A new public-private partnership seeks to tackle child labour, prevent forced labour violations and promote fair recruitment in the coffee sector.
BRASILIA (ILO News) – The International Labour Organization (ILO) and JDE Peet’s have launched the FAIR COFFEE project, a four-year public-private partnership aimed at promoting decent work and addressing child labour and forced labour in Brazil’s coffee supply chain.
Brazil’s coffee supply chain plays a significant economic and social role, by creating millions of jobs and supporting a wide range of local economies in the country. Yet, like many rural sectors, it faces persistent development challenges, including limited access to information of labour rights and the need to strengthen good practices in recruitment and workforce management.
Against this background, the new project will be implemented in key Brazilian coffee-producing regions, particularly in the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais, focusing on strengthening institutional capacities, generating evidence, and supporting the implementation of fair recruitment and Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) practices across the sector.
Through this partnership, the ILO and JDE Peet’s will leverage ILO’s tripartite structure to facilitate social dialogue among representatives of governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, while mobilizing technical expertise to support the development of policies and practical tools aimed at addressing structural vulnerabilities in the coffee supply chain.
The project is structured around three main pillars:
- expanding the knowledge base on labour risks and internal labour migration dynamics.
- strengthening local institutional networks and piloting fair recruitment models.
- advancing the implementation of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) practices across the supply chain.
“Addressing child labour and forced labour in agricultural supply chains requires coordinated action across public and private actors. This partnership represents an important step towards building more transparent, responsible and inclusive coffee supply chains.”, said Dan Rees, Director of the ILO Priority Action Programme on Decent Work in Supply Chains
“Through the FAIR COFFEE project, we’re working with the ILO to strengthen fair recruitment practices, build institutional capacity and support human rights due diligence in Brazil’s key coffee-producing regions, the largest producer This partnership reflects our commitment to ensuring coffee is produced with dignity and respect for human rights”, said Bruno Ribeiro, Responsible Sourcing Manager at JDE Peet’s”.
As part of the project, JDE Peet’s will mobilize private sector engagement, support the implementation of pilot initiatives, and facilitate access to stakeholders across Brazil’s coffee supply chains
JDE Peet’s is also an active member of the Child Labour Platform (CLP), convened by the ILO, contributing to global collective efforts to eradicating child labour, forced labour and other fundamental rights violations in supply chains.
The FAIR COFFEE project contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 8, particularly Target 8.7, which calls for the eradication of child labour and forced labour in all its forms.
For more information, please visit: www.ilo.org