Germany intends to work during its presidency of the European Union to lay the foundations for a new European law aimed at combating child labor in supply chains.
All large companies will be obligated under this law to pay fair wages for workers in their supply chains and end child labor, wherever it takes place Produce our shoes, clothes and coffee. "
"No businessman today should stand up and say: I have done nothing to combat child labor and slavery in my supply chain," Mueller added.
He stated that about 150 million children are forced daily to go to work in coffee plantations or quarries, adding that about 50% of them work in dangerous conditions and are being exploited, noting that many families are currently losing their jobs due to the Corona pandemic crisis.
"One result of this is that children will have to work so that their families can survive," Mueller said in comments to the German newspaper "Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung" released today.
According to the minister’s data, about 400 million children worldwide are raised in extreme poverty, and their number may increase by another 40 million due to the Corona crisis, indicating that these children live on less than $ 1.9 per day.
Meanwhile, Rainer Hoffmann, head of the German Trade Union Confederation, urged the enactment of a supply chain law. He said in statements to the newspaper, "The ban on child labor is a human right that must be adhered to globally," adding that "companies that work in Germany or do business here must commit to combating child labor and be punished if they violate these rules."
From July 1 to the end of this year, Germany will assume the rotating presidency of the European Union Council.