UK businesses must ‘stamp out slave trade’, says leading think tank
UK businesses will be required to disclose all their efforts to end slavery, under a Bill launched in Parliament today.
The Transparency in Supply Chains Bill, drafted by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) and Labour MP Fiona MacTaggart, will demand that businesses investigate whether their supply chains are slave-free.
As part of landmark measures to raise awareness about the nature and scale of human trafficking, businesses will be encouraged to conduct an audit of their suppliers to check that they comply with anti-slavery laws.
An estimated 27 million people are enslaved worldwide and this latest legislation will prompt all UK businesses, with a turnover of over £100 million or more, to take responsibility to end this appalling abuse.
Employees working with suppliers should be trained to blow the whistle on questionable practice, and all information of the vital work being done to combat slavery should be published online as part of the business’s annual review.
The Bill, intended to foster cooperation and build a consensus on slavery, is expected to prompt a cultural change similar to that brought about by the environmental or fair trade movements.
It is inspired by successful Californian legislation which revolutionised business action against slavery. Kevin Bales, President of Free the Slaves in the US, and adviser to the CSJ Slavery Review, said ‘I continue to be amazed at the positive impact of the California law, one week WalMart is enlisting allies and collaborators from government, other businesses and NGOs, and the next week it is Exxon-Mobil.’
Christian Guy, Managing Director of the CSJ, said ‘The Bill will show that Parliament is once again serious in its determination to confront the tragic and disgusting abuse of modern day slavery. It would set Britain apart as a world leader in that fight, which remains as tragically relevant today as it was when parliament last rose to confront it 200 years ago. We believe that British business can lead the way and help to stamp out slavery once more.’
The CSJ is conducting an 18 month review of slavery in the UK which will be published in the Autumn of 2012.
15 May 2012
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