Forced labor and responsible recruitment

Millions of people are thought to be subject to forced labor around the world, mostly in unregulated industries dependent on large numbers of manual laborers, such as agriculture.

According to the ILO, forced labor is any work or service that is exacted from any person under threat of any penalty and for which that person has not offered themself voluntarily. At Nestlé, we think we can play an important role in helping address this issue – for example, by using our influence to promote and ensure fair and equitable recruitment practices. Our action plan on forced labor and responsible recruitment, one of our ten human rights salient issues (pdf, 14Mb), will help us address the risks associated with forced labor.

Addressing workers' rights

We are addressing the risk of forced labor in various agricultural supply chains by developing programs targeting forced labor indicators, like unethical recruitment practices. For example, we have supported the development of a human rights-based due diligence tool for ethical recruitment in palm oil supply chains that can be used by suppliers looking to responsibly recruit workers.

Our key achievements

Own operations:

In 2023, we completed human rights due diligence (HRDD) self-assessments in our own operations in Brazil and Malaysia; with Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Vietnam, Panama, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago completed in 2024.
In 2023, we added more detailed questioning on forced labor into our global CARE Audit Program questionnaire – a program which enables us to uphold our commitments to our people, including the respect of their human rights.
In priority countries, we have shared a training module on forced labor and responsible recruitment with recruiters.
We introduced a new section to address responsible and ethical recruitment in our Policy on Conditions of Work and Employment.
For 2025, we identified Pakistan, Central and West Africa Region, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador as priority.
Together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), we are currently developing a pilot to assess selected labor agencies in high-risk countries.

Explore our Salient Issue Action Plan: Forced labor and responsible recruitment in detail

Download (pdf, 1.3Mb)

Supply chains:

Since 2024, we have been increasing our supplier capacity on HRDD, and forced labor and responsible recruitment in Thailand, Mexico, and Malaysia
In 2024, together with AIM Progress, we launched Phase 2 ‘Collaboratively Agreed Action Plans (CAAPs)’ of the Ganapati Project, an innovative approach to improve the implementation of responsible recruitment standards and practices by suppliers in Thailand and Malaysia.
We are currently developing together with the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) a new initiative to create an end-to-end responsible recruitment marketplace in SE Asia

Advocating for workers in the palm oil industry

Nestlé sources palm oil from over 80 suppliers in over 20 countries. Its production is labor-intensive, conducted over vast swathes of land, often in remote locations. Workers are vulnerable to long working hours, low wages and restricted movement, often unable to collectively advocate for better conditions. The industry attracts migrant workers, who may have been unethically recruited or forced to pay recruitment fees to get a job.

For more than 10 years, we have been working to advance labor rights in palm oil, collaborating with suppliers, governments and nongovernmental organizations. As an example, in 2020, we piloted a new framework for labor rights in palm oil, developed with our partner Verité, before rolling it out across our entire palm oil supply chain. It is part of our Palm Oil Labor Rights Action Plan (pdf, 400Kb) that runs through to 2025. We use an approach developed by the Earthworm Foundation to assess risks of forced labor, slavery and human trafficking. This digital tool involves detailed reviews of each stage of a company’s recruitment process so we can evaluate the recruitment experiences of foreign workers. The tool helps check that suppliers are compliant with the law. We have begun deploying this with suppliers in Malaysia.

Nestlé is sharing tools, guidelines and practical approaches for assessing and addressing forced labor within its palm oil suppliers, including setting up helplines for workers so that they can more easily share grievances.

Protecting migrant workers from exploitation in Türkiye

Nestlé has been a project partner on the Fair Labor Association's Harvesting the Future project since 2019. The project seeks to help producers improve working conditions for seasonal workers who migrate across different food industries in Türkiye and surrounding countries on a six- to eight-month cycle.

The project’s efforts include eliminating hazardous work for workers under 18, strengthening responsible recruitment, improving access to grievance mechanisms, adherence to living wages and addressing child labor. Central to the project is training staff within our supplier organizations and guiding them in improving recruitment and employment practices among seasonal migrant agriculture workers in Türkiye.

Giving seafood workers a voice

In Thailand, where a portion of Nestlé’s seafood is sourced, we work with the Issara Institute to analyze recruitment practices within the fishing industry and to root out unfair and unethical arrangements. Issara works with recruitment agencies, grassroots organizations and the government, to empower seafood workers by ensuring they can safely voice grievances and access remediation services. Through our relationship with Issara and other partners, our seafood suppliers in Thailand have improved their recruitment practices since 2018.

Tackling modern slavery and human trafficking

Modern slavery remains a global issue – tens of millions of people globally are thought to be subject to coercive working arrangements according to the ILO. Our UK and Australian market teams have collaborated to create a joint statement in both their countries around modern slavery and human trafficking.