GRI 408 Child labour

Child labor’ refers to an abuse, which is not to be confused with ‘children working’ or with ‘young

persons working’, which may not be abuses as stipulated in ILO Convention 138.

The minimum age for working differs by country. ILO Convention 138 specifies a minimum age of 15 years or the age of completion of compulsory schooling (whichever is higher). However, there is an exception for certain countries where economies and educational facilities are insufficiently developed and a minimum age of 14 years might apply. These countries of exception are specified by the ILO in response to special application by the country concerned, and in consultation with representative organizations of employers and workers.

In the context of the GRI Standards, a ‘young worker’ is defined as a person above the applicable minimum working age and younger than 18 years of age. Note that Disclosure 408-1 does not require quantitative reporting on child labour or the number of young workers. Rather, it asks for reporting on the operations and suppliers considered to have significant risk for incidents of child labour or young workers exposed to hazardous work.