- Human Rights Coalition – Working to End Forced Labour and AIM-Progress member 
companies release step-by-step guide for repayment of worker-paid recruitment 
fees
- Around one-fifth of all people in forced labour exploitation in the private 
economy are in situations of debt bondage, which can be caused by paying 
recruitment fees
- New Guidance is designed to be used by all employers throughout the consumer 
goods value chain

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Human Rights Coalition – Working to End Forced 
Labour (HRC) 
[https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/social-sustainability/human-rights-ending
-forced-labour/?utm_source=newswires&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=hrc-repaym
ent-guidance-launch], in partnership with AIM-Progress 
[https://www.aim-progress.com/], has today released new "Guidance on the 
Repayment of Worker-paid Recruitment Fees and Related Costs" 
[https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-HRC-Guide
lines-on-Repayment-of-Recruitment-Fees.pdf?utm_source=newswires&utm_medium=refer
ral&utm_campaign=hrc-repayment-guidance-launch] to support corporate action 
around the topic of remediating worker-paid recruitment fees. As workers in 
global supply chains – particularly migrant workers – may be coerced to pay 
fees to recruitment agencies in order to secure jobs, they are at risk of 
falling into debt bondage, which may lead to cases of forced labour. According 
to the International Labour Organization (ILO) 
[https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_855019/lang--en/ind
ex.htm], around one-fifth of all people in forced labour exploitation in the 
private economy are in situations of debt bondage.

This Guidance is intended to be a practical tool for all businesses to help 
ensure their recruitment and employment practices respect the CGF's Priority 
Industry Principles (PIPs), which were launched in 2017 and define the most 
common, yet problematic, employment practices which can lead to cases of forced 
labour. The PIPs state:

- Every worker should have freedom of movement.
- No worker should pay for a job.
- No worker should be indebted or coerced to work.

Today's Guidance is a powerful tool to support companies respect these 
Principles, particularly the second – no worker should pay for a job – as well 
as the Employer Pays Principle, in their employment practices. The Guidance is 
designed to be updated as the global sustainability landscape evolves, 
businesses enhance their human rights due diligence (HRDD) systems 
[https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/social-sustainability/human-rights-ending
-forced-labour/key-projects/human-rights-due-diligence-hrdd/?utm_source=newswire
s&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=hrc-repayment-guidance-launch], and more 
actors undergo the remediation process. With its step-by-step guidelines for 
how to repay workers for any recruitment fees and related costs, the HRC and 
AIM-Progress invite all relevant actors from different sectors to use this 
Guidance as a tool to strengthen their HRDD approach, especially in areas where 
recruitment fees are a common practice, to ensure responsible recruitment of 
workers worldwide 
[https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/social-sustainability/human-rights-ending
-forced-labour/responsible-recruitment-employment/?utm_source=newswires&utm_medi
um=referral&utm_campaign=hrc-repayment-guidance-launch].

The Guidance was released during a session at the CGF's annual Sustainable 
Retail Summit 
[https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/events/sustainable-retail-summit/?utm_sou
rce=newswires&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=hrc-repayment-guidance-launch] 
about "Industry Action on Responsible Recruitment to Fight Forced Labour" 
featuring Didier Bergeret, The Consumer Goods Forum; Heidi Koester Oliveira, 
Mars, Inc.; Anbinh X. Phan, Walmart; Benjamin Gatland, The Heineken Company; 
and Rosey Hurst, Impactt. The Guidance is derived and aligned with Impactt's 
"Principles and Guidelines for the Repayment of Migrant Worker Recruitment Fees 
and Related Costs." 
[https://impacttlimited.com/principles-for-repayment-of-recruitment-fees/]

As an initiative of 30 of the world's largest consumer goods manufacturers and 
retailers, the HRC is committed to helping achieve fair and decent working 
conditions worldwide by eradicating forced labour from its supply chains. The 
work of the HRC continues the CGF's long history of engagement on the issue of 
forced labour within consumer goods supply chains by building on the CGF's 
Social Resolution on Forced Labour, the first of its kind in the industry; its 
Priority Industry Principles; and ongoing relationships with key stakeholders 
in the industry.

AIM-PROGRESS is a global initiative of fast-moving consumer goods manufacturers 
and their common suppliers with a mission is to positively impact people's 
lives and ensure respect for human rights, while delivering value to our 
members and their supply chains. This is done across four areas: human rights 
priorities and respective Working Groups, the Regional Hubs, Mutual Recognition 
work stream to create synergies in approaches, and the Capability Building work 
stream to equip our members with knowledge and ability to execute strong 
responsible and sustainable sourcing programmes.

Didier Bergeret, CGF Director of Sustainability, said, "With the ILO releasing 
new calculations on modern slavery that show more people worldwide are in cases 
of forced labour compared to 2016, all employers have a responsibility to step 
up actions to ensure their workers are recruited and employed fairly. This 
Guidance offers step-by-step advice for businesses on how to address the 
important topic of recruitment fees."

Louise Herring, Executive Director of AIM-Progress, said, "Responsible 
recruitment is a central focus of AIM-Progress's and its members' work on human 
rights. We recognise that providing practical guidance, alongside hands-on 
support, to suppliers and recruitment intermediaries is critical for improving 
supply chain practices. We hope this Guidance will support further 
collaboration between supply chain partners to remediate and tackle the root 
causes of recruitment fees."

Heidi Koester Oliveira, Global Director, Social Impact, Mars, said, 
"Responsible recruitment is not the norm in certain global supply chains, and 
that's why Mars is working with major brands and retailers to shift systems, 
support suppliers, and show that progress is possible. We believe that 
vulnerable workers can be recruited responsibly – without bearing fees and 
expenses –  when the true cost of recruitment is shared across the value chain. 
This Guidance can support companies in addressing recruitment fees where they 
are identified, so we can move forward to focus on government advocacy and new 
systems, controls, and commercial levers to eliminate this practice."

Rachel Cowburn-Walden, Global Head of Sustainability, Human Rights, Unilever, 
said,  "Unilever supports the launch of this Guidance which includes practical 
steps that, when implemented, will help workers, reduce business risks and 
create a more responsible recruitment industry."

Rosey Hurst, Founder of Impactt, said, "We welcome the launch of this Guidance 
which has the potential to drive remedy at scale across global supply chains 
and make a significant contribution to reducing debt bondage and repaying 
hundreds of millions of dollars to workers who have paid fees".

The full guidance is available here 
[https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-HRC-Guide
lines-on-Repayment-of-Recruitment-Fees.pdf?utm_source=newswires&utm_medium=refer
ral&utm_campaign=hrc-repayment-guidance-launch]. To learn more about the work 
of the HRC, visit www.tcgfsocial.com. 

About the Human Rights Coalition – Working to End Forced Labour

The CGF Human Rights Coalition – Working to End Forced Labour (HRC) is a 
CEO-led Coalition of Action from The Consumer Goods Forum. As an initiative of 
30 of the world's largest consumer goods companies, the HRC is committed to 
helping achieve fair and decent working conditions worldwide by eradicating 
forced labour from its supply chains. The work of the HRC continues the CGF's 
long history of engagement on the issue of forced labour within consumer goods 
supply chains by building on the CGF's Social Resolution on Forced Labour, the 
first of its kind in the industry; its Priority Industry Principles, and 
ongoing relationships with key stakeholders in the industry. For more 
information about the HRC, visit www.tcgfsocial.com.

About The Consumer Goods Forum

The Consumer Goods Forum ("CGF") is a global, parity-based industry network 
that is driven by its members to encourage the global adoption of practices and 
standards that serves the consumer goods industry worldwide. It brings together 
the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers, service 
providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries, and it reflects the 
diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Its 
member companies have combined sales of EUR 3.5 trillion and directly employ 
nearly 10 million people, with a further 90 million related jobs estimated 
along the value chain. It is governed by its Board of Directors, which 
comprises more than 55 manufacturer and retailer CEOs. For more information, 
please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com.

Logo - 
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1279200/The_Consumer_Goods_Forum_Logo.jpg

SOURCE: The Consumer Goods Forum