11-Hour Days and Chemical Burns: Government Inspection Reveals Harrowing Conditions at Liquor Plant in Child Labor Case

The Indian government’s child labor investigation into Som Group Liquor revealed children were working 11-hour days. (Photo: Mohammad Asad / Pacific Press/Sipa USA)

Reuters reported on Tuesday that a government investigation of the Som Group liquor plant accused of using child labor revealed that the 56 children working at the factory had to fill liquor bottles for 11 hours a day.

This troubling information is the latest tidbit revealed since the Indian government seized the distillery on June 21.

The child laborers ranged in age from 13 to 17 years old, and in India, workers are supposed to be 21 years of age to work in a liquor plant. Thirty-nine boys and 20 girls were working at the plant.

Reuters received access to the private report that divulged information about the 11-hour shifts and that Som Group claimed the children were visiting their parents, delivering food and medicine.

The liquor company claimed that nobody employed at the factory was under 21 years of age. Yet, when the authorities checked the ages of the children, the facts proved otherwise.

In a statement, Som Group dodged responsibility for violating child labor practices. The company claimed that the plant was its “associate private limited company,” and that the hired contractors running the operation did not properly check to make sure the children were of age before they worked at the distillery.

The government report revealed that the children who worked there were not given adequate training, and many sustained harmful chemical burns as a result.

Som Distillery’s liquor license was suspended following the discovery.

The Economic Times reported in June that the police shared the “strictest action will be taken against the culprits.” The outlet also reported that the plant is one of the producer’s largest facilities.

Mint reports that child labor is a serious issue in India and that out of 11 children, one of them will be working. Typically, adolescents are the most vulnerable, and 20.7% are employed in dangerous work. 56% of teenagers who work aren’t in school, and 70% of the students working in dangerous conditions forgo school entirely.

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