Firestone Liberian controversy
In 1926, Firestone opened one of the world's biggest rubber plantation in Liberia, West Africa. The workers accuse the company of serious labor abuses, including exploitative child labor, which they claim amount to modern-day slavery. Workers specifically claim that Firestone's high daily quotas force them to employ their own children, subjecting them to grueling and dangerous work conditions. In response to the claims, the president of Firestone NATURAL Rubber told a CNN interviewer that "each tapper will tap AbOUT 650 trees a day, where they spend perhaps a couple of minutes at each tree." As the network pointed out, this would add up to more than 21 hours of work per day.
In May 2006, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) released a report detailing the state of human rights on Liberia's rubber plantations. According to the report, Firestone managers in Liberia admitted that the company does not effectively monitor its own policy prohibiting child labor. UNMIL found that several factors Contribute to the occurrence of child labor on Firestone plantations: pressure to meet company quotas, incentive to support the family financially, and lack of access to basic education. The report also noted that workers' housing provided by Firestone has not been renovated since the houses were constructed in the 1920s and 1930s.
Alien Tort Claims Act
In 2005, "tappers" (workers who extract latex from rubber trees) on the Liberian plantation filed an Alien Tort Claims Act lawsuit against Bridgestone/Firestone.
The Lawsuit relates to the following topics:
- Serious labor abuses, including exploitative child labor.
Management of the plantation claim that workers are bringing their own children to work to assist them and that this is not endorsed by the plantation management.
Workers claim that management's high daily quotas force them to employ their own children as their only means of meeting quotas.
Even though Liberia does have child labor laws and Firestone has banned children from tapping trees, workers say the ban isn't enforced. The workers say the only way they can complete their daily quota is to bring their children along.
Firestone management says if children are found helping their parents, the employees are cancelled, and if necessary, disciplined. "We have very strict policies about our child labor. We do not hire anybody under 18 years of age, and we discourage parents from bringing their children to the fields with them ."
Firestone requested to transfer the case to Indianapolis, Indiana from California and this request was granted in April 2006.
Conditions cited at Liberia
As per the various online protests and forums, the conditions cited in Liberia are dismal. Firestone workers are assigned a quota which takes 21 hours a day at least to complete, and if the quota is not met, the workers' already low wages are halved. Therefore, the workers have to make their families perform hard labor from early morning in order to meet the quota. The children work 12-14 hours a day and most do not have proper nutrition in their diets given the low wages.
The company stated that they forbid child labor, but in fact it knowingly assigned excessive quotas that can only be met by workers bringing their children to the plantation. Children cannot get a proper education and are forced to endure heavy physical labor in which they have to carry heavy buckets full of rubber latex many times a day. Just imagine a 10 year old child forced to carry 70 pounds of rubber using a stick and 2 pails several times a day. Because of these harsh conditions the children cannot fully grow up physically and mentally. They are being used as beasts of burden.
Furthermore, working on a rubber plantation poses many safety issues and the company has no means to protect their workers. Rubber latex can cause permanent damage on contact with the eye. Toxic pesticides are also used in production and workers are routinely exposed to harsh chemicals.
The company insists that they offer free education and medical care to workers' families. However, the schools require some expenses be paid and both systems heavily restrict the range of children who can get education. Moreover, the medical system is not adequate because its clinic's open hours are limited. Furthermore, houses provided for workers are broken-down shacks built in the 1920s, without running water or indoor toilets. These living conditions stand in stark contrast to the luxurious houses of many foreign managers, often white or Asian.
What is worse, the workers cannot get appropriate wages because they are illiterate and cannot read the pay stub for their wages, which includes reductions for housing or food deductions. This system has evolved into a cycle of three generations that have grown up on the plantation and continue to be limited in their access to education or other job opportunities aside from that of a rubber tapper.
In Liberia, where people suffer from poverty and unemployment, losing a job means a loss of any way to make money, which easily leads to starvation. This system, where generations of workers are born in the plantation and exploited from their youth, has continued for over 80 years and constitutes modern-day slavery."
Environmental hazards
Firestone has been charged not only with the exploitation of labor, but also with certain environmental issues. This may have serious implications for Long term sustainable utilization of natural resources of Liberia.
Air pollution
According to field study conducted by SAMFU, in the process of baking rubber for export, the Company releases huge amount of chemical pollutants that is mixed with the carbon dioxide that is inhaled by inhabitants of the city. The smoke released from the factory rises to be seen in many parts of Harbel as a sign of very serious air pollution.
Water pollution
Processing of rubber requires use of ammonia and acid to keep the rubber liquidized or coagulated. According to observation of SAMFU, ammonia & acid is released in the creek through washing of working equipments like buckets, storage tanks, latex transportation trucks, and other equipments from the factory into creeks & rivers daily. This may pose a serious health hazard when accumulated over a long period.
Firestone's view
" Firestone claims that in Liberia, it is actively involved in community development projects like:
- Building Schools
- Developing health care facilities
- Sanitation Centers
- Developing Water Treatment plant
- Churches
- Child care facilities
What Firestone claims when faced with allegations?
- Firestone claims that the wages for the average tapper are good enough and the work hours are not long. The deductions from the salaries are standard deductions such as credit unions, savings or extra rice at subsidized prices.
- In fact after Dan Adomitis â President of Firestone appeared on CNN it was quoted that workers have to work as long as 21 hours in a day. To this the company clarified that this estimate was obtained based on the colloquial 2 minute job per tree whereas it takes only a few seconds for a skilled worker to sap a tree.
- It contends that it has very strict labor policies and no body under the age of 18 is hired. They hold to this even when international human rights organizations claim that children are often cited working in plantations.
The company website claims that it spends around $2 million per year to operate its medical programs in the country.
- Firestone claims that it encourages students to graduate through Firestone schools so that they can become ministers and business leaders in the community! In a recent October press release the company claimed that it built six classrooms in Habrel in addition to the six existing earlier. Firestone owns and operates its school system of 23 schools with more than 15,000 students enrolled; all of them children of employees who attend at no cost.
- The conditions in Liberia are poor but those in areas populated by Firestone workers are comparatively better. The company claims of supplying millions of dollars along with Liberian government for construction and renovation of houses.
- The company claims that it completely abides with the Liberian laws. Some of the effluents are dumped in Farmington River, but those are done after being processed.
See also
- Corporate abuse
- Crisis management