Tag Archives: civil society

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.

Broken Promises

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.

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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

UN report on China’s abuse of Uyghurs: What Should Australia Do in Reponse?

September 9, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, Australia, China, civil society, companies, consumers, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, exploitation, forced labour, global supply chains, government, human rights, human rights abuses, modern slavery, Uyghursmartijn

For three years, Sadam Abdusalam watched his newborn grow into a toddler through the screen of a mobile phone. He was thousands of kilometres away in Australia, and his son Lufti and his wife Nadila were stuck in China’s Xinjiang province, unable to leave.

A Uyghur originally from Xinjiang, Mr Abdusalam was separated from his family for three years after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized Nadila’s passport in 2017. He said the CCP began taking “as many” Uyghurs’ passports as they could in that year.

Continue reading UN report on China’s abuse of Uyghurs: What Should Australia Do in Reponse? →

Envisioning Wellbeing Economies through the Australian Fashion Industry Context

September 9, 2022UncategorizedAustralia, civil society, consumers, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, ethics, fashion, forced labour, global supply chains, human rights, supply chains, Sustainability, Wellbeingmartijn

Sustainability leaders, experts, industry and innovators from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific came together to share their knowledge on sustainability challenges and opportunities in the Oceania region as part of a major international sustainability event.

Coordinated by Future Earth Australia, Australian Academia and government partners hosted the sustainability-focused event in Brisbane from 29 June – 1 July 2022.

Sessions were held over three days and covered any aspects of sustainability: climate change, Indigenous knowledges, coastal resilience, urban sustainability, synthetic biology and more. It will focus on sustainability issues and challenges unique to Oceania.

The Oceania Satellite Event built on the outcomes of the inaugural SRI2021 Congress last year in Brisbane, that featured more than 2000 attendees from over 100 countries.

Wellbeing Economies through Fashion

0:04 Welcome from Moderator : Assoc. Prof. Samantha Sharpe
2:12 Wellbeing Economy – Sufficiency – UTS/ISF – Dr.Monique Retamal
10:04 Reuse / Repair – Monash – Aleasha McCallion
18:05 Policy & Stewardship – QUT – Assoc.Prof. Alice Payne
26:30 Inclusive fashion Practices and Intersectionality – USC – Deborah Fisher
34:36 Circularity – Monash – Julie Boulton.
47:04 Modern Slavery – UNDA – Assoc.Prof. Martijn Boersma
55:33 Regenerative Business models – UTS ISF – Karina Kallio
1:04:40 Discussion

Modern Slavery Risks in the Cleaning and Security Industry

August 8, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, civil society, cleaning accountability frae, companies, consumers, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, CSR, exploitation, forced labour, governance, labour standards, modern slavery act, regulation, Reporting, Supply Chain, supply chains, trafficking, transparency, Unions, vulnerable workers, worker exploitation, working conditionsmartijn

This briefing session brings together academic experts in the fields of modern slavery, labour law compliance, supply chain due diligence and temporary migrant workers, to share insights and advice on how universities can demonstrate leadership in promoting good labour practices. The aim of this briefing is to assist relevant stakeholders in the higher education sector to understand their role in promoting good labour practices, and provide guidance on practically how to do this. This briefing is aimed at professionals working in university procurement and contract management, university modern slavery working groups, university risk and compliance, cleaning and security contractors that currently hold contracts at university campuses.

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Why a degree in modern slavery is a valuable addition to your CV

June 15, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, Australia, civil society, companies, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, CSR, ethics, exploitation, Fair Work Ombudsman, forced labour, global supply chains, governance, government, human rights, human rights abuses, labour, labour standards, legislation, Martijn Boersma, migrant workers, modern slavery, modern slavery act, regulation, stakeholders, Supply Chain, supply chains, trade unions, trafficking, transparency, vulnerable workers, work, worker exploitation, working conditionsmartijn

Modern slavery may seem a distant issue in Australia, but a new course will teach graduates why an understanding of it is increasingly important in every business

It might be easy to imagine, especially in Australia, that slavery is a thing of the past. But an estimated 15,000 people were living in conditions of modern slavery here in 2016, through forced marriage and labour, sexual exploitation, debt bondage and human trafficking – exploitation that disproportionately affects women, children, asylum seekers and migrants. Globally, in that same year, 40.3 million victims were being abused.

Martijn Boersma is an associate professor of human trafficking and modern slavery at the University of Notre Dame Australia, where a new course aims to provide the skills and knowledge that will enable people to work proactively to put an end to the exploitation of vulnerable people.

Continue reading Why a degree in modern slavery is a valuable addition to your CV →

Modern Slavery and Climate Change – Towards an Integrated Approach

July 30, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, civil society, Climate change, companies, consumers, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, CSR, environment, exploitation, forced labour, global supply chains, human rights, human rights abuses, migrant workersmartijn

Climate change has made millions vulnerable to modern slavery. Displacement and migration because of climate change creates a nexus of harm that pushes people to accept work that actively contributes to environmental destruction of forests, fisheries, waterways and land. Weak regulation and enforcement, corruption, a lack of political will and the lure of profits combined with vulnerability of people creates a vicious circle of opportunity for forced labour, child labour, debt bondage and slavery. In this webinar, speakers explored how an integrated approach to addressing modern slavery, climate change and environmental destruction can lead to impactful interventions by governments, communities, workers and business.

Hosted by: Jenny Stanger, Anti-slavery Taskforce, Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney

Facilitated by: Dr Martijn Boersma, Associate Professor of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking at University of Notre Dame Australia

Continue reading Modern Slavery and Climate Change – Towards an Integrated Approach →

Consultation on Modern Slavery and Worker Exploitation (New Zealand)

June 14, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, civil society, companies, Corporate Governance, corporate social responsibility, exploitation, forced labour, governance, government, human rights abuses, justine nolan, Martijn Boersma, migrant workers, modern slavery, multistakeholder collaboration, Reporting, Supply Chain, trade unions, trafficking, worker exploitation, working conditionsmartijn

Modern slavery and worker exploitation are severe types of exploitation that can be found both internationally and in New Zealand. To address these behaviours, significant collaboration between government agencies as well as civil society, corporations, trade unions, academics, and international partners is needed.

The New Zealand Government sought feedback on a new law aimed at addressing modern slavery and worker exploitation in New Zealand and around the world. The law would introduce new obligations for organisations with operations and supply chains in New Zealand. Below is a submission made by academics and representatives from civil society that work on modern slavery and labour exploitation.

Consultation on Modern Slavery and Worker Exploitation - Bhakoo, Boersma, McGaughey, Nolan, Sinclair

New book reveals modern slavery is all around us

September 23, 2019Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, Australia, civil society, exploitation, forced labour, governance, Martijn Boersma, migrant workers, Supply Chain, trade unions, trafficking, working conditionsmartijn

It’s estimated that 40.3 million people are enslaved around the world.

For many Australians, the concept of modern-day slavery may seem implausible. But it’s estimated that 40.3 million people are enslaved around the world, more than ever before in human history.

The Global Slavery Index estimates 15,000 people were living in modern slavery in Australia in 2018.

Addressing Modern Slavery examines how consumers, business and government can help eradicate one of the big challenges of our time.

Continue reading New book reveals modern slavery is all around us →

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Tag Archives: civil society

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

New book reveals modern slavery is all around us