Unkategorisiert Archive • XertifiX

Fact check: Can a supply chain law even be expected of the economy?

Again and again representatives of the economy raise the accusation that the economy in Germany is exposed to incalculable liability risks due to a supply chain law (SCL) or that the economy is disadvantaged compared to international competition. In this way you try to discredit the concerns of an SCL from the outset.

The Supply Chain Act initiative has taken a closer look at such allegations and examined what is actually in them. The aim of the fact check is to objectify the debate. It is shown that the question of liability is primarily “about reparation for serious individual cases”. The SCL is intended to close a legal loophole that arose in the first place through global cross-border trade, and is based only on the principles that are already customary in case law, such as the duty of care under tort law. And instead of causing a wave of lawsuits, an SCL should primarily have a preventive effect and instruct companies to set up “preventive management systems”. If a company fulfills its due diligence obligations adequately, it does not have to expect legal action. In part 2, the fact check presents specific examples (such as “copper mine in Peru”) where the company can be assumed to be liable, and those for which a company based in Germany does not have to reckon with legal action despite damage (such as “pineapple plantation from Costa Rica “).

Plese refer: “Verhältnismäßig und zumutbar: Haftung nach dem Lieferkettengesetz” (German)

Walt Schm2020-09-02T11:50:17+02:00September 2nd, 2020|

World Day Against Child Labor

Why child labor not only harms children but also adults…….

“It would be nice if we could report on the World Day Against Child Labor that children no longer have to work and can instead attend schools, free of charge, close to where they live and until they graduate,” explains the chairwoman of XertifiX e.V. and former vice of the German Trade Union Confederation, Ingrid Sehrbrock.

“But it’s not that far yet. There is progress, of course: According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), 246 million child workers were recorded in 2000, in 2017 it was “only” 152 million. Still, far too many. In addition, the promising decline in recent years has slowed considerably. The children’s aid organization UNICEF fears that at the same pace there will still be 121 million child workers in 2025.

Almost all countries in the world have committed themselves to completely abolish all forms of child labor, starting with the worst, by 2025. ”

The “worst forms of child labor” include (ILO Convention No. 182 of 1999): slavery and slave-like dependencies, forced labor including the use of child soldiers, child prostitution and child pornography, criminal activities such as the abuse of children as drug couriers and other forms of work that can endanger the safety and health of children.

In many sectors of the economy worldwide, children are massively exploited worldwide despite efforts that cannot be denied, be it in the carpet weaving mill, in the textile industry or in stone processing companies.

Of course, it is primarily up to the state to remedy the situation. But weak states that do not enforce the law, corruption and a lack of jobs cement the situation.

Children are not only exposed to harmful substances, work in dangerous environments, up to 12 hours a day, and are paid less than adults.

A vicious circle: because the parents have no work, the children work. And because the children work, the adults are unemployed.

Can consumers outline the rudder? How can consumers recognize that e.g. B. a natural stone that you want to use for paving in the garden was not produced by children?

If you ask people on the street or in a DIY market, the vast majority are convinced that they should buy fair trade products. But when it comes to the question of how to tell whether one of the many social seals is good or not, most of them cannot tell.

Our seal is on the S i e g e l k l a r h e i t portal, which the Federal Government (BMZ) has set up for more transparency

XertifiX Plus

the seal with the best rating (very good choice). We are proud of that.

If, as a consumer, you want to do something about child labor and you care about the working conditions – also for adults –

only buy fair trade products
ask retailers if and how they can ensure that their products are not from child labor
find out more on the S i e g e l k l a r h e i t portal

Consumers can help ensure that work takes place in decent conditions. Contribute to it!

“The World Day Against Child Labor on June 12th should – once again – remind us all,” warns the chairwoman of XertifiX eV Ingrid Sehrbrock.

Press release: XertifiX zum Welttag gegen Kinderarbeit (German)

Walt Schm2020-06-10T16:10:28+02:00June 10th, 2020|

Unfairly produced natural stones cost lives!

Too many workers in quarries and natural stone factories worldwide still have to make a living under catastrophic conditions. Their health is massively endangered by dangerous jobs and non-existent protective equipment. Even the most basic protective measures are missing. Many work seven days a week without a break and do not even receive the statutory minimum wage. Especially in natural stone production facilities in India, China and Vietnam, poor working conditions often lead to incurable, fatal lung disease (silicosis). Many do not even reach the age of 50. On the occasion of the World Day for Decent Work, XertifiX e.V. is calling for sustainable improvements in working conditions in Asian companies. [weiter… (German)]

Walt Schm2020-06-04T14:25:07+02:00October 8th, 2015|

Exhibition “helping stones” of the BBK Kassel

Installation from Gerda Waha

Foto: Karl-Heinz Mierke

Stones block the way. At first glance, randomly brought up cobblestones force us to pause. On closer inspection you can see the faces of exhausted children between the other gray, faceless stones, they tell the story of a lost childhood.

Child workers, have more in common with the gray street paving stones than the first glance might suggest. Just like this, you pave the way for other people. Too often they get under the wheels themselves.

Stones help, because stumbling over stones makes us pause, take a closer look – this is how the still numerous child laborers are relieved of their anonymity.

Stumble, pause, look, reflect and take it into your own life –

Foto: Karl-Heinz Mierke

When? Vom 26. September bis 01. November 2015

Where? Im Naturparkzentrum Habichtswald
Auf dem Dörnberg, 34289 Zierenberg

For the exhibition “Helping Stones?” The Marburg artist Gerda Waha has resumed and expanded an old project “On the Disappearance of Childhood”. The stones not only serve as stumbling blocks, they also give every viewer the possibility of direct help. A large part of the proceeds from the sale of the individual stones after the exhibition is donated to XertifiX Sozialprojekte e.V.

Walt Schm2020-06-04T14:28:50+02:00August 26th, 2015|

K. Satyarthi & M. Yousafzai receive Nobel Peace Prize

Kailash Satyarthi gets Peace Nobel Prize
We congratulate Kailash Sarthiaty for his commitment against child labor. We also congratulate the Nobel Prize Committee for highlighting the topic of child labor and combating it worldwide.
XertifiX co-founder Benjamin Pütter, together with Kailash Satyarthi, initiated and conducted the worldwide Global March against Child Labor. The main themes of Satyarthi have always been the abolition of child labor in the carpet and stone industry and in this context XertifiX e.V. has been established.

XertifiX2019-09-23T12:13:40+02:00October 10th, 2014|

NRW: Cabinet decides new funeral law

Municipalities authorized to ban gravestones from child labor

The state government has passed a new law which, among other things, authorizes municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia to ban gravestones from child labor. “By law, we enable cemetery wards to prohibit the construction of gravestones from exploitative child labor that will destroy the lives of girls and boys,” Minister Steffens said after the Cabinet meeting. Before the law was passed, numerous groups and associations were consulted last year.

After Saarland, Bremen and Baden-Württemberg, NRW is the fourth federal state to legally authorize municipalities to ban gravestones from child labor. In Bavaria, according to recent constitutional and administrative court judgments, such an authorization is no longer necessary.

Please refer: Press release of the state government NRW (German)
See also: Westfälische Nachrichten

XertifiX2019-09-23T12:12:05+02:00April 25th, 2013|

Gigantic scam scandal at PRP Granite

Granit tycoon Palanichamy suspected of fraud

One of the big Indian granite producers and exporters, PRP Granites and PRP Exports, is involved in a gigantic fraud scandal surrounding illegal granite mining. In the course of detecting and investigating the fraud, the owner of PRP Granite, Mr. P. Palanichamy, was remanded, his home was searched, and granite mining licenses were suspended. Meanwhile, the wife of Mr. Palanichamy, two sons, a daughter and a daughter-in-law are under suspicion of fraud.

Mr. P. Palanichamy is one of thirteen lifetime members of the powerful Indian Monument Manufacturers Association (IMMA) Indian Tomb Association.

Please refer: Five more cases booked against P.R. Palanichamy
Please refer: PRP firms admitted their guilt, says government

XertifiX2019-09-23T11:19:03+02:00April 15th, 2013|

IGEP threatens Earthlink with lawsuit

The Indo-German Export Promotion (IGEP) Earthlink is threatened with a lawsuit, as can be read on the website of the “Active against child labor” campaign. The background was a study on natural stone seals commissioned by the city of Hanover. As a result of the study, Earthlink presented the information they received from the respective seal initiatives. IGEP has not agreed to the presentation and is now apparently threatening to file a lawsuit.

Earthlink about it: “If the IGEP Foundation is actually dealing with a legal dispute with a small non-governmental organization like Earthlink eV, it has robbed it of its credibility solely by threatening to atart a legal dispute. The stubborn refusal, at least, to provide us with the relevant documents on the alleged standardization at least now sending it out to us or making it available on the Internet (in connection with an inflationary flood of threatening emails and registered mail in the past few days) raises the question for me whether the exaggerated outrage about our comparative presentation should only mask the fact that there are no serious basic labor law standards.”

Walt Schm2020-05-29T08:39:19+02:00September 17th, 2012|

XertifiX for better working and environmental conditions

XertifiX expands control criteria and strengthens sealing requirements

After long preparation and numerous consultations, the XertifiX criteria, which form the basis of our inspections, were extended at the board meeting on 27.04.2012. On our website you will find the list of XertifiX criteria .

The main focus of XertifiX remains the effective and successful fight against child labor through unannounced controls, education and support for schools.

However, we see the potential that the working conditions we control for the adult workers, as well as the environmental conditions, can be gradually improved in the companies we control. We start with the status quo of each quarry and each factory and develop from this starting point the respective intermediate targets to be fulfilled. The XertifiX criteria are hereby the target catalogue, which is worked on in each quarry and each factory.

Decisive is the willingness and implementation of a gradual improvement. Each year, in addition to the unannounced controls, the announced audit takes place, in which the inspector together with the person responsible for the production site jointly determines the progress to be achieved within one year. This target agreement is then binding and must be implemented within one year.

We are confident that in this way we will be taking another important step towards improving the production conditions of Indian natural stones.

XertifiX2019-09-23T08:56:05+02:00May 18th, 2012|

Nordindien: Zwei Polizisten bei Steinbruchkontrollen ermor

Diese Woche erreicht uns von unserem Nordindien-Inspektor die Nachricht, dass in Madhya Pradesh zwei hochrangige Polizisten bei Kontrollen von illegalen Steinbrüchen ermordet wurden:

There have been some new developments in Madhya Pradesh – where there have been two high profile murders (within a span of just one week) of senior Police officers who were trying to control the illegal mining in that area. As such, there is high alert in the area and movement of people is restricted to prevent further such instances.

Wir werden daher auch die XertifiX-Inspektionen in der Region in Madhya Pradesh aussetzen, bis die Situation unter Kontrolle ist.
Hintergrund: In Indien wird ein beträchtlicher Anteil der Natursteine in Steinbrüchen abgebaut, für die keine Steuern an den Staat abgeführt werden, sog. illegale Steinbrüche ohne staatliche Lizenz.

XertifiX2012-03-15T12:21:37+01:00March 15th, 2012|

12 Next

Testimonials

Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul

I am committed to XertifiX because I have always been committed to decent working conditions. That is why it is my concern to finally create decent conditions in the Indian / Chinese quarries.

Heribert Scharrenbroich

XertifiX stands for the respect of the main working standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the problematic sector of natural stone extraction and processing. That is why, as a former board member of the ILO, it is an honor for me to be able to support this impressive NGO as chairman of the board of trustees.

Klaus Wiesehügel

As a former President of the Building + Woodworker Internationale (BWI), I also had to personally experience the unacceptable working conditions of our colleagues in the building materials industry worldwide. This applies in particular to the workers in the asbestos pits in Russia and the natural stone (granite) quarries in China and India. This work is unacceptable for adults under the miserable, often non-existent protection conditions. For children, this exploitation always ends in early disability and death.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Gregor Lang-Wojtasik

I am committed to XertifiX because I want to contribute to a world without child labor and exploitation as well as for education and opportunities for all.