Case Against Tobacco Giant Could Protect Children

“Sofia,” a 17-year-old tobacco worker, in a tobacco field in North Carolina. Benedict Evans/Human Rights WatchBy Margaret WurthNEW YORK, Dec 3 2019 (IPS) Legal action against British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the world’s largest tobacco firms, could see the company punished for profiting from child labor and force the industry to finally confront its treatment of vulnerable workers. The case, brought by human rights lawyers on behalf of hundreds of tenant farmers and their children in Malawi, contends that the company is guilty of “unjust enrichment.” Martyn Day, a senior partner at Leigh Day, the firm bringing the case, told The Guardian that the tenant farmers cultivating tobacco for one of BAT’s main suppliers are paid so little and the work involved is so labor intensive that they are forced to rely on help from their children. The claimants are suing for compensation, and their lawyers believe it could force the company to pay more for the leaf it buys to ensure proper livelihoods for the workers and farmers at the bottom of its supply chain. BAT said it takes the issue “extremely seriously” and makes clear to all its farmers and suppliers that exploitative child labor “will not be tolerated.” Driven by poverty, children work in tobacco farming to help their families make ends meet, to raise money for school fees or books, or to help their parents increase their earnings or save money on hired labor Over the last six years, I’ve interviewed hu...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Headlines Health Human Rights Source Type: news