Child Labor

Working to Eliminate a Worldwide Problem

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that some 218 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are engaged in work that is inappropriate for their age. Almost two-thirds of these children are in the worst forms of child labor, ranging from commercial farming to working excessive hours to slavery. Extreme poverty is the basic cause of their plight.

At Philip Morris International (PMI) we have a child and forced labor policy, which sets a minimum age and forbids the use of forced labor in all our facilities around the world.

Although PMI does not grow tobacco, we purchase tobacco from suppliers and farmers in over 30 countries.  In many of these countries child labor continues to be a problem in tobacco growing and also across the wider agricultural sector.  Preventing child labor in such agricultural communities is a focus for PMI but continues to be particularly challenging, this is because labor practices can be rudimentary, work often occurs in impoverished circumstances, and there often exists a longstanding, cultural acceptance of child labor. As the International Labor Organization recognizes, eliminating child labor and other labor abuses that stem from systemic issues such as poverty and lack of education, requires the serious and lasting commitment from everyone in the supply chain, as well as governments and other stakeholders.  Accordingly, we are in the process of implementing an Agricultural Labor Practices Code  which strengthens and expands our existing practices and policies, and includes tailored, in-depth training programs for our tobacco crop professionals and suppliers, farmers and their workers; as well as external third party assessments to monitor the progress we’re making in addressing this problem.

Also, we are continuing to work with a range of governmental and nongovernmental organizations around the globe to implement programs that seek to eradicate child labor in tobacco growing communities. Our programs focus on eliminating the root causes of child labor by improving the quality and accessibility of education for children of tobacco farmers, as well as living conditions in tobacco growing communities. Here are a few examples:

• In Colombia , we support the Department of Education and municipal authorities in their efforts to introduce a “New School” program to improve the quality of education in tobacco growing communities. As part of our support, PMI is funding a program through a local nonprofit, Dividendo Por Colombia, to renovate and equip 55 schools in the tobacco growing communities of Ovejas, Capitanejo, Campoalegre, Algeciras, Rivera and El Espinal.
• In Argentina , we are funding a major child labor eradication program known as ‘Porvenir’ in cooperation with the Tobacco Cooperative Foundation and the Conscience Association. PMI financing aims to upgrade educational quality by improving teacher salaries and training and by providing schools with teaching aids, educational materials, and supplies. The program is benefiting more than 3,000 tobacco farmer’s children in the tobacco growing communities of Misiones, Salta, and Jujuy.
• In Malaysia, we are funding a "back to school" program in the tobacco growing states of Sabah and Kelantan, in cooperation with the Malaysia Salam Foundation, by providing textbooks and supplies to more than 2,200 school age children of tobacco farm families.
• In Africa we are funding Total LandCare (TLC) , an NGO associated with Washington State University, to alleviate poverty and reduce child labor in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. TLC’s programs currently reach nearly 6,700 villages and more than 765,000 people. Projects include supplying clean water, planting more than 90 million trees and bamboo, installing stoves, and constructing 100 schools over the next five years.
• We are also members of the Eliminate Child Labor in Tobacco (ECLT) foundation , an organization founded in April 2001, which is a partnership between trade unions, tobacco growers, and tobacco companies. The International Labor Organization (ILO) serves as an advisor to the ECLT Board. The ECLT is working with governments in Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia to reduce child labor in tobacco growing communities. Program elements include conducting child labor awareness programs for community leaders, providing safe drinking water, improving food security, financing poverty alleviation programs, and building new schools.