MAC takes action against child and forced labour

The following is an edited statement from the Mining Association of Canada. For more information, please visit www.mining.ca.

The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) has added two components to its Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative to contribute to global efforts in preventing the use of child and forced labour in the mining supply chain, and to provide the information needed to demonstrate the responsible sourcing of minerals and metals.

Despite the fact that Canada has rigorous legal measures in place to prevent child and forced labour, this action was undertaken because MAC’s TSM initiative has been expanding internationally. These additions to TSM build on the program’s commitment to continuously improve the social and environmental performance of the industry.

This work also responds to the needs of organizations such as the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition to ensure and demonstrate that such labour practices have no place in their supply chains. For example, Apple’s recently updated Supplier Responsibility Standards included TSM, but noted that the program did not cover child or forced labour. This prompted MAC to take action to strengthen TSM in this important area.

The new measures incorporated into TSM are designed to ensure that child labour and forced labour have no place in mines that participate in the program. Participating companies are required to commit to “respecting the rights of our workers and not engaging in practices of forced or child labour, as defined in ILO Conventions 29, 138 and 182.” To ensure this commitment is being adhered to, independent verifiers will assess whether participating mines have processes in place to ensure that there are no instances of child and forced labour in their business.

This enhancement to TSM also builds on MAC’s recent announcement of a new membership commitment requiring member companies to implement the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. By adding these requirements, TSM is well-positioned as a go-to standard for the global mining industry.

“[This] sends a powerful signal that the Canadian mining industry is absolutely committed to the international effort to prevent and eradicate instances of child and forced labour in the global mining industry and the wider mining supply chain,” said Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of MAC.