The reports of child labour in Africa have emerged to the surface, and some of the giants in the IT industry are under the radar. The techno-giants, namely Google, Apple, Dell, Tesla, Microsoft and Alphabet, are accused of knowingly use child labour in the cobalt mines of Africa.
The suit was filed by a non-government body named International Rights Advocates that used lithium batteries for which cobalt is an essential ingredient. The lawsuit mentions Glencore, a British company and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, a Chinese company have been accused of supplying cobalt to the companies mentioned above.
The suit claims that these companies are “aiding and abetting the cruel and brutal use of young children” of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But, Dell is holding up the stand that they have “never knowingly sourced operations using any form of involuntary labor, fraudulent recruiting practices or child labor.”
When the renowned IT Company Apple was questioned about the suit, the spokesperson said they are “deeply committed to the responsible sourcing of materials that go into our products," and also they have fired 6 of their suppliers because they could not meet the requirements of the company.
The company has high safeguard and safety standards and non-compliance of it led to terminating the contract with a few supply suppliers in 2019 in their supply chain.
Google states that “child labor and endangerment is unacceptable, and our Supplier Code of Conduct strictly prohibits this activity.” But, other accused companies were unavailable and did not pass any statement regarding the ongoing suit.
Let’s hope that the right decision is taken and if the accused are found guilty are taught a lesson.
Child labour is a serious offense and the suit should be taken seriously to curb the malpractice.
