An Estimated 30,000 Children Work on Plantations in Malaysia. What’s Next for Them?

With an estimated 30,000 children working on palm oil plantations in Malaysia, there is an urgent need to accelerate progress in addressing the root cause of child labor. The Child Rights Action Hub, a MY Voice initiative that launched in June 2024, aims to achieve this. The first of its kind in Malaysia, the Action Hub is a community-based, long-term prevention and remediation system guided by the best interests of children. It facilitates collaborative action, enabling brands, retailers, and local plantations to participate in joint activities and address child labor risks in their palm oil supply chain, including in the most remote areas, supported by a network of local remediation service providers and case managers. 

Upholding child rights and child protection is only possible through a commitment from all stakeholders. Parents, communities, governments, employers, international palm oil companies, and others all play an important role in establishing an industry-wide social compliance system that effectively prevents and remediates child labor. The Action Hub’s multi-stakeholder approach involves local plantation communities, leverages existing resources, and invests in training teachers, who are the central welfare officers to these children and who play a critical role in setting them up for a vibrant and healthy life.  

When MY Voice’s funding was terminated, the Child Rights Action Hub had reached a total of 218 participants, including 18 plantation companies and their suppliers. It had developed a Child Labour Remediation Guideline with 11 new tools. The Action Hub had trained 42 case managers, including 24 junior case managers approved to manage individual remediation cases, and 36 community focal points trained to assist with case identification in plantation communities. Thirty-one trainers, including teachers, palm oil vendors, and mill workers, had attended a Training of Trainers workshop, which equips them to cascade labor rights awareness and learnings throughout their communities and organizations.  

Cutting this program will directly impact over 3,000 people in Malaysia.