Major institutional investors are exerting pressure on leading multinational corporations to combat the exploitation of labor in India's sugar fields. The New York City comptroller, Brad Lander, who oversees billions in pension investments, is calling for an end to practices such as child labor, debt bondage, and harsh working conditions that prevail among sugar cane harvesters in Maharashtra.
The comptroller's office has invested nearly $1 billion in companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Mondelez, raising concerns about their sourcing practices tied to the brutal labor conditions uncovered in recent investigations by The New York Times and The Fuller Project. These reports highlighted a dire labor system in Maharashtra characterized by ongoing abuse and coerced medical procedures.
Lander’s office is collaborating closely with Indian labor leaders, various investor coalitions, and unions to engage with publicly traded companies that purchase sugar from India. “We will bring pressure to bear on the companies we invest in who participate in that system by sourcing their supply from it and by funding it,” he stated in an interview.
Moreover, activism among international investors such as BNP Paribas Asset Management and Sands Capital is growing, as they join Lander in pressuring these corporations for meaningful reforms. The Biden administration has also shown its support by encouraging U.S. companies to leverage their purchasing power to instigate change in sugar mills and to work with labor unions to improve conditions.
As institutional advocates unite to tackle the exploitative practices tied to sugar production, the future of labor rights in India’s sugar industry hangs in the balance, awaiting the crucial reforms that could emerge from these pressures.
