengthen
the supply chain from the grass-root level. Focussing on grass-root level
with strategy to mobilize communities against child labour and
reintegration of child workers into schools and homes ccould prove crucial
to break the cycle of child labour. Coordinating with medical, psychological
and socio-anthropological can help curb this menace. We should develop
robust and comprehensive system to monitor what happens in our supply
chain.
The child labour can be stopped when knowledge is translated into
legislation and action, moving good intention and ideas into protecting the
health of the children. Education is a very important part of development.
Schools are the platform for early intervention against child labour, as it
restricts their participation in menial jobs. Hurdles in this approach are
economic reasons. Child labour can be controlled by increasing
awareness, and making education affordable. To curb this menace we can
start schooling for underprivileged children for workers along with taking
care of their basic needs. Start a project to build and refurbish schools
with areas having inadequate number of schools, which would be the
reason that many children dont have the opportunity to receive
education. Greater income opportunities, making safer places to work can
help address the issue, role of the government and other stake holders
cannot be overlooked.
We might me under false impression that if a product is certified then its
free from child labour and the company is acting under socially
responsible manner. We need to ensure that the code of conduct is strictly
followed by the vendors along with the firm. The best practices include
making site visits to the vendor factories and processing plant overseas,
performing audits using independent organizations (e.g. Fair Labour
Association - FLA) which have prior expertise and experience in the
respective field, conducting surprized inspections and ensuring that the
vendors are implementing and complying with best practices and
following code of conduct of the company. Develop easy to understand
and illustrated supplier code, engaging local agencies to identify
improvement and run a workshop with stakeholders to consult the code of
conduct. Vendors should be held financially liable for any violation and
policy not being implemented on their premises.
We should also have our own employees at vendor locations to verify and
make sure they are following the process appropriately, ensuring that the
main vendors push reforms and policies though out the supply chain. Firm
need to perform risk assessment where we are falling behind instead of
confronting the problem when they popup. We can utilize data analytics
to access the risk, it would inform us in a better way before signing

contracts with vendors, and will be able to insist that their products should
be free from child labour and other form of bad conducts. We should have
a robust and comprehensive internal monitoring and remediation system
will enable us to better understand what is happening in our supply chain
and to address any problems found.
The principle and values that define and constitute firm responsibility thus
affecting reputation, human capital and operational efficiency. The tighter
we integrate it in firms behaviour, the better the firm will be able to
control its risk and to turn them into catalyst towards a sustainable
business performance. Firm that adopt explicit and appropriates rules and
regulation, ensuring their implementation are better prepared to prevent
protest and human right abuses and to deal with allegations of wrong
doing that may arise. Good practice enhances the reputation, workers
morale and motivation, instil confidence in the consumers and investors,
creates stable operating environments and promotes better community
relations.