Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Jim Sheridan (Labour), on Tuesday, 4 November 2014, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 56 members in total.

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BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO

That this House notes that Oxfam America, Human Rights Watch and the Farm Labour Organizing Committee (FLOC), being an affiliate of the US equivalent of the TUC, have highlighted onerous conditions faced by migrant farm workers in the tobacco fields of North Carolina and the American South, including exploitation, long hours, child labour and other human rights abuses; further notes that Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) is a major purchaser of the tobacco produced in those fields but refuses to grant freedom of association or workers representation to those workers, and that British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is the largest shareholder and a major customer of RAI; believes that only when migrant farm workers have a recognised organisation will their complaint about their working and living conditions be effectively addressed; further believes that BAT has a responsibility to ensure that its supply chain is free of human rights abuses and that FLOC's proposals to RAI can achieve that goal in the US; therefore calls on BAT to use its influence with RAI to reach an agreement with FLOC forthwith; further calls on the Government to ensure provisions within the Modern Slavery Bill would prohibit such human rights abuses; and further calls on the Government to raise these issues in trade discussions with US counterparts.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

472 

Session

2014-15

Other sponsors

Lord Stunell

David Anderson

Pat Glass

Steve Rotheram

Ian Lavery

Subjects

Companies Agriculture Employment Industrial relations Human rights Immigration Health and safety Smoking

Link

View this Early day motion on www.parliament.uk