Child Labor
At Michelin, we are opposed to any form of child labor that could harm the health, education or integrity of children and that is not in line with ILO conventions.
We want to protect children, support their physical and psychological development and prohibit in our activities and those of our suppliers any work that would violate these principles.
Definition
The concept of "child labor" includes all the activities that deprive children of their childhood, harm their education, health, and physical and mental development. It refers to work:
- dangerous for the health or physical, social or mental development of children;
- which compromises their education or deprives them of schooling;
- which forces them to combine excessively long school and professional activities that are too tiring for them.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) sets the minimum working age at 15, and 18 for all forms of hazardous work.
In any case, even one-off work must not prevent a child from attending school, nor harm their health and development. Under this condition, certain light work is considered acceptable by the ILO for children from 13 years of age. Finally, a child should not stop attending school before the compulsory age in a given country.
Guiding Principles
Requirements for people working on Michelin sites
- No work by anyone under 18 on the Group's sites
- Exceptions between 15 and 18 years if the work period is part of an apprenticeship, does not replace education or harm the development and health of the person (no heavy work).
Michelin guiding principles for suppliers
- The Purchasing Principles, which are annexed to contracts, require suppliers to respect the following rules: prohibition of the employment of persons under 18 years of age for hazardous work, and prohibition of workers under 15 years in general. Exceptions are possible depending on the nature of the activity carried out, provided that the practices comply with ILO Conventions 138 and 182 and national law, and in particular that work does not replace schooling and does not harm the development and health of the person.
- The Group has a specific approach regarding natural rubber to map the risk of child labor in its supply chain and put in place actions and monitoring in the areas most at risk.
- The Group also assesses the risks related to human rights - including child labor - among suppliers, particularly in the countries and purchasing categories at highest risk. Suppliers whose CSR practices do not comply with Michelin standards must put in place corrective action plans.
Do: I must
- Compare national laws with company principles and prescriptions on minimum working age and use the highest age.
- Check employee IDs to ensure they are at least 18 years old if performing heavy work.
- Have increased vigilance in countries where child labor is frequent, including vigilance over our suppliers.
Don't: I must not
- Allow child labor, even if it is considered normal practice in the country.
- Turn a blind eye to child labor when carried out by a supplier or partner (not at Michelin).
Practical case 1
You are appointed manager of a workshop in a factory. Some employees seem very young to you. After checking their identity papers, it turns out that one of them is 16 years old and assigned to a heavy post. What should you do?
The country where you operate allows work from the age of 16, but company rules require anyone working a heavy post to be at least 18 years old. You therefore study the possibility for this young person to work in another position, making sure beforehand that the tasks carried out do not harm their health or their education.
Practical case 2
You are a regional director in a developing country. An NGO contacts Michelin to report that children work in a rubber plantation that indirectly supplies the Group. After investigation, it turns out that these teenagers help their parents occasionally in the plantations.
Should you report it anyway?
Yes. You report the case to the purchasing department who will decide what action to take.
