From Local to Global: Best Practice in Fighting Modern Slavery

February 3, 2023Uncategorizeddisclosure, due diligence, forced labour, human trafficking, modern slavery, modern slavery act, sex trafficking, supply chains, transparencymartijn

If people are serious about ending modern-day slavery, consumers need to be prepared to pay more and companies must be prepared for a drop in profits, while governments must pass unpopular legislation, a professor of law at the Catholic University of America has warned.

Professor Mary Graw Leary is a founding director of the Bakhita Initiative for the study and disruption of modern-day slavery.

In her address to The Tablet webinar, “From local to global: best practice in fighting modern slavery and human trafficking”, sponsored by the University of Notre Dame Australia, she acknowledged that “great strides” have been made in fighting modern slavery and human trafficking in a fairly short period of time.

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Modern Slavery and Renewable Energy

February 3, 2023UncategorizedChina, Climate change, cobalt, Congo, forced labour, modern slavery, renewable energy, solar panel, solar power, uyghur, xinjiangmartijn

Australia should approach its renewable energy transition with caution, experts say, amid concerns of labour exploitation in the production of solar panels.

Polysilicon is the most common material used to produce solar panels, and around 45 per cent of the world’s supply comes from Xinjiang, China.

The United Nations says China may be committing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, with experts accusing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of exploiting its Uyghur Muslim minority into forced labour to make products including solar panels.

China strongly denies allegations of human rights abuses against its Uyghur Muslim population.

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Leaning towards the Light: A Christmas Reflection on Modern Slavery

February 3, 2023UncategorizedAustralian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network, Catholic Mission, Leaning towards the light, modern slavery, Symposiummartijn

An outdoor symposium on modern slavery was held in Perth on 10 December 2023, moderated by Fiona McGaughey, Associate Professor, University of Western Australia.

Panel member(s) from left to right:

Dcn Greg Lowe, Director, The West Australian Catholic Migrant & Refugee Office
Jenny Stanger, Executive Manager, Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network
Shaeron Yapp, Principal Advisor of Human Rights, Rio Tinto
Martijn Boersma, Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame Australia

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Broken Promises: business failure on modern slavery

November 21, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, civil society, companies, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, exploitation, forced labour, global supply chains, human rights abuses, modern slavery, modern slavery act, Reporting, transparency, worker exploitationmartijn

A new report, Broken Promises: Two years of corporate reporting under Australia’s Modern Slavery Act, examines the second year of corporate statements submitted to the Government’s Modern Slavery Register by 92 companies sourcing from four sectors with known risks of modern slavery: garments from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia, seafood from Thailand and fresh produce from Australia.

It finds that:

66% of companies reviewed (down from 77% in the first year) are still failing to comply with the basic reporting requirements mandated by the legislation, with some companies not submitting reports at all;
Over half (56%) of the commitments made by companies in the first year of reporting to improve their modern slavery response remained unfulfilled based on their second year statements;
43% of companies reviewed (down from 52% in the first year) are still failing to identify obvious modern slavery risks in their supply chains;
There is a mere 6% increase in the number of companies appearing to be taking some form of effective action to address modern slavery risks, with two in three companies still failing to act.

Seafood, rubber gloves, oranges: tainted by modern slavery?

November 21, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, Broken Promises, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, exploitation, forced labour, global supply chains, human rights abuses, modern slavery, modern slavery actmartijn

If your clothes are made in China, rubber gloves from Malaysia and seafood sourced from Thailand, researchers are warning you may be at risk of supporting modern slavery practices.

Those were identified as the sectors with the highest risk of modern slavery in a new report, produced by a coalition of human rights organisations and academics.

And despite previous warnings of the risks to Australian companies sourcing these products, little has changed to improve the risks.

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Muslim countries vote down UN Human Rights Council Xinjiang debate

November 21, 2022Uncategorizedexploitation, forced labour, global supply chains, governance, government, human rights, human rights abuses, Human Rights Council, modern slavery, uyghur, xinjiangmartijn

Uyghur Australians have condemned Muslim-majority member countries of the United Nations Human Rights Council for voting down a debate on allegations of human rights abuses against minorities, including Muslims and Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China.

Among the 19 members who voted against the debate were Pakistan, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

Australian resident and exiled Uyghur, Arslan Hidayat, described it as another “stab in the back” — singling out the votes from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, both Turkic countries with historical connections to the Uyghur community.

Continue reading Muslim countries vote down UN Human Rights Council Xinjiang debate →

Using Market Devices to Address Labour Abuses

September 9, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, civil society, cleaning, Cleaning Accountability Framework, companies, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, exploitation, forced labour, labour standards, Market Devices, Supply Chain, transparency, Unions, vulnerable workers, wage theft, worker exploitationmartijn

This study examines how the risk of labour standards noncompliance can be rendered calculable and commensurable through a market device. We present a case study of the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF), an industry certification scheme, which seeks to address labour exploitation in the Australian contract cleaning industry. We pay particular attention to the central device of the certification scheme – the pricing schedule. We examine how the pricing schedule shaped the calculative space informing contracting parties during the procurement process. In doing so, the pricing schedule increased transparency around the potential risk of labour standards noncompliance. The nature of this transparency and the perceived objectivity of the pricing schedule acted to reshape the market for contract cleaning, resulting in a redistribution of accountability for labour exploitation. We also examine how the pricing schedule formed part of a wider framework of accountability, and how these mechanisms enabled strategic co-enforcement of labour standards compliance by supply chain stakeholders. Overall, our study indicates the potential for accounting practices to play a more active role in shaping how markets address modern slavery risks.

The Law Down Under Podcast: Modern Slavery

September 9, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, exploitation, forced labour, global supply chains, human rights, labour standards, migrant workers, modern slavery act, regulation, Reporting, Supply Chain, trafficking, transparency, worker exploitation, working conditionsmartijn

Pandemic Disruption of the Textile and Apparel Value Chain

March 29, 2023Uncategorizedapparel, civil society, companies, consumers, corporate social responsibility, covid-19, CSR, disruption, exploitation, garment, global supply chains, global Value Chain, pandemicmartijn

The COVID-19 pandemic disruption has had a significant impact on the textile and apparel value chain, particularly on garment workers in the Global South. The disruption caused by the pandemic has raised questions about global justice and responsibility for these workers. This briefing paper investigates how the Australian cotton industry can influence working conditions along the textile and apparel value chain, and provides a detailed summary of the context surrounding the impact of COVID-19 on the textile and apparel value chain.

The pandemic had a calamitous effect on the lives of garment workers in the Global South. Women make up 80% of the labor force in the textile and apparel value chain, meaning that they have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in the sector. Migrant workers are important to the global textile labor force, and the exploitation of migrant workers has been an ongoing concern. The effects of COVID-19 are ongoing, and many countries are experiencing surges, different variants, and returns to lockdown, putting garment workers economically, socially, and medically at risk.

Global activism campaigns have sought to mobilise support and ignite corporate accountability. The #PayUp campaign, for example, urged consumers to hold brands accountable for paying their workers despite canceling orders. Large corporations canceling their orders had a dramatic effect on household income, leading to an increase in malnutrition and homelessness. The loss of jobs in apparel manufacturing was caused by several factors and continues to have a ripple effect on the longer-term economic security of workers.

As well as responding to the events of the pandemic, many actors are ‘future proofing’ their supply chains. The disrupted access to materials and political tensions will give some countries a notable advantage for export competitiveness. The global push for some textile industries in the Global North to ‘re-shore’ production has become a topical issue in recent policy debates. Responses to the problems faced by garment workers have focused on potential points of leverage at the endpoint of the value chain. Overall, the supply chain disruptions of the pandemic spotlight the need for stakeholders to work collaboratively to protect worker well-being.

Interview with Paul Turton on ABC Radio Newcastle: RTBU’s industrial action and the role of unions

September 9, 2022Uncategorizedcivil society, industrial action, RBTU, Strike, Unions, working conditionsmartijn

On 25 August I briefly spoke to Paul Turton on ABC Radio Newcastle, about the Rail Tram and Bus Union’s (RTBU) industrial action and the role and future role of trade unions. I stopped short of singing The Internationale (but only just).

martijnboersma · Interview with Paul Turton – ABC Radio Newcastle

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