August 13-2024
Compliance Executive
(Social Division)
Forced labour is a severe human rights violation that involves the exploitation of individuals through coercion, deception, or abuse of power. It’s a complex issue that affects millions worldwide, and businesses have a critical role to play in preventing it from occurring within their supply chains.
Understanding Forced Labour
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), at least 12.3 million people are victims of forced labour worldwide. Of these 9.8 million are exploited by private individuals and enterprises, including more than 2.4 million in forced labour as a result of human trafficking. The remaining 2.5 million are forced to work by the state or by rebel military groups.
The International Labour Organization defines forced labour as ‘all work or service which is exacted from a person under the menace of penalty and for which the person has not offered himself voluntarily. The ILO has recognized 11 distinct “indicators” designed to aid front-line criminal law enforcement officials, labor inspectors, trade union officers, NGO workers, and others in identifying individuals who might be ensnared in forced labor scenarios and may need immediate assistance. These indicators are as given:
Implementing Effective Prevention Strategies
To prevent forced labour from entering your organisation’s supply chain, consider the following steps:
- 1. Conduct Comprehensive Supplier Assessments: .
- Do not limit yourself to simple questionnaires but rather perform more detailed surveys of your suppliers, including the visits to their facilities if possible.
- Suppliers should be assessed on how they treat their employees, regarding wages and working conditions or how clear they are regarding their sources of supply.
- It is recommended to engage third party auditors in order to enhance the credibility of the audit.
- 2. Empower Your Workforce through Transparent Communication and Training: .
- Ensure that there is a strong grievance procedure that can be followed and used to address any complaint that the workers may have.
- Train employees on labour rights, ethical sourcing, and forced labour indicators at least once a year.
- Remind employees to report any signs of forced labour by using the company’s anonymous whistle blowing procedures.
- 3. Establish a Strong Whistleblower Protection Policy: .
- Set specific procedures on how employees should report a suspected case of forced labour.
- Protect the identity and provide the anonymity of the whistleblower.
- Thoroughly look into all allegations and make the necessary actions.
- Inform employees and suppliers about the necessity of whistleblowing.
- 4. Implement Ethical Recruitment Practices: .
- It is important to create a clear and transparent recruitment process where job descriptions, requirements, and remunerations are well spelled down.
- Do not allow employers to deduct recruitment fees from the worker’s wages.
- Some of the specific measures to be taken include the following: authenticate employment documents and conduct background checks on recruitment agencies.
- Recruitment agencies should be sought in a manner that they uphold high ethical standards in sourcing employees.
- 5. Foster Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing: .
- Collaborate with other industry players and bodies in order to learn from each other’s experiences.
- Support industry processes that seek to address forced labour.
- Engage suppliers in the process of formulating strategic partnerships with respect to risk management of labour.
- t is important to keep up with the changes in the legal framework of the fight against slavery and trafficking in human beings.
How Will This Help Your Organisation?
It is not only the right thing to do, but it is also good for business to stop forcing workers into forced labour. Here’s how it can benefit your organisation:Here’s how it can benefit your organisation:
- Enhanced Reputation: It is crucial to show consumers that you as a company are committed to ethical sourcing and labour practices because it will definitely improve your brand image and appeal to the right audience.
- Reduced Risks: Thus, to eliminate forced labour risks for your business, you can avoid legal and financial penalties and reputational losses.
- Improved Supply Chain Resilience: This means that developing ethical supplier relationship can help in establishing a better and more stable supply chain.
- Increased Employee Morale: Ethical business practices increase organisational commitment and thus, enhance the morale of employees and their level of productivity.
- Competitive Advantage: This has an impact on the social responsibility that an organization has towards its employees, clients, the environment and the community in general.
So, forced labour prevention investment is not just good for your it is also good for the society in which your operates.
Through appropriate measures to avoid forced labour, the companies will show that they are behaving ethically and socially and thus be part of the solution to the challenge that is facing the society.
Want to delve deeper into preventing forced labor and building a robust compliance framework? Enroll in our Social Compliance courses to gain expert insights and actionable strategies.
- Disclaimer : This blog is for informational purposes only and does not endorse or criticize any specific brand or product.
