Electronics industry reinforces commitment to tackling forced labour

The Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) is to conduct shadow audits and increase its industry and government engagement in Malaysia to further combat the issue of forced labour.

The nonprofit coalition of leading electronics companies dedicated to supply chain responsibility has been working for more than a decade to support the rights and wellbeing of workers and communities worldwide affected by the global electronics supply chain. While the EICC Code of Conduct explicitly bans trafficked and forced labour, completely eradicating it in the global electronics industry supply chain remains a challenge for everyone – including EICC members.

Some of the ongoing challenges faced by government and industry in trying to protect workers were highlighted recently by international nonprofit Verité in a new report on forced labour among foreign migrant workers in Malaysia’s electronics industry. The EICC has since published a position paper that outlines how it has been proactively working to address these issues and next steps. See here.

“We are continuing to evolve our approach as an industry to better protect these workers, including taking steps to strengthen our Code of Conduct and audit requirements as well as engage government and civil society groups to evaluate and address structural challenges in the systems of recruitment and management for these workers,” said Rob Lederer, executive director, EICC.