PRESS INVITATION
May 9, 2008
‘Stop Child Labour’ and Members of the European Parliament present concrete proposals to the European Commission to combat child labour
The campaign ‘Stop Child Labour – School is the Best Place to Work’ and Members of the European Parliament Thijs Berman and Richard Howitt would like to invite you for a Round Table Meeting on:
Child labour and Corporate Social Responsibility:
what the European Union should do
Stronger measures are needed in the European Union to ensure, in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility, the implementation of internationally agreed norms by EU companies. This includes the elimination of child labour, based on both ILO Child Labour Conventions.
‘Stop Child Labour’, Thijs Berman and Richard Howitt (both PES) will present at this Round Table a number of policies to eliminate child labour, with a focus on three points in particular.
Firstly, the campaign ´Stop Child Labour’ will present an ‘Out of Work and into School - Action Plan for Companies to Combat Child Labour'. This action plan guides companies in combating child labour in their operations, including in their supply chain. Berman and Howitt are of the opinion that the European Commission should actively promote this Action Plan in their relations with companies.
Secondly, Berman and Howitt will request the European Commission to start a Child Labour Hotline. When European companies are suspected of being involved in child labour, citizens and organizations could use this Child Labour Hotline to report this. The Child Labour Hotline should also be capacitated to do investigations itself. Furthermore, the Child Labour Hotline should report regularly about the performance of European companies on the issue. This should be done in the context of the authoritative ‘Annual State of CSR’ report that the European Parliament has already requested the European Commission to produce.
The third action that the MEPs Thijs Berman and Richard Howitt will ask the European Commission to take is to ensure that EU-based companies that are given any form of support by the European Commission should provide evidence that they are not involved in child labour. As an alternative companies should present a public time-bound plan to combat child labour, including in their supply chain. This request is in line with a motion recently adopted by the complete Dutch Parliament.
At the Round Table the Campaign ‘Stop Child Labour’ will also present a number of other recommendations to the European Union to combat child labour.
Round Table Conference
Date: Tuesday 13th of May 2008
Time: 16:00 - 18:00 hrs
Hosted by: Thijs Berman MEP and Richard Howitt MEP
Venue: European Parliament Brussels, ASP Building, room 5 G 305
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