Auret van Heerden: Making global labor fair

138,359 views ・ 2010-11-11

TED


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:15
This cell phone
0
15260
3000
00:18
started its trajectory
1
18260
3000
00:21
in an artisanal mine
2
21260
2000
00:23
in the Eastern Congo.
3
23260
2000
00:25
It's mined by armed gangs
4
25260
2000
00:27
using slaves, child slaves,
5
27260
2000
00:29
what the U.N. Security Council
6
29260
2000
00:31
calls "blood minerals,"
7
31260
2000
00:33
then traveled into some components
8
33260
2000
00:35
and ended up in a factory
9
35260
2000
00:37
in Shinjin in China.
10
37260
2000
00:39
That factory -- over a dozen people have committed suicide
11
39260
3000
00:42
already this year.
12
42260
2000
00:44
One man died after working a 36-hour shift.
13
44260
3000
00:48
We all love chocolate.
14
48260
2000
00:50
We buy it for our kids.
15
50260
2000
00:52
Eighty percent of the cocoa comes from Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana
16
52260
3000
00:55
and it's harvested by children.
17
55260
3000
00:58
Cote d'Ivoire, we have a huge problem of child slaves.
18
58260
2000
01:00
Children have been trafficked from other conflict zones
19
60260
3000
01:03
to come and work on the coffee plantations.
20
63260
3000
01:06
Heparin -- a blood thinner,
21
66260
2000
01:08
a pharmaceutical product --
22
68260
2000
01:10
starts out in artisanal workshops
23
70260
3000
01:13
like this in China,
24
73260
2000
01:15
because the active ingredient
25
75260
2000
01:17
comes from pigs' intestines.
26
77260
3000
01:20
Your diamond -- you've all heard, probably seen the movie "Blood Diamond."
27
80260
3000
01:23
This is a mine in Zimbabwe
28
83260
2000
01:25
right now.
29
85260
2000
01:27
Cotton: Uzbekistan is the second biggest
30
87260
2000
01:29
exporter of cotton on Earth.
31
89260
2000
01:31
Every year when it comes to the cotton harvest,
32
91260
3000
01:34
the government shuts down the schools,
33
94260
2000
01:36
puts the kids in buses, buses them to the cotton fields
34
96260
3000
01:39
to spend three weeks harvesting the cotton.
35
99260
3000
01:42
It's forced child labor
36
102260
2000
01:44
on an institutional scale.
37
104260
2000
01:47
And all of those products probably end their lives
38
107260
3000
01:50
in a dump like this one in Manila.
39
110260
2000
01:52
These places, these origins,
40
112260
3000
01:55
represent governance gaps.
41
115260
2000
01:57
That's the politest description
42
117260
2000
01:59
I have for them.
43
119260
3000
02:02
These are the dark pools
44
122260
2000
02:04
where global supply chains begin --
45
124260
3000
02:07
the global supply chains,
46
127260
2000
02:09
which bring us our favorite brand name products.
47
129260
3000
02:12
Some of these governance gaps
48
132260
3000
02:15
are run by rogue states.
49
135260
3000
02:18
Some of them are not states anymore at all.
50
138260
2000
02:20
They're failed states.
51
140260
2000
02:22
Some of them
52
142260
2000
02:24
are just countries who believe that deregulation or no regulation
53
144260
3000
02:27
is the best way to attract investment,
54
147260
3000
02:30
promote trade.
55
150260
2000
02:32
Either way, they present us
56
152260
2000
02:34
with a huge moral and ethical dilemma.
57
154260
3000
02:38
I know that none of us want to be accessories
58
158260
2000
02:40
after the fact
59
160260
3000
02:43
of a human rights abuse
60
163260
2000
02:45
in a global supply chain.
61
165260
2000
02:47
But right now,
62
167260
2000
02:49
most of the companies involved in these supply chains
63
169260
3000
02:52
don't have any way
64
172260
2000
02:54
of assuring us
65
174260
2000
02:56
that nobody had to mortgage their future,
66
176260
2000
02:58
nobody had to sacrifice their rights
67
178260
3000
03:01
to bring us our favorite
68
181260
2000
03:03
brand name product.
69
183260
2000
03:06
Now, I didn't come here to depress you
70
186260
2000
03:08
about the state of the global supply chain.
71
188260
3000
03:11
We need a reality check.
72
191260
2000
03:13
We need to recognize just how serious
73
193260
3000
03:16
a deficit of rights we have.
74
196260
3000
03:19
This is an independent republic,
75
199260
2000
03:21
probably a failed state.
76
201260
2000
03:23
It's definitely not a democratic state.
77
203260
3000
03:27
And right now,
78
207260
2000
03:29
that independent republic of the supply chain
79
209260
2000
03:31
is not being governed
80
211260
2000
03:33
in a way that would satisfy us,
81
213260
3000
03:36
that we can engage in ethical trade or ethical consumption.
82
216260
3000
03:40
Now, that's not a new story.
83
220260
2000
03:42
You've seen the documentaries
84
222260
2000
03:44
of sweatshops making garments
85
224260
2000
03:46
all over the world, even in developed countries.
86
226260
3000
03:49
You want to see the classic sweatshop,
87
229260
2000
03:51
meet me at Madison Square Garden,
88
231260
2000
03:53
I'll take you down the street, and I'll show you a Chinese sweatshop.
89
233260
3000
03:56
But take the example of heparin.
90
236260
3000
03:59
It's a pharmaceutical product.
91
239260
2000
04:01
You expect that the supply chain that gets it to the hospital,
92
241260
3000
04:04
probably squeaky clean.
93
244260
3000
04:08
The problem is that the active ingredient in there --
94
248260
2000
04:10
as I mentioned earlier --
95
250260
2000
04:12
comes from pigs.
96
252260
2000
04:14
The main American manufacturer
97
254260
3000
04:17
of that active ingredient
98
257260
2000
04:19
decided a few years ago to relocate to China
99
259260
3000
04:22
because it's the world's biggest supplier of pigs.
100
262260
3000
04:25
And their factory in China --
101
265260
2000
04:27
which probably is pretty clean --
102
267260
3000
04:30
is getting all of the ingredients
103
270260
2000
04:32
from backyard abattoirs,
104
272260
2000
04:34
where families slaughter pigs
105
274260
2000
04:36
and extract the ingredient.
106
276260
3000
04:39
So a couple of years ago, we had a scandal
107
279260
2000
04:41
which killed about 80 people around the world,
108
281260
2000
04:43
because of contaminants
109
283260
2000
04:45
that crept into the heparin supply chain.
110
285260
3000
04:48
Worse, some of the suppliers
111
288260
2000
04:50
realized that they could substitute a product
112
290260
4000
04:54
which mimicked heparin in tests.
113
294260
3000
04:58
This substitute cost nine dollars a pound,
114
298260
3000
05:01
whereas real heparin, the real ingredient,
115
301260
3000
05:04
cost 900 dollars a pound.
116
304260
3000
05:07
A no-brainer.
117
307260
2000
05:09
The problem was that it killed more people.
118
309260
3000
05:12
And so you're asking yourself,
119
312260
2000
05:14
"How come the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
120
314260
2000
05:16
allowed this to happen?
121
316260
2000
05:18
How did the Chinese State Agency for Food and Drugs
122
318260
2000
05:20
allow this to happen?"
123
320260
2000
05:22
And the answer is quite simple:
124
322260
3000
05:25
the Chinese define these facilities
125
325260
2000
05:27
as chemical facilities, not pharmaceutical facilities,
126
327260
3000
05:30
so they don't audit them.
127
330260
2000
05:32
And the USFDA
128
332260
2000
05:34
has a jurisdictional problem.
129
334260
2000
05:36
This is offshore.
130
336260
2000
05:38
They actually do conduct a few investigations overseas --
131
338260
2000
05:40
about a dozen a year -- maybe 20 in a good year.
132
340260
3000
05:43
There are 500
133
343260
2000
05:45
of these facilities
134
345260
2000
05:47
producing active ingredients in China alone.
135
347260
3000
05:50
In fact, about 80 percent
136
350260
3000
05:53
of the active ingredients in medicines now
137
353260
2000
05:55
come from offshore,
138
355260
2000
05:57
particularly China and India,
139
357260
2000
05:59
and we don't have a governance system.
140
359260
3000
06:02
We don't have a regulatory system
141
362260
2000
06:04
able to ensure
142
364260
2000
06:06
that that production is safe.
143
366260
2000
06:10
We don't have a system to ensure
144
370260
2000
06:12
that human rights, basic dignity,
145
372260
2000
06:14
are ensured.
146
374260
2000
06:17
So at a national level --
147
377260
3000
06:20
and we work in about 60 different countries --
148
380260
2000
06:22
at a national level
149
382260
2000
06:24
we've got a serious breakdown in the ability of governments
150
384260
2000
06:26
to regulate production
151
386260
3000
06:29
on their own soil.
152
389260
3000
06:32
And the real problem with the global supply chain
153
392260
2000
06:34
is that it's supranational.
154
394260
2000
06:36
So governments who are failing,
155
396260
2000
06:38
who are dropping the ball
156
398260
2000
06:40
at a national level,
157
400260
2000
06:42
have even less ability to get their arms around the problem
158
402260
2000
06:44
at an international level.
159
404260
3000
06:47
And you can just look at the headlines.
160
407260
2000
06:49
Take Copenhagen last year --
161
409260
3000
06:52
complete failure of governments
162
412260
2000
06:54
to do the right thing
163
414260
2000
06:56
in the face of an international challenge.
164
416260
3000
06:59
Take the G20 meeting a couple of weeks ago --
165
419260
3000
07:02
stepped back from its commitments of just a few months ago.
166
422260
3000
07:07
You can take any one
167
427260
2000
07:09
of the major global challenges we've discussed this week
168
429260
3000
07:12
and ask yourself, where is the leadership from governments
169
432260
3000
07:15
to step up and come up with solutions,
170
435260
3000
07:18
responses,
171
438260
2000
07:20
to those international problems?
172
440260
3000
07:23
And the simple answer is they can't. They're national.
173
443260
3000
07:27
Their voters are local.
174
447260
2000
07:29
They have parochial interests.
175
449260
2000
07:31
They can't subordinate those interests
176
451260
2000
07:33
to the greater global public good.
177
453260
3000
07:36
So, if we're going to ensure the delivery
178
456260
2000
07:38
of the key public goods
179
458260
2000
07:40
at an international level --
180
460260
2000
07:42
in this case, in the global supply chain --
181
462260
3000
07:45
we have to come up with a different mechanism.
182
465260
3000
07:48
We need a different machine.
183
468260
2000
07:52
Fortunately, we have some examples.
184
472260
3000
07:56
In the 1990s,
185
476260
2000
07:58
there were a whole series of scandals
186
478260
2000
08:00
concerning the production of brand name goods in the U.S. --
187
480260
2000
08:02
child labor, forced labor,
188
482260
2000
08:04
serious health and safety abuses.
189
484260
3000
08:07
And eventually President Clinton, in 1996,
190
487260
2000
08:09
convened a meeting at the White House,
191
489260
3000
08:12
invited industry, human rights NGOs,
192
492260
3000
08:15
trade unions, the Department of Labor,
193
495260
2000
08:17
got them all in a room
194
497260
2000
08:19
and said, "Look,
195
499260
2000
08:21
I don't want globalization to be a race to the bottom.
196
501260
2000
08:23
I don't know how to prevent that,
197
503260
2000
08:25
but I'm at least going to use my good offices
198
505260
2000
08:27
to get you folks together
199
507260
2000
08:29
to come up with a response."
200
509260
3000
08:32
So they formed a White House task force,
201
512260
2000
08:34
and they spent about three years arguing
202
514260
3000
08:37
about who takes how much responsibility
203
517260
3000
08:40
in the global supply chain.
204
520260
3000
08:43
Companies didn't feel it was their responsibility.
205
523260
3000
08:46
They don't own those facilities.
206
526260
2000
08:48
They don't employ those workers.
207
528260
2000
08:50
They're not legally liable.
208
530260
3000
08:53
Everybody else at the table
209
533260
2000
08:55
said, "Folks, that doesn't cut it.
210
535260
2000
08:57
You have a custodial duty, a duty of care,
211
537260
3000
09:00
to make sure that that product
212
540260
2000
09:02
gets from wherever to the store
213
542260
3000
09:05
in a way that allows us to consume it,
214
545260
3000
09:08
without fear of our safety,
215
548260
3000
09:11
or without having to sacrifice our conscience
216
551260
4000
09:15
to consume that product."
217
555260
2000
09:17
So they agreed, "Okay, what we'll do
218
557260
3000
09:20
is we agree on a common set of standards,
219
560260
2000
09:22
code of conduct.
220
562260
2000
09:24
We'll apply that throughout
221
564260
2000
09:26
our global supply chain
222
566260
2000
09:28
regardless of ownership or control.
223
568260
2000
09:30
We'll make it part of the contract."
224
570260
3000
09:33
And that was a stroke of absolute genius,
225
573260
3000
09:36
because what they did
226
576260
2000
09:38
was they harnessed the power of the contract,
227
578260
3000
09:41
private power,
228
581260
2000
09:43
to deliver public goods.
229
583260
2000
09:45
And let's face it,
230
585260
2000
09:47
the contract from a major multinational brand
231
587260
2000
09:49
to a supplier in India or China
232
589260
3000
09:52
has much more persuasive value
233
592260
2000
09:54
than the local labor law,
234
594260
2000
09:56
the local environmental regulations,
235
596260
2000
09:58
the local human rights standards.
236
598260
3000
10:01
Those factories will probably never see an inspector.
237
601260
3000
10:04
If the inspector did come along,
238
604260
3000
10:07
it would be amazing if they were able
239
607260
2000
10:09
to resist the bribe.
240
609260
3000
10:13
Even if they did their jobs,
241
613260
2000
10:15
and they cited those facilities for their violations,
242
615260
3000
10:19
the fine would be derisory.
243
619260
2000
10:21
But you lose that contract
244
621260
2000
10:23
for a major brand name,
245
623260
2000
10:25
that's the difference
246
625260
2000
10:27
between staying in business or going bankrupt.
247
627260
3000
10:30
That makes a difference.
248
630260
2000
10:32
So what we've been able to do
249
632260
2000
10:34
is we've been able to harness
250
634260
2000
10:36
the power and the influence
251
636260
2000
10:38
of the only truly transnational institution
252
638260
3000
10:41
in the global supply chain,
253
641260
2000
10:43
that of the multinational company,
254
643260
3000
10:46
and get them to do the right thing,
255
646260
2000
10:48
get them to use that power for good,
256
648260
3000
10:51
to deliver the key public goods.
257
651260
3000
10:55
Now of course, this doesn't come naturally
258
655260
2000
10:57
to multinational companies.
259
657260
2000
10:59
They weren't set up to do this. They're set up to make money.
260
659260
3000
11:02
But they are extremely efficient organizations.
261
662260
3000
11:05
They have resources,
262
665260
2000
11:07
and if we can add the will, the commitment,
263
667260
3000
11:10
they know how to deliver that product.
264
670260
3000
11:15
Now, getting there is not easy.
265
675260
3000
11:18
Those supply chains I put up on the screen earlier,
266
678260
3000
11:21
they're not there.
267
681260
2000
11:23
You need a safe space.
268
683260
2000
11:25
You need a place where people can come together,
269
685260
3000
11:28
sit down without fear of judgment,
270
688260
2000
11:30
without recrimination,
271
690260
2000
11:32
to actually face the problem,
272
692260
2000
11:34
agree on the problem and come up with solutions.
273
694260
3000
11:37
We can do it. The technical solutions are there.
274
697260
3000
11:40
The problem is the lack of trust, the lack of confidence,
275
700260
3000
11:43
the lack of partnership
276
703260
2000
11:45
between NGOs, campaign groups,
277
705260
2000
11:47
civil society organizations
278
707260
3000
11:50
and multinational companies.
279
710260
3000
11:53
If we can put those two together in a safe space,
280
713260
3000
11:56
get them to work together,
281
716260
2000
11:58
we can deliver public goods right now,
282
718260
3000
12:01
or in extremely short supply.
283
721260
3000
12:04
This is a radical proposition,
284
724260
2000
12:06
and it's crazy to think
285
726260
2000
12:08
that if you're a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl
286
728260
3000
12:11
leaving your rural village
287
731260
3000
12:14
to go and work in a factory in Dhaka --
288
734260
3000
12:17
22, 23, 24 dollars a month --
289
737260
3000
12:22
your best chance of enjoying rights at work
290
742260
3000
12:25
is if that factory is producing
291
745260
2000
12:27
for a brand name company
292
747260
2000
12:29
which has got a code of conduct
293
749260
2000
12:31
and made that code of conduct part of the contract.
294
751260
3000
12:35
It's crazy.
295
755260
2000
12:37
Multinationals are protecting human rights.
296
757260
2000
12:39
I know there's going to be disbelief.
297
759260
2000
12:41
You'll say, "How can we trust them?"
298
761260
2000
12:43
Well, we don't.
299
763260
2000
12:45
It's the old arms control phrase:
300
765260
2000
12:47
"Trust, but verify."
301
767260
2000
12:49
So we audit.
302
769260
2000
12:51
We take their supply chain, we take all the factory names,
303
771260
3000
12:54
we do a random sample,
304
774260
2000
12:56
we send inspectors on an unannounced basis
305
776260
3000
12:59
to inspect those facilities,
306
779260
2000
13:01
and then we publish the results.
307
781260
2000
13:03
Transparency is absolutely critical to this.
308
783260
3000
13:07
You can call yourself responsible,
309
787260
3000
13:10
but responsibility without accountability
310
790260
3000
13:13
often doesn't work.
311
793260
2000
13:15
So what we're doing is, we're not only enlisting the multinationals,
312
795260
3000
13:18
we're giving them the tools to deliver this public good --
313
798260
3000
13:21
respect for human rights --
314
801260
2000
13:23
and we're checking.
315
803260
2000
13:25
You don't need to believe me. You shouldn't believe me.
316
805260
2000
13:27
Go to the website. Look at the audit results.
317
807260
3000
13:30
Ask yourself, is this company behaving
318
810260
2000
13:32
in a socially responsible way?
319
812260
3000
13:35
Can I buy that product
320
815260
2000
13:37
without compromising my ethics?
321
817260
3000
13:40
That's the way the system works.
322
820260
3000
13:45
I hate the idea
323
825260
2000
13:47
that governments are not protecting human rights around the world.
324
827260
3000
13:50
I hate the idea
325
830260
2000
13:52
that governments have dropped this ball
326
832260
2000
13:54
and I can't get used to the idea
327
834260
3000
13:57
that somehow we can't get them to do their jobs.
328
837260
3000
14:00
I've been at this for 30 years,
329
840260
2000
14:02
and in that time I've seen
330
842260
2000
14:04
the ability, the commitment, the will of government
331
844260
3000
14:07
to do this decline,
332
847260
2000
14:09
and I don't see them making a comeback right now.
333
849260
3000
14:12
So we started out thinking
334
852260
2000
14:14
this was a stopgap measure.
335
854260
2000
14:16
We're now thinking that, in fact,
336
856260
3000
14:19
this is probably the start
337
859260
2000
14:21
of a new way of regulating and addressing
338
861260
3000
14:24
international challenges.
339
864260
2000
14:26
Call it network governance. Call it what you will.
340
866260
3000
14:29
The private actors,
341
869260
3000
14:32
companies and NGOs,
342
872260
2000
14:34
are going to have to get together
343
874260
2000
14:36
to face the major challenges we are going to face.
344
876260
2000
14:38
Just look at pandemics --
345
878260
2000
14:40
swine flu, bird flu, H1N1.
346
880260
3000
14:43
Look at the health systems in so many countries.
347
883260
2000
14:45
Do they have the resources
348
885260
2000
14:47
to face up to a serious pandemic?
349
887260
3000
14:50
No.
350
890260
2000
14:52
Could the private sector and NGOs
351
892260
3000
14:55
get together and marshal a response?
352
895260
2000
14:57
Absolutely.
353
897260
2000
14:59
What they lack is that safe space
354
899260
2000
15:01
to come together, agree
355
901260
2000
15:03
and move to action.
356
903260
2000
15:05
That's what we're trying to provide.
357
905260
3000
15:09
I know as well
358
909260
2000
15:11
that this often seems
359
911260
2000
15:13
like an overwhelming level of responsibility
360
913260
2000
15:15
for people to assume.
361
915260
2000
15:17
"You want me to deliver human rights
362
917260
2000
15:19
throughout my global supply chain.
363
919260
2000
15:21
There are thousands of suppliers in there."
364
921260
3000
15:24
It seems too daunting, too dangerous,
365
924260
3000
15:27
for any company to take on.
366
927260
2000
15:29
But there are companies.
367
929260
2000
15:31
We have 4,000 companies who are members.
368
931260
3000
15:34
Some of them are very, very large companies.
369
934260
2000
15:36
The sporting goods industry, in particular,
370
936260
2000
15:38
stepped up to the plate and have done it.
371
938260
3000
15:41
The example, the role model, is there.
372
941260
3000
15:45
And whenever we discuss
373
945260
2000
15:47
one of these problems that we have to address --
374
947260
2000
15:49
child labor in cottonseed farms in India --
375
949260
3000
15:52
this year we will monitor 50,000 cottonseed farms in India.
376
952260
3000
15:56
It seems overwhelming.
377
956260
2000
15:58
The numbers just make you want to zone out.
378
958260
3000
16:01
But we break it down to some basic realities.
379
961260
3000
16:04
And human rights
380
964260
2000
16:06
comes down to a very simple proposition:
381
966260
3000
16:09
can I give this person their dignity back?
382
969260
3000
16:12
Poor people,
383
972260
2000
16:14
people whose human rights have been violated --
384
974260
2000
16:16
the crux of that
385
976260
2000
16:18
is the loss of dignity,
386
978260
2000
16:20
the lack of dignity.
387
980260
2000
16:22
It starts with just giving people back their dignity.
388
982260
3000
16:25
I was sitting in a slum outside Gurgaon
389
985260
3000
16:28
just next to Delhi,
390
988260
2000
16:30
one of the flashiest, brightest new cities
391
990260
3000
16:33
popping up in India right now,
392
993260
3000
16:36
and I was talking to workers
393
996260
2000
16:38
who worked in garment sweatshops down the road,
394
998260
2000
16:40
and I asked them what message they would like me to take to the brands.
395
1000260
3000
16:44
They didn't say money.
396
1004260
3000
16:47
They said, "The people who employ us
397
1007260
3000
16:50
treat us like we are less than human,
398
1010260
3000
16:53
like we don't exist.
399
1013260
2000
16:55
Please ask them to treat us like human beings."
400
1015260
3000
16:59
That's my simple understanding of human rights.
401
1019260
2000
17:01
That's my simple proposition to you,
402
1021260
3000
17:04
my simple plea to every decision-maker
403
1024260
3000
17:07
in this room, everybody out there.
404
1027260
2000
17:09
We can all make a decision
405
1029260
2000
17:11
to come together
406
1031260
2000
17:13
and pick up the balls and run with the balls
407
1033260
3000
17:16
that governments have dropped.
408
1036260
2000
17:18
If we don't do it,
409
1038260
2000
17:20
we're abandoning hope,
410
1040260
2000
17:22
we're abandoning our essential humanity,
411
1042260
3000
17:25
and I know that's not a place we want to be,
412
1045260
2000
17:27
and we don't have to be there.
413
1047260
2000
17:29
So I appeal to you.
414
1049260
2000
17:31
Join us, come into that safe space,
415
1051260
2000
17:33
and let's start to make this happen.
416
1053260
2000
17:35
Thank you very much.
417
1055260
2000
17:37
(Applause)
418
1057260
3000
About this website

This site will introduce you to YouTube videos that are useful for learning English. You will see English lessons taught by top-notch teachers from around the world. Double-click on the English subtitles displayed on each video page to play the video from there. The subtitles scroll in sync with the video playback. If you have any comments or requests, please contact us using this contact form.

https://forms.gle/WvT1wiN1qDtmnspy7