CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
The following points are the summary of our findings through analyzing the quantitative survey data as well as the qualitative results from interviewing 40 selected auditors who participated in the survey . They reflect the views of 557 auditors working in different countries in Asia . We hope that their collective wisdom will help brands and associates gain a clearer picture of the of the child labor situation in the region , identify the gaps and challenges in preventing and responding to child labor from the experiences of the first respondents – auditors , and improve the systems in place to address child labor .
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Child labor is still an issue in the supply chains that shouldn ’ t be overlooked . 64 % of auditors encountered suspected child labor cases in the past two years and 82 % of those cases were confirmed .
Almost a third of the suspected child labor cases were not corroborated in the past two years . Factories ’ cooperation is crucial in corroborating a case , but sometimes brands don ’ t have enough leverage to hold factories accountable , which suggests brands with overlapping supply chains would benefit from forming collaborations .
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Identifying child labor might be significantly affected by internal factors associated with the auditors , such as gender , years of experience and child labor training . For example , female auditors in China discovered significantly more child labor cases than their male counterparts . Auditors in countries outside China discovered significantly more child labor when they received child labor training , which coincides with the fact that considerably more of them received their child labor training from a third party as compared to auditors in China . Therefore , there is a need to take a closer look at the role or gender and child labor training on child labor identification .
Child labor occurs oftentimes because factories “ overlook ” the issue due to an excessive demand for labor ; and hiring procedures is a top capacity gap in factories ’ HR proecudures in terms of child labor . More support and guidance to identify and correct shortcomings in factories ’ hiring procedures will possibly be more effective in preventing child labor than simply providing negative audit reports .
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Best Response : Auditors ’ Insights on Child Labor in Asia 22