The exploitation of human freedom and fundamental rights is more prevalent in industries that directly include manual labour. If you deploy an effective program to help your employees identify such incidents in your workplace or supply chain, you might encounter cases of modern slavery. But do you think your workforce is armed to manage such incidents?
1. Collaborate
No organisation can effectively eliminate modern slavery from their workplace alone. It can only be stopped when companies collaborate with partners and stakeholders. Attempts to eradicate modern slavery by an organisation without any such collaboration with partnerships and stakeholders can put an end to knowledge and information sharing. Combining resources and sharing expertise are the most important benefits of joined forces in the fight against modern slavery.
2. Be vigilant
You must be vigilant in identifying instances of modern slavery. The first step towards doing so is to gain transparency over your supply chains and operations. Deep observation of their operations at regular intervals can lead organisations to inevitably detect instances of misconduct or exploitation defined as modern slavery as per Australian laws. Organisations can then take appropriate action to solve these instances.
3. Engage with suppliers
It can be challenging to find these instances of modern slavery in your supply chain but adopting a victim-centred approach can be one of the best ways to long-term eradication of modern slavery. This approach enables organisations to look beyond their own goals, interests, and risk mitigation to engage with suppliers when modern slavery has been found. Extending modern slavery and human rights awareness training to suppliers can help reduce the risks of modern slavery.
This also results in building long-term relationships with suppliers to create trust. Such plans and approaches can lead to companies engaging in a rapid and more effective response against modern slavery in the future.
Get everyone on board to fight against modern slavery.
As companies need to collaborate with partners, stakeholders, and suppliers, it is also important to get all levels of the organisation equally invested in addressing modern slavery issues. Management needs to provide a sufficient budget to support anti-modern slavery activities and tackle any instances. Taking all employees together on this journey will also help reach more stakeholders and create more value.
Takeaway:
Dealing with and preventing modern slavery in your workplace and supply chain can be a demanding task. But it is not impossible and can be streamlined using the right tools. Sentrient’s online workplace compliance courses can help guide your employees on how to stay compliant with modern slavery laws and the actions to be taken when confronted with such incidents.
In July, fashion retailer Boohoo became the latest company embroiled in an ethics scandal, accused of modern slavery.
A Sunday Times UK investigation found that Boohoo was selling clothes made in a Leicester factory who were reportedly paying garment workers as little as £3.50 an hour (the minimum wage is £8.50) and failing to protect workers against Covid-19.
In response, the company, which has said it takes a “zero-tolerance” approach to malpractice, terminated contracts with one supplier and one subcontractor and launched an independent review into its supply chain.
Then just a few days ago, The Guardian UK exclusively reported that at least 18 other factories where Boohoo made clothing in Leicester had failed to prove they pay the minimum wage to workers in audits as recent as a few weeks ago and dating back 4 years, leading to Boohoo suspending orders at a number of factories.Continue reading...
