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Article

1 Jul 2015

Author:
Fairfood International, CNV Internationaal and the Central American Institute for Social Studies

Give them a break. The bitter consequences of poor working conditions in the Central American sugarcane industry

Workers in the Central American sugarcane industry are suffering from a lack of decent working conditions and many of them are consequently contracting the devastating Chronic Kidney Disease of non-Traditional causes (CKDnT)…In order to ensure that decent work is assured and the risk factors for CKDnT are eradicated from the labour practices in the sugarcane industry, companies have to ensure better working conditions, as well as allowing collective bargaining…Fairfood International, CNV Internationaal and ICAES looked into the supply chain for sugarcane from Guatemala and Nicaragua and found that companies further along the sugarcane supply chain, like Bacardi and Diageo, have also been unwilling to accept responsibility for the rise of CKDnT among workers in their supply chains…However, they can make a major difference by ensuring safe and healthy working conditions through their sourcing policies and practices…