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[PDF] “Hellish Work” - Exploitation of Migrant Tobacco Workers in Kazakhstan
Every year, tens of thousands of migrant workers…travel to…Kazakhstan in search of employment. Thousands of these migrant workers, often together with their children, find work in tobacco farming. Tobacco farm owners in Kazakhstan contract with and supply tobacco to Philip Morris Kazakhstan, a subsidiary of Philip Morris International [part of Altria]… In the worst cases, workers were subjected to forced labor, or situations analogous to forced labor…which…is banned under both international and Kazakhstani law…Human Rights Watch documented 72 cases of children working…Recommendations…To Philip Morris International…Revise the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Guidelines…Signed, enforceable employment contracts…Limits on working hours for workers…Provision of potable water…