1. Introduction and purpose of this policy

IndustriALL applies a human rights-based approach to all its work and programmes and is committed to promote respect and human dignity, as well as providing an environment free from any form of discrimination, violence and harassment, in line with article 32 of its statutes.

This approach is also grounded in, amongst others, the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions, including Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age and Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.

These instruments affirm children’s fundamental rights to safety, health, education, protection, play, dignity, and full development.

Preventing child labour has long been an integral part of IndustriALL’s work. The organisation remains strongly committed to actively promoting the prevention of child labour and the protection of children’s rights at national, regional, and international levels. Furthermore, IndustriALL does not tolerate any form of abuse, exploitation, or harm of children, regardless of the situation or context in which it occurs.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that, through all IndustriALL activities, programmes, partnerships, and collaborations, children are not subject to harm, abuse, or exploitation, and that their rights are respected and protected. This policy applies to all persons engaged in IndustriALL’s work, including employees, affiliates, representatives and consultants.

2. Definitions

Child labour

Child labour is defined, in accordance with the ILO, as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and which is harmful to their physical and mental development. It refers to work that:

• Is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous or harmful to children, and/or
• Interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school, obliging them to leave school prematurely, or requiring them to combine school attendance with excessively long or heavy work.
• The working age limit shall be in line with the ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182.

In line with ILO Convention No. 138, child labour must be assessed with reference to the minimum age for admission to employment, including distinctions between general minimum age, permissible light work, and hazardous work, which shall not be undertaken by anyone under the age of 18.

In accordance with ILO Convention No. 182, the worst forms of child labour are strictly prohibited and include, inter alia, slavery or practices similar to slavery (including trafficking of children, debt bondage, and forced labour), the use of children in armed conflict, the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, pornography or illicit activities, and any work which is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.

Child labour constitutes a violation of fundamental labour rights and requires immediate and effective measures for its elimination.

Child abuse, ill-treatment and exploitation

Child abuse, ill-treatment and exploitation include, but is not limited to, committing or coercing another person to commit acts of abuse against a child that are detrimental to a child’s survival, safety, health, wellbeing, dignity, or development, including:

• Physical abuse: the use of physical force that results in harm, including hitting, slapping, shaking, kicking, burning, strangling, poisoning, or similar acts.
• Emotional abuse: inappropriate verbal or symbolic acts, patterns of neglect, humiliation, intimidation, or failure to provide adequate emotional support that damage a child’s self-esteem or development.
• Sexual abuse: any use of a child for sexual gratification, including inappropriate touching, sexual acts, exploitation, exposure to pornography, or grooming, whether offline or online.
• Ill-treatment: unreasonable or degrading discipline, excessive demands, hostile use of force, or a pattern of degrading or hostile behaviour towards a child.
• Possessing, producing, distributing, obtaining, or transmitting child exploitation material.
• Exploiting children below the applicable minimum age for employment or exposing any person under 18 to hazardous work as defined under international labour standards.

3. Preventative measures

IndustriALL affirms a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of abuse, exploitation, or harm of children.

In accordance with this policy, and in addition to what is mentioned in the introduction on article 32 of the IndustriALL Statutes, IndustriALL will not collaborate with organisations, suppliers, or partners that are known for disrespecting the international standards on child protection mentioned in the introduction.

For any IndustriALL events that include children, IndustriALL shall, where needed, take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure that all personnel engaged in the events do not pose any unacceptable risk to children.

4. Reporting obligations

All IndustriALL staff, consultants and partners engaged in IndustriALL’s work are required to immediately report:

• Any observed or suspected case of child abuse, exploitation, harm, or child labour.
• Any possession of child exploitation material.

In addition, any report of child exploitation or abuse, or suspicion, should be immediately reported to the relevant donor when the concern is related to an externally project-funded event.

It is the responsibility of personnel to report concerns, not to investigate them.

When a concern originates in an IndustriALL region where there is an IndustriALL regional office, reports should be made to the IndustriALL Regional Secretary, with a copy to the IndustriALL Assistant General Secretary responsible for the region. In a region without an IndustriALL regional office, reports should go to the global leadership of IndustriALL. If reporting through these channels is not possible due to a conflict of interest, the matter can be escalated to the President of IndustriALL.

All reports made will be handled confidentially, professionally, and efficiently. No person or organisation reporting will be subject to reprisals.

5. Responsibility

IndustriALL will treat all concerns seriously and apply a survivor-centred approach, prioritising the safety, rights, needs, and wishes of affected children. Survivors will be treated with dignity and respect and, where appropriate, supported to participate in decisions affecting them.

All reports will be promptly and thoroughly assessed, and appropriate measures will be taken in close collaboration with the concerned partners and, where applicable, the donor(s).

In case of violation of this policy, the IndustriALL statute article 32 would apply. According to the statutes all affiliates and individuals participating in IndustriALL work and activities shall respect IndustriALL’s commitment to promote respect and human dignity in the course of its work and activities. In case of a violation of these principles, individuals may be sanctioned. In case of a serious violation or repeated violations, sanctions can be adopted against the concerned affiliate, provided that the organisation knowingly failed to uphold the principles and provisions of the policy in a manner that could undermine the respect and human dignity of participants in IndustriALL activities and potentially affect the integrity of the organisation.

Where IndustriALL staff are involved, action to be taken will be in line with IndustriALL’s disciplinary code.

6. Review

This policy shall be subject to review as and when its deemed necessary.

Víctor Pesino and María Dora González, the same labour court judges who endorsed the labour reform introduced by Argentina’s President Javier Milei, issued a ruling against IndustriALL affiliate UOM on 22 May. The judges declared the election held at the Zárate-Campana branch to be invalid, annulled the national re-election of the general secretary, Abel Furlán, and ordered a 180-day period of intervention.

“This judicial intervention did not happen overnight. It is the culmination of a political, judicial and corporate operation that we have been denouncing for months and that has always had a sole objective: to bring the UOM to heel, weaken our ability to fight for our rights, ensure that employers are able to pay starvation wages and that workers are unable to organize,”

UOM said in an official statement.

The court ruling came as UOM was engaged in collective bargaining with the sector’s main employers to defend metalworkers’ wages. Workers have suffered two years of falling pay.

UOM has vowed to fight back against this attack and will defeat

“this attempt at political intervention disguised as a court ruling. (…) We will respond with trade union democracy, participation, organization and struggle. We will overturn this intervention just as the Argentine labour movement has overturned every historical attempt to subjugate it.”

On 26 May, UOM’s executive board rejected the intervention. The union has launched a process to restore statutory compliance and declared a state of alert and mobilization. In line with its statutes, the union appointed officials to ensure normal operations pending full normalization.

On 26 May, unions, including IndustriALL affiliates, staged a “hug-in” in front of UOM headquarters. The action was a direct protest against the court ruling that removed Furlán and placed the union under judicial intervention.

In a letter to Furlán, IndustriALL’s general secretary Atle Høie expressed his solidarity with Argentina’s workers. It condemned the court’s decision and urged authorities to ensure full respect for union freedom and to comply with international conventions.

“This decision constitutes serious interference in trade union autonomy and sets a dangerous precedent for trade union freedom and democracy in Argentina.

“IndustriALL notes with concern that the use of legal proceedings to oust legitimately elected trade union leaders constitutes a way of cracking down on organizations that defend wages, collective bargaining, domestic production and labour rights. We express our full solidarity with Argentina’s metalworkers, with our colleague Abel Furlán, and with the legitimately elected leadership of the UOMRA.”