U.S. Tobacco Growers Act to Protect Child Workers

 

(hrw.org) The decision by a leading US tobacco growers’ organization to oppose hiring children under 16 to work on tobacco farms is an important step toward ending this hazardous labor practice, Human Rights Watch said today.
In July 2014, the Council for Burley Tobacco, a Kentucky-based association representing approximately 5,000 tobacco growers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio, approved a resolution adopting the position that “workers under 16 years old should not be employed in tobacco production not only in the US but worldwide.”
“The Council for Burley Tobacco has taken a principled stance to protect the youngest workers from hazards in tobacco farming,” said Jane Buchanan, associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. Continued