Exclude exploitative working conditions for gravestones
Hannover / Frankfurt am Main – On the occasion of the Day Against Child Labor on June 12, 2016, XertifiX and the industrial union Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt (IG BAU) draw attention to the ongoing grievances in the Indian gravestone industry. An investigative search of the Süddeutsche Zeitung in December 2015 has shown that still Children in Indian (grave) quarries (SZ Magazin 09/2016). They are not only used there without any protective equipment in health-endangering jobs, but also do not visit a school. “Children need education, so they only have a chance to take their lives into their own hands and free themselves from the poverty trap, so we can not support structures where children are abused as low-cost volunteers,” says Deputy IG BAU Chairman of the Board of Dietmar Schäfers. Without good education, the next generation remains in poverty. “Anyone who makes a profit through imports of such natural stones is guilty of the fate and the endangering of these children,” said the chairman of XertifiX, Ingrid Sehrbrock. In this case, child labor does not mean a “necessary extra” for families in poverty – as it is sometimes heard – but the health impairment of children and the perpetuation of poverty in every generation![Full announcement in German]
Press release: Joint press release of the IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt and XertifiX (in German)
