Primark India Child Labour Panorama investigation
A BBC investigation has discovered children as young as nine are being used to make clothes destined for the high street chain Primark.
The BBC’s Panorama programme has uncovered breaches of Primark’s commitments on working hours, wages and child labour. The company itself has said that it is unacceptable for children to produce its garments and has insisted it was unaware of the practise.
Primark boasts the latest in fashion at low prices and ethical guarantees on how they were produced. There have been near riots at the opening of new stores, including one last year in London.
Panorama’s six month investigation trawled some of the slums and villages in South India. It is here where many of Primark’s factories are, but is was suspected that some of the hand sewing of beads and sequins was being done in homes and back yards in breach of the company’s promise. Working under cover it wasn’t long before the Panorama team found children working on these garments.
it appears that the Primark auditors never visit these back street locations. These practices harm the children in many different ways - socially, morally, psychologically and physically. The panorama team found children in the slums of Bangalore working on sequined tops.
Primark say that this shouldn’t be happening and have cancelled future orders with the suppliers.
At Heal, we feel that the only way to ensure a good future for children like these is to get them into education. Many families are forced to put their children through child labour, because they are in such poverty that they wouldn’t be able to afford the education fees.
Heal has created it’s Poverty Trap project to encourage parents to send their children to school, rather than have them working. Heal pays for the education, a midday meal, school books and their uniform.
Only by education of today’s children do we feel the cycle of poverty in India can be broken for good.