Introduction
Academia, government, civil society (NGOs) and business came together at the Innovate Rights: New Thinking on Business and Human Rights seminar to discuss the advancement of human rights in business.
The seminar was hosted by the Australian Human Rights Institute and director, Louis Chappell, reminded us that it had been 6 years since the Rana Plaza building collapse in Bangladesh, where 1134 people were killed, and hundreds injured.
This disaster was a turning point for business and human rights because it brought the issue of human rights in supply chains into our homes. In the aftermath of that event, there was incredible scrutiny on the retailers who were sourcing products from this factory and, for the first time, mainstream consumers were aware of human and labour rights issues and wanted to know which retailers were involved.
Unfortunately, it took this tragic incident for the world to wake up – and, regrettably, it appears there has been little progress in addressing workers’ rights since.
Shared insights
Addressing and advancing human rights impacts needs to be driven by business, government and civil society.
Current modern slavery laws, both in Australia and in other jurisdictions (i.e. UK, California and the Netherlands), reflect social attitudes and the changes we want to see.
Whilst there is social support for tackling modern slavery, there is general consensus that addressing human and labour rights in supply chains is incredibly challenging, particularly where there is failure from states to protect and respect workers’ rights. Businesses have a huge role to play and have incredible potential to influence worker empowerment in their supply chains. In an article in the Human Rights Defender magazine titled Business and Human Rights, Current and Future Challenges, only 29 of the 100 highest earning entities in 2017 were countries, the rest were corporations. This speaks to the power that business has to influence social, economic and political realities.
Business responsibility
Today there are more ‘slaves’ than in another other time in history and a lot of the victims of modern slavery are found in business supply chains.
Whilst this is alarming, there are opportunities here for businesses to choose to be part of a virtuous circle rather than a vicious circle; to be a force for good, not evil.
It’s not only consumers that want to see business addressing human rights but also employees. Companies are populated by humans that want no part in human rights abuses. This is something they want to see changed – particularly the millennials.
So what do we want to see from business leaders
An esteemed panel of experts, which included Sam Mostyn (sustainability adviser), Justine Nolan (UNSW Sydney), Amol Mehra (The Freedom Fund), David Cooke (Konica Minolta) and Auret van Heerden (fair labour advisor) shared their insights in a session titled A Blueprint for Business Leadership on Human Rights.
It was evident from all members of the panel that the majority of business leaders are uninformed and/or fearful of the exposure of being linked to modern slavery impacts.
It was suggested that a number of senior leaders and CEOs would like to step-up and address human rights, but they’re terrified. Boards and senior management are not skilled in addressing this issue, so we need to raise awareness and see CEOs and boards getting comfortable with the conversation around human rights.
Respecting and protecting human rights will only work if respecting all human rights is part of a company’s business strategy. There must be a clear vision from the LEADER about what ‘doing good’ looks like.
When speaking about the recently enacted modern slavery legislation, the panel observed that the corporate sector is resource rich and well positioned to implement shifts if they have the right intention. But a degree of a compliance mentality exists, which means that some will just do the minimum to avoid penalties.
It was also noted that business is not good with self-regulation, as we saw the biggest changes to workplace safety happen only when penalties where applied to CEOs for safety incidents. So, it will be interesting to see how the current NSW and Commonwealth Modern Slavery legislation will affect business and how they will address not only modern slavery risks but human rights impacts. It’s clear that nobody wants to see business approach this as a ‘tick and flick’ exercise because if that’s the case, its unlikely real change will happen.
We need to see leaders authentically communicate their PURPOSE, which will help attract the right people into their organisation, create better shareholder outcomes, and lower the risk to the business of not doing the right thing.
We need courageous and visionary leaders who regard human rights, social justice and concerns for others as an enormous benefit to business. By looking after others, particularly the vulnerable, the more you put out, the more you get back. It’s not only the right thing to do, but it’s actually the only thing to do.
Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest investor with $US 6 trillion under management understands the link between purpose and profit and has stated:
Business leaders must finally, once and for all, let go of the outdated and erroneous notion that social factors — and not just diversity — are irrelevant to the economic success of our companies... Committing to a purpose and having a positive social impact is increasingly central to good management and shareholder value.
How can we all work towards worker empowerment and the end of modern slavery
1. COLLABORATION - This is the key! Collaborate with industry peers and key stakeholders to address modern slavery and human rights risks. NGOs, industry bodies and associations can all play a role in assisting organisations to collectively tackle the issue of modern slavery. There are lessons learned from the garment sector. For example, the Fair Wear Foundation, an independent, non-profit organisation, works with a 130 brands and industry influencers to improve the working conditions of workers in garment factors.
2. PROCUREMENT PRACTICES - We also need to understand how our procurement and purchasing practices affect our suppliers. For instance, we need to stop aggressive price negotiation and unrealistic lead times. Business should also consider the importance of social compliance as part of the criteria for selecting new suppliers and not just focus on quality and price. The cost of the product should not be on the only factor in procurement.
3. CAPACITY BUILDING - The Australian Government has outlined in its Draft Guidance for Reporting Entities document the importance of building meaningful partnership with suppliers. One way of doing this is to build the supplier’s capacity to address human rights through awareness-raising, training, coaching and the development of skills to address modern slavery risks in their company and their supply chains.
These a just a few ways we can create change, and with expertise and a desire for real change we can all make a difference.
Conclusion
We need business leaders to understand WHY it’s important to their business and their stakeholders to address human rights. We need them to find the courage to take risks and to say that they don’t have all the answers but are willing to make a start. Both employees and consumers want to see action from business to address human rights; they want to see businesses that are transparent, engaged, honest and have integrity.
It was recognised in the panel’s parting comments, that over the two days of the conference there had been very little said about the role of small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) in relation to addressing human rights impacts. It was acknowledged that SMEs needs to be part of the conversation, as they play a major role in supplying goods and services to businesses and government who are required to report under the modern slavery legislation.
The next question then is how to engage with SMEs, how to make it relevant and bring them along?
My Business have published an article – SME’s not immune from the Modern Slavery Act
Key Takeaways
Human rights need to be demystified – it is about simple human dignity, inclusion and diversity.
Be clear on your goal – work towards having a value chain that goes for worker empowerment, not worker exploitation.
Modern slavery dialogue is important – it is just one piece, but not the only piece and there needs to be a broader discussion around human and labour rights.
Understand the root causes of human rights in your supply chains and how to address them – see what works and what doesn’t work, go for progress, not perfection.
Get proactive – examine your own procurement practices.
Tackling modern slavery and human rights takes COURAGE, CURIOSITY AND COMMITMENT.