Background
Slavery is universally accepted as a crime against humanity.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: ‘No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.’ (article 4)
There is of course a moral obligation to respect human rights but increasingly we are seeing legislation being enacted across the globe that addresses modern slavery. Business entities are expected to tackle modern slavery not only in their own business operations but also in their supply chains.
Countries and states that are taking the lead to address modern slavery are:
Australia – Commonwealth Modern Slavery Bill (2018)
New South Wales – Modern Slavery Act 2018, passed through NSW Parliament on 21 June 2018
France – Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law (2017)
United Kingdom – UK Modern Slavery Act (2015)
California – Transparency in Supply Chains Act (2010)
·Netherlands – Child Labour Due Diligence Legislation (forthcoming)
NB: Australian Commonwealth Modern Slavery Bill update - The legislation has passed the House of Representatives and will be debated in the Senate during the November sittings. The Bill enjoys cross party support.
What is modern slavery?
Slavery takes away a person’s freedom. It dehumanises people and places them in a system of control and abuse.
Modern day slavery sees different types of exploitation than the slave trade that took place in the 1600s – 1900s. When we think about this, we picture images of slaves that were considered as possessions, and in many cases involved physical harm and restraints such as chains.
Even though slavery has been abolished for 100s of years, slavery still continues to exist.
In today’s context, modern slavery is more often about psychological control through threats and coercion and the use of force over a person.
The Global Slavery Index estimates that modern slavery practices affect an estimated 40.3 million people worldwide, with 24.9 million in forced labour.
In the business context, all workers have the right to:
work voluntarily
retain their personal documents i.e. ID cards or passports
leave the workplace after work
resign
refuse overtime
Forms of modern slavery
Sex trafficking of adults and children
Forced marriage
Human trafficking
Forced labour
Child labour
Debt labour
Servitude
In the business environment, modern slavery can be found in:
Construction
Manufacturing
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Accommodation and food service activities
Wholesale and trade
Personal services
Mining and quarrying
With the top three sectors being construction, manufacturing and agriculture.
High-risk Regions and Countries
Although modern slavery is an international issue that affects all countries, it’s important to understand that two thirds of the estimated 40.3 million people in modern slavery were identified in the Asia-Pacific region, where Australian businesses have links. Consequently, Australian organisations may be unwittingly complicit in modern slavery practices like forced or bonded labour.
I work with manufacturers of building products and interior commercial products like office furniture and flooring, and increasingly the Asia-Pacific region is where most of these products are sourced. It’s really important to consider this, particularly when you are assessing your supply chain risks.
Closer to home, cases of forced labour in Australia predominately occur in high-risk industries, which include agriculture, construction, domestic work, meat processing, cleaning, hospitality and food services.
Internationally, five out of the top 10 high-risk countries are in Africa. North Korea is the number one country listed with the highest victims of modern slavery and over 2.5 million people are estimated to be affected.
Modern slavery generates over 150 billion dollars of illegal profits every year.
The main forms of modern slavery to be aware of in the business context are forced labour, child labour and debt labour.
So, what is forced labour?
The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) definition of forced labour is: "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily."
This definition consists of three elements:
Work or service refers to all types of work occurring in any activity, industry or sector including the informal economy.
Menace of any penalty refers to a wide range of penalties used to compel someone to work.
Offered voluntarily refers to the free and informed consent of a worker to take a job and his or her freedom to leave at any time.
What is child labour?
According to the ILO, the term child labour is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
It refers to work that:
is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and
interferes with their schooling by:
o depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
o obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
o requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of work can be called child labour depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, and the conditions under which it is performed. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.
What is debt labour?
Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery or bonded labour, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. The terms of the repayment are often not clearly or reasonably stated. For example, the services required to repay the debt may be undefined, and the duration of indebtedness may be unclear.
The person who is holding the debt usually has some control over the labourer and has the power to demand services indefinitely.
Debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation.
Conclusion
Most Australian businesses, both large and small may be unwittingly complicit in modern slavery. Understanding where the high-risk areas and industries of modern slavery are is a good start. Conducting supply chain due diligence will be required to understand where forced labour, child labour and other human right issues may be occurring.
We have over 10 years’ experience working with product manufacturers and their supply chains, and we have lots of tools and resources for implementation. Please get in touch if we can help.
Additional resources to assist in understanding modern slavery
International Labour Organization – Lured by a job, trapped in forced labour - Published on Oct 2, 2015 (YouTube)
Freedom Foundation – What is Modern Slavery (YouTube)
The Global Slavery Index is a fabulous resource to help you understand modern slavery and it has lots of country-specific data