Stop Firestone: Exploitation and Labour Abuse in Liberia-gctid29177

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Stop Firestone: Exploitation and Labour Abuse in Liberia



The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company has operated the world’s largest rubber plantation in the world in Harbel, Liberia for over 80 years. Firestone signed a concession agreement with the government of Liberia to lease over one million acres of land in 1926 for 6 cents per acre for a period of 99 years. In 2005, Firestone signed a new 37-year agreement with a transitional government in Liberia to lease the land for 50 cents per acre. All rubber produced in Liberia is sent to the United States for processing into tires and no processing or manufacturing is done in Liberia.

FIRESTONE USES CHILD LABOR:

Firestone workers must tap trees in order to extract the latex necessary for making rubber tires. The rubber tappers must meet a daily production quota or their already low wages will be halved. By Firestone Natural Rubber Company CEO Dan Adomitis’ own admission on CNN, it would take over 21 hours to meet the quota. As a result, tappers are forced to bring their children and wives to work. Children are forced to carry two 70 pound buckets of rubber on their shoulders for miles. Tappers and their children must apply toxic pesticides without protection.
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