"Child labour: LafargeHolcim abandons the victims"

Two years after the child labour scandal in Uganda was discovered, LafargeHolcim and its suppliers have done nothing to help the victims. Bread for all and the Catholic Lenten Fund call on the cement group at today's general meeting in Dübendorf to finally assume its responsibility. The case also shows that Switzerland must regulate the human rights due diligence of companies by law.

A year ago, a study of Bread for All and its partner organisation TLC revealed the extent of grievances in the LafargeHolcim supply chain in Uganda that was previously uncovered by «Le Monde»: for more than ten years, Hima Cement, a subsidiary of the cement group, had benefited from the work of around 150 children and young people. They were cheap labour in the mining of Pozzolan, an additive for cement production. Only when the scandal became public did LafargeHolcim react. Since January 2017, the Franco-Swiss company has been buying the raw material from mechanized quarries that employ adults only...

This is why Bread for all and the Catholic Lenten Fund take the opportunity of today’s General Assembly to remind LafargeHolcim to acknowledge its responsibility for child labour. Moreover, they will renew their demands to support former child labourers in making up for missing school years and provide vocational training for them. The LafargeHolcim case highlights the fact that the human rights due diligence of corporations must be regulated by law, as provided for in the Swiss Responsible Business Initiative.