Contributors' opinions are their own.
Four key Alabama suppliers have been accused of using child labor.
Bloomberg | Getty Images Alabama-based suppliers have been investigated before for child labor practices.
According to sources who'd worked for Ajin Industrial Co., the company employed as many as 10 minor workers at one factory alone. Child labor laws were frequently violated by the supplier ofHyundai. The allegations regarding Hwashin and Ajin are new and have not been reported before. The issue is more significant than child welfare agencies were aware of.
Employees say that children as young as 16 have worked in Alabama factories for suppliers. Children under the age of 16 are not allowed to work in automobile plants in Alabama and the United States.
Children are not allowed to work at the plants and suppliers of the two Korean companies. In the wake of child labor allegations, the company's chief operating officer said the company would immediately end business withSL and investigate all of its Alabama operations. The company walked this back and said it would stop working with sketchier staffing outfits.
Labor experts believe the use of child labor may have been a result of the pressure placed on suppliers by the two Korean companies. Delivery delays can be costly. The proliferation of violations may have been caused by the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
According to the director of Harvard Law School's Labor and Worklife Program, it seems like the stage was set for this to happen. The region has a low density of unions. Too little regulatory enforcement. Staffing agencies may be used.
The only supplier charged with violating child labor laws so far isSL Alabama. The Labor Department imposed a $30,000 fine after seven workers were discovered working there. The company was fined by the Alabama Department of Labor.
There are other serious issues in play here. Some children found working for suppliers may have been victims of human traffickers, according to a new report.
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