CHILD LABOUR POLICY

In accordance with our Code of Conduct, Child Labour is not allowed throughout our entire supply chain.

Definition of a child: The definition of a child is a person under the age of 15. Unless country regulations stipulate a higher age, in which case the higher age shall apply.

Definition of a young worker: The definition of a young worker is any worker from 15 (or 16) year of age until 18 years of age.

The requirements: Suppliers must ensure that Child Labour is not present in our supply chain.

PILGRIM does not accept any form of employment of children below the minimum age mentioned above.

The factory must have proper hiring systems in place to prevent children from working at the factory. Records of age verification must be kept at all times. If the factory is providing childcare facilities, they must ensure that the children remain at that area and never enter into production areas.

Young workers should only perform light work, which does not encompass working with dangerous chemicals, heavy lifting or dangerous machinery. Young workers should not be subjected to work that can be harmful to their health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.

PILGRIM must be informed immediately if confirmed child labour is detected. If child labour is detected at the production units, the supplier is requested to make sure that proper measures in the best interest of the child are taken and below Child Labour Policy shall apply.

In case of Child Labour: In cooperation with the supplier a satisfactory solution, taking into consideration the child´s age, social situation and education must be found. Any measures taken should always aim to improve, not worsen, each child´s situation. If children are to be replaced from improper working, then the factory should continue to pay the wages to the child until it reaches the legal age for working.

If possible, a member of the child´s family should be offered the position and paid a minimum wage. This is in order to secure a stable private economy of the child and its family.

If the child has finished primary school, the child should be offered education that supports the child’s further development until it reaches the legal age for working, after which the child should be offered the job again on the same terms as other workers in the factory.

PILGRIM reserves the right to involve non-governmental organizations with the purpose of driving the process to secure the child´s future.

If supplier refuses to cooperate in implementing this policy after child labour has been confirmed, we will terminate all business with said supplier.

However, if the opposite, we will continue our cooperation with the supplier and help to ensure, that a child is not hired into the factory again.

Third Party Audits – SMETA & BSCI

All suppliers are required to be audited by a third party to understand the standards of labor, health and safety, environmental performance, and ethics at their site.

The audits are designed to help protect workers from unsafe conditions, overwork, discrimination, low pay, and forced labor.

Further to ensure compliance with international regulations (e.g., International Labour Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights). 

The aim is not to judge but to ensure ongoing improvements.

The most common audits are from the company SEDEX (SMETA audit) or Amphori (BSCI audit).

The most used audit by our suppliers is SMETA, only our sunglasses supplier also has BSCI audit.

For SMETA we require SMETA 4-pillar.

The 2 pillar audit evaluates the same topics – but does not include the extended version on environmental and ethics topics.

SMETA 4 Pillar Audits

A SMETA 4-pillar audit covers the Labor and Healthy & Safety standards of the 2-pillar audit, as well as Environmental Assessment and Business Ethics. This is the full SMETA audit and includes:

•  Labor Standards
• Health and Safety
• Management Systems
• Entitlement to Work
• Subcontracting and Homeworking
• Environmental Assessment (extended)
• Business Ethics

The audits are valid for one year, and then need renewal.