Wed, 19 Oct, 2016 12:07:07 AM FTimes – STT Report, Oct 19 A child harvests coffee beans in the department of El Paraiso, 120 km east of Tegucigalpa, December 20, 2010. In Honduras, a country That hopes to become the the first coffee exporter in Central America, does not regulate child labor. Photo – AFP / Lehtikuva. Child labour and low wages are still common in cultivation of coffee that subsequently is sold in Finland.
The Finnish corporate social responsibility watchdog Finnwatch on Tuesday published a comprehensive report which looks into the working conditions at coffee farms and plantations in Brazil, India, and Honduras.
In Honduras, workers’ low salary levels have led to widespread child labour.
According to Finnwatch researcher Annu Kultalahti, child labour was found at all the farms investigated in Honduras, including the certified ones.
In India, the biggest problems reported by the workers were related to high recruitment fees, said Finnwatch in a statement.
Of all investigated farms, the working conditions were the best in Brazil, and were largely in line with the national legislation.
However, Finnwatch urged the companies which source coffee from Brazil to be cautions, despite the improved working conditions.
“Several exporting companies and cooperatives that supply European roasters have been connected to farms where the Brazilian authorities have found working conditions analogous to slavery,” said Kultalahti.
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