I had the very great privilege to attend the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Turin, Italy in October.
The ILO was founded in 1919 and is the only tripartite UN agency that brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 member states to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
The one-week training was titled International Labour Standards and Corporate Social Responsibility: Understanding workers’ rights in the framework of due diligence.
It was an incredible experience and a joy to be in an environment of like-minded and passionate professionals from all over the world and from diverse professions and industries. The conference was attended by people from the UN Global Compact, World Bank, ILO member state agencies and private enterprises in the mining, retail and manufacturing sectors. Of course, I was the participant who travelled the furthest for the incredible education, which was presented by our two immensely knowledgeable and passionate facilitators, Emily Sims and Karl Pfeffer.
As we know, corporate human rights legislation is being rolled out globally; most notably, through the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) and, closer to home, the Commonwealth Modern Slavery Bill and the NSW Modern Slavery Act (2018). Because of these two key pieces of Australian legislation, we will see big business and government take the charge with addressing modern slavery in their business operations and their supply chains. This should lead to changes in how the building and construction sector, big business and government procure products and materials.
Labour standards form part of the human rights due diligence process and are critical to ensuring ethical business practices and combating modern slavery.
The ILO has eight fundamental principles and rights at work, which include:
1. Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
2. Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87)
3. Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)
4. Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)
5. Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)
6. Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)
7. Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)
8. Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)
Both forced labour and child labour fall under the definition of modern slavery.
In regards child labour, the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) is the mostly widely ratified ILO convention, with 182 ratifications, 97% of member states. Despite this, there are 152 million victims of child labour. Almost half of these children – 73 million – are involved in hazardous work and 62.1 million live in the Asia-Pacific region, where there are strong links to Australian supply chains.
Similarly, the ILO estimates that more than 11 million people are victims of forced labour, accounting for well over half of the global estimated number of 21 million victims. Put another way, at least three in every 1000 people in Asia-Pacific are in forced labour, that is, trapped in jobs which they were coerced into and which they cannot leave. Manufacturing is one of the sectors where forced labour is most often found, as well as agriculture, construction and mining.
Businesses, along with government, have a role in eradicating modern slavery and protecting vulnerable workers and children. When conducting supply chain due diligence, businesses and government need to not only consider forced labour and child labour but also ensure that workers in their supply chains have safe and healthy workplaces, are paid a living wage and are not harassed or discriminated against. The ILO labour standards can provide guidance with this.
Another key consideration when working with suppliers is the importance of collaboration and for brands (buyers) to take responsibility for how they contribute to issues of forced labour and poor working conditions. When buyers understand the negative impact that business practices such as imposing unrealistic deadlines, excessively squeezing margins and making late payments have on their suppliers, then meaningful change is possible. The key here is better communication between buyers and factories.
Conclusion
Australian businesses and Government agencies that procure products and materials are likely to have modern slavery in their supply chains. However, the fact that larger corporations and entities in Australia are now required to comply with Commonwealth and NSW modern slavery legislation will have a flow-on effect to smaller businesses in their supply chains.
This issue is complex and challenging but there are opportunities to create real change in the lives of vulnerable workers when government and industry support enterprises to be transparent about the human and labour rights issues in their business operations and supply chain, and to implement remediation plans to mitigate these issues.
The International Training Centre is the training arm of the International Labour Organization.
It runs training, learning and capacity development services for governments, employers' organisations, workers' organisations and other national and international partners in support of decent work and sustainable development.