An Indian state government’s inspection of a Som Group distillery revealed the use of child Child labourers , with workers aged between 13 and 17 filling and packing liquor bottles and working long hours. The police in Madhya Pradesh state are investigating after the federal government’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights reported last month that 58 children were found working illegally at the factory.
The commission released photos showing chemical burns on some children’s hands and stated that the factory transported some children in school buses. A day after officials found the children on June 15, the state’s industrial health and safety department drafted an inspection report based on interviews with 27 workers, the youngest being 13 years old. The state prohibits those under 21 from working in liquor factories.
The report, seen by Reuters but not public, indicates children were working 11-hour shifts starting at 8 a.m. Neither Som nor the Madhya Pradesh government responded to Reuters’ requests for comment. In a June 18 submission to the state government, also seen by Reuters, Som claimed that children were visiting to deliver food and medicines to their parents and asserted that no worker was younger than 21.
Som is a smaller player in India’s burgeoning alcohol industry, which includes both foreign and domestic companies. Its website touts it as an “internationally acclaimed brand” available in over 20 markets, including the United States, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. This incident highlights the ongoing issue of child labour in Indian supply chains. In 2021, Reuters reported that an external audit of two Carlsberg warehouses found Child labourers at a site in Jharkhand. Carlsberg stated at the time that it had terminated the services of the third-party provider.