My first Magazine | Page 32

APPENDIX 3
Auditors ’ Insights from Vietnam : A Run-Down of a Typical Remediation

APPENDIX 3

Auditors ’ Insights from Vietnam : A Run-Down of a Typical Remediation

Disclaimer : The following story is based on an in-depth interview CCR CSR conducted with a senior auditor in Vietnam . In order to protect her identity , an alias was used throughout the story . The views presented in this article are based on the interview transcripts and do not necessarily reflect the views of CCR CSR .
Just recently , Ms . Ngo ( pseudonym ), a female senior auditor from Vietnam , discovered a child laborer in a factory west of Ho Chi Minh . The child looked suspiciously young so Ms . Ngo asked to see his personnel file , which he couldn ’ t provide because he was under the age of 18 . In order to verify his age , Ms . Ngo asked him whether any other family member works at the factory . As it turned out , his mother was also employed there . From that piece of information , Ms . Ngo was able to access the mother ’ s personnel file and household registration book , which stated the child ’ s age . Upon confirming the presence of the child laborer , the client ’ s standard child labor response procedure kicked in :
“ I filed the child labor report , immediately stopped the auditing procedure and started reviewing 100 % of the personnel files ( or 50 % depending on the staff number ) to see whether they have historical child labor alerts .”
As part of the procedure , Ms . Ngo had to interview the mother to find out the reasons for bringing the child along to the factory , as well as workers to determine whether or not this was an isolated case .
A remediation process followed but Ms . Ngo was not involved . The client sent someone to the factory to verify Ms . Ngo ’ s claims and to carry out the remediation . Ms . Ngo can only rely on hearsay to tell us how she thinks the remediation process was carried out :
“ I heard they will interview the child laborer ’ s parents and ask what is the expectation of the child laborer . If the child laborer says he / she wants to go back to school , they will send him / her back to school to continue their education . If the child laborer wants to learn something in the factory to lay foundation for their future , they will send the child laborer to vocation school and calculate the cost . However , I think if the factory pays the tuition to the child laborer ’ s parents directly , they will spend the money . The money should be paid to the vocational school directly . The factory should pay all costs of the remediation , otherwise , the factory will continue to violate the policy and hire children .”
Unlike some other auditors whom we interviewed , Ms . Ngo actually follows up on the remediation case . “ When I do follow up on an audit , firstly I will complete the standard procedure , then I will interview the parents and ask what happened after the discovery . They will tell me about the remediation plan and I will interview the team leader of the child laborer ,” she tells us .
But despite the access to parents for interviews , she often encounters obstacles when it comes to learning the truth .
“ Sometimes , the factory will teach the parents what to tell us . Therefore I need to verify the information from different sources , such as from the frontline workers , team leaders , coworkers and surrounding people , to see whether the factory has kept hiring child laborers .”
29 Best Response : Auditors ’ Insights on Child Labor in Asia 28