Primer on Recruitment-Related Risks in the Latin American Coffee Sector

Tool 6: Verité research has found that the use of labor brokers (including recruiters, labor contractors, crew leaders, village agents, and in some cases employment agencies) is widespread in the Latin American coffee sector. Coffee producers often turn to labor recruiters when there is an urgent need for workers, especially during the labor-intensive harvest season. While labor brokers can play an important role in coffee supply chains by ensuring a constant supply of farmworkers, unscrupulous labor brokers may engage in unethical practices that put workers at risk, and at the same time create legal and reputational risks for coffee producers, traders, and roasters alike. Therefore, it is necessary that they put systems in place to identify and address potential risks related to labor recruitment in their supply chains. This tool contains background information on recruitment-related risks identified by Verité in the Latin American coffee sector, as well as information on concrete red flags related to recruitment in coffee supply chains and key steps that companies can take to address these risks.