Labour Trafficking in the Cocoa Industry

“Following the sad news that the court case against Nestle, Hershey’s and Cargill has been dropped for charges of human trafficking, we would like to hold a screening event focusing on the abusive practices of Food conglomerates world wide. Employees working in farms and factories to produces and manufacture chocolate are usually held under extractive third party arrangements which do not meet international standards for labor laws. By outsourcing production to the poorer halves of the world, large corporations like Hershey exploit the lax labor laws within Asia and Africa, to create large profit margins. These terrible regulations are the reason why men, women and children work themselves to the bone with little or no pay to farm and manufacture products which can be sold at small prices. Children who work under these situations do not get to experience a normal childhood or attend schools as they grow up. These issues create a dependence on the employers to provide further employment, creating a cycle of debt bondage over generations.

We have the pleasure of being joined by our Keynote Speaker; Andrew Wallis, OBE – he is the CEO of Unseen, a UK-wide charity that believes that modern slavery can and must be eradicated. As well as running the Modern Slavery Helpline, Unseen runs services for survivors of human trafficking, and works with police, health workers, governemnt, businsses and others to help prevent modern slaver. Andrew charied the landmark Centre for Social Justice report ‘It Happens Here’, widely acknowledged as the catalyst for the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015, which he also advised on the development of. He was awarded an OBE that year. This job has presented him with challenges as diverse as building flat-pack furniture for Unseen’s first safe house, to advising global businesses on how to address slavery in supply chains. He has been described as the “the loveliest disrupter you could hope to meet”.

Join us on the 17th of August, 2022 at CFC Underwriting to watch an insightful documentary into these practices, and get to listen to an address from prominent figures in the Human Trafficking Abolition movement. These will be followed by a Q & A as well snacks and refreshments.”