Business News
Stora Enso and ILO sign unique partnership to promote decent work and combat child labour
Tuesday 12. May 2015 - The International Labour Organization (ILO) and Stora Enso have entered into a unique public-private partnership to strengthen Stora Enso's global policy and efforts to promote decent work and progressively eliminate child labour in its value chain in Pakistan.
The agreement has global and local components. The first one will focus on aligning policy and practice with international labour standards and increasing the company’s knowledge of child labour and other labour rights. The second component aims to promote decent work and combat child labour in the value chain of Bulleh Shah Packaging (BSP), Stora Enso’s joint venture in Pakistan.
“The ILO is very pleased to enter into this partnership which will make an important contribution to the realization of decent work and the elimination of child labour in Pakistan, and support Stora Enso in its efforts to demonstrate its respect for fundamental labour rights throughout its value chain,” says the Director of the Governance and Tripartism Department of the ILO, Moussa Oumarou.
“For Stora Enso, this partnership is an important step in enhancing human and labour rights in our operations and supply chains,” says Karl-Henrik Sundström, CEO at Stora Enso. “Cooperation with the ILO will help us increase our knowledge, build up local networks and work together with the government and other local stakeholders to bring about positive change.”
The global component of the partnership will start with the ILO providing Stora Enso technical support to strengthen its policies and due diligence processes on child labour and other labour rights. This partnership will also complement actions to address the findings of Stora Enso’s human rights assessments published earlier this year. The Pakistani component will start by participatory planning with Stora Enso, Bulleh Shah Packaging, ILO and other relevant stakeholders to design a project that will include research, training of Bulleh Shah Packaging employees, pilot community interventions and technical support to mainstreaming decent work in the value chain.