A factory that makes parts for Hyundai cars is accused of employing a 13-year-old child in Alabama.
THAT child labour seems to be a thing of the past in the US. However, a few scandals have arisen in recent years due to the employment of minors in certain North American companies. Last year, several McDonald’s restaurants in Alabama were accused of illegally employing more than 300 children. This situation would probably be common in the restaurant industry. But other areas of the economy are also affected by this phenomenon, including car production. Prosecution has just been initiated against Hyundai Motor Company to get children to work. Again, this case takes place in Alabama.
A Hyundai auto parts factory
Last Thursday was US Department of Labor has decided to open an investigation into the recruitment of minors at a Hyundai plant in Alabama. More than a simple investigation, prosecution was initiated. A court was thus seized in this case in Montgomery, the capital of this state in the southern United States. Several suppliers of spare parts for Hyundai are also targeted.
The allegations against the Korean automaker are serious. A total of three companies (Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC, SMART Alabama LLC and Best Practice Service LLC) are accused of employing a 13-year-old child. According to the Ministry of Labour, the minor in question even worked up to 60 hours per week in a working factory.
The factory where this miner was employed supplies parts to build Hyundai cars sold in the United States. The complaint relates only to this child’s work. However, he would not be the only one that Hyundai or the Korean manufacturer’s supplier factories would have hired in Alabama. According to Reutersthree kids 12, 13 and 15 years would also have been employed in 2022.
Child labor is exploding in the US
Although serious, the allegations against this Hyundai plant are far from isolated in the United States. Since the pandemic COVID-19, an increase in illegal child labor has been observed on American soil. The fast food and agri-food sectors are most affected by this trend. Many companies face labor shortage.
On the other hand, families find themselves in financial difficulties, which make them send their children to work earlier and earlier. Very often the minors are fromimmigration from Latin America who is employed illegally. And while US law strictly regulates child labor, several Republican states are pushing to relax it.
