By Arpan Chaturvedi
NEW DELHI, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Indian electronics company Eureka Forbes said it has launched an internal investigation into its supply chain after authorities uncovered child labour at one of its suppliers in New Delhi.
The National Human Rights Commission this week asked Eureka, as well as electrical equipment maker Havells and Unilever’s India unit, to make checks after four children were rescued from a small-scale Indian vendor.
Delhi authorities on Monday rescued the children from a little-known electrical wiring and component company called YY Harness. The company, which had identified the big companies among its clients, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Eureka Forbes – one of the nation’s most popular makers of water purifiers – said it had initiated an investigation.
“We take these allegations extremely seriously…we have initiated an immediate review and audit of the practices,” Eureka Forbes Chief Financial Officer Gaurav Khandelwal said in a statement to Reuters.
Hindustan Unilever denied the vendor was a business partner. Havells did not respond to Reuters queries.
The Human Rights Commission is the country’s top body tasked with protection of human rights and its orders are binding on government authorities.
Priyank Kanoongo, a senior member of the commission, told Reuters the companies in question must urgently carry out a check of their supply chains.
“Companies making profits from child labour is equal to blood-money,” Kanoongo said.
The four rescued children from YY Harness were aged between 14 and 16, according to case documents seen by Reuters. They told authorities they worked for six days a week at the unit and were paid between $105 and $125 per month. Police are investigating the incident.
The commission has previously intervened over tech giant Amazon’s labour practices at a warehouse in New Delhi. Amazon had said the safety and wellbeing of its associates and employees is its top priority.
(Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Lincoln Feast.)
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