Tag Archives: due diligence

Strategies for Improving Labour Conditions within the Australian Cotton Value Chain

February 3, 2023UncategorizedAustralian cotton, Cotton Research Development Corporation, downstream, due diligence, garment workers, labour exploitation, labour standards, Queensland University of Technology, University of Notre Dame Australia, University of Technology Sydneymartijn

The Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC) commissioned research to better understand labour issues along the Australian cotton value chain and to recommend strategies for the industry to explore.

Labour conditions for workers in textile and garment value chains remains an area of continuous concern. While Australian cotton enjoys a reputation as a clean, green crop grown under decent working conditions, once the cotton enters global value chains, all visibility is lost, and sustainable value is diminished. Actors throughout the chain, from brands and retailers to manufacturers, to non-governmental organisations, are working tirelessly to address working conditions in a boundary-less system with fragmented governance. Can fibre producers also play a role?

This animation provides an overview the seven solution approaches that were developed as part of a collaborative project between the Queensland University of Technology, the University of Technology Sydney, and the University of Notre Dame Australia.

The project team members: Alice Payne, Erin O’Brien, Rowena Maguire and Justine Coneybeer (Queensland University of Technology), Timo Rissanen and Karina Kallio (University of Technology Sydney), Martijn Boersma (University of Notre Dame Australia).

The various outputs developed as part of the project can be found here.

What can Australian Cotton Farmers do to Protect Garment Workers?

February 3, 2023UncategorizedAustralian cotton, certification, downstream, due diligence, exploitation, garment workers, Rana Plaza, upstreammartijn

Ten years ago, the garment industry’s worst industrial accident – the Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh – killed more than 1,100 workers and highlighted the travesty of conditions for millions of garment workers globally.

It spurred action to address exploitation, but for many workers little has changed.

Just in the past few months, Britain’s Tesco supermarket chain has been accused of profiting from the “effective forced labour” of workers in Thailand (making Tesco-brand jeans), while the world’s biggest clothing retailer, China’s fast-fashion brand Shein, has been exposed for rampant human rights abuses.

Such incidents are meant to have been eliminated, as big brands are supposed to leverage their power to effect change in global supply chains. Australia’s Modern Slavery Act, for example, requires companies with more than A$100 million in annual revenue to publicly report on their efforts to ensure their supply chains are free of labour exploitation.

The expectation has been that pressure from consumers and investors will be enough for retailers (who profit the most from driving down production costs) to drive change. Campaigners for better conditions say these requirements are all too often a “fig leaf”, because audits can easily be fudged.

Limited attention has been given to what suppliers can do to ensure their products aren’t associated with exploitation.

Continue reading What can Australian Cotton Farmers do to Protect Garment Workers? →

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.

Continue reading From Local to Global: Best Practice in Fighting Modern Slavery →

Forced Organ Transplants: A Business and Human Rights Issue

December 19, 2019Uncategorizeddue diligence, ethics, forced organ transplants, human rights, modern slavery, organ harvestingmartijn

In November I was part of a panel of experts that discussed forced organ transplants in the context of medical ethics, business and human rights implications, modern slavery obligations for Australian businesses, the United Nations’ human rights treaties and mechanisms, and Australia’s responsibility to protect and promote human rights.

Footage of this event held at New South Wales Parliament House can be found below. The section on Business and Human Rights starts at 55:00.

Submission to the Inquiry into the NSW Modern Slavery Act 2018

October 4, 2019Uncategorizeddue diligence, modern slavery, modern slavery act, nsw modern slavery act, regulation, Reporting, Supply Chainmartijn

The Standing Committee on Social Issues is inquiring into and reporting on the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) (the NSW Act), the consultation draft of the Modern Slavery Bill 2019 (the amendment Bill), and the consultation draft of the Modern Slavery Regulation 2019 (NSW) (the Regulation), with particular reference to:

(a) the operability of the proposed anti-slavery scheme
(b) the effect of the anti-slavery scheme on business, including the supply chain reporting obligations under section 24 of the NSW Act
(c) the intended application of the anti-slavery scheme with respect to charities and not-forprofit organisations, State Owned Corporations and local councils
(d) the appropriateness and enforceability of Modern Slavery Risk Orders under section 29 of the NSW Act
(e) the unintended consequences of drafting issues with the NSW Act, including with respect to the Human Tissue Act 1983 (NSW) and the sale and supply of human tissue
(f) the risk of a possible constitutional challenge to current provisions in the NSW Act due to inconsistencies with the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)
(g) whether the passage of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) renders parts or all of the NSW Act unnecessary, or requiring of amendment to address inconsistencies or gaps
(h) the preferred course of action to address the matters identified
(i) any other related matter.

Below is the submission made by Justine Nolan and Martijn Boersma.

Submission to NSW MSA 2019 NOLAN BOERSMA Oct 4 2019

What Gives Multistakeholder Initiatives Legitimacy?

September 13, 2018Uncategorizedcivil society, due diligence, environment, human rights, legitimacy, multistakeholder collaboration, multistakeholder governance, social, stakeholders, Supply Chain, supply chainsmartijn

Multistakeholder initiatives are often heralded as a solution to many social and environmental issues. Yet, due to their composition, these initiatives are not without tensions and challenges. This paper examines which factors determine the (il)legitimacy of multistakeholder initiatives in the context of efforts to remediate child labor.

Abstract

Child labor in global supply chains is increasingly addressed through multistakeholder initiatives. However, the participation of stakeholders with distinct views and interests can generate tensions. Based on interviews with civil society actors, this research finds that tensions exist between the normative‐ethical and political‐strategic dimensions of multistakeholder initiatives, which are manifest in the existence of international and national norms and their contextual application, in definitions of child labor, risk and responsibility, and in doubts about corporate incentives to join multistakeholder initiatives. In addition, tensions exist concerning the effectiveness of supply chain auditing, enabling broader labor rights as a means to remediate child labor, and whether standards need to be mandatory or self‐regulation suffices. The success of collaboration depends on the effective navigation of these tensions. Failure to do so can undermine the legitimacy of multistakeholder initiatives from the perspective of civil society actors. The research finds that due diligence, in the shape of human rights risk assessments, is not subject to normative‐ethical/political‐strategic tensions, and can play a key role in the success of multistakeholder initiatives and the fight against child labor.

Download the full paper.

Changing Approaches to Child Labour in Global Supply Chains

October 4, 2017Uncategorizedchild labour, child labourers, CSR, due diligence, Guiding Principles, holistic approach, human rights, multistakeholder collaboration, multistakeholder governance, prevention and remediation, stakeholders, Supply Chain, supply chains, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, UNGPsmartijn

My latest research finds that effective approaches to child labour in global supply chains are characterised by companies engaging with a broad range of stakeholders, taking a contextual and holistic approach by considering local circumstances and broader human rights, and by focusing on prevention and remediation. By shifting from code of conduct and auditing based approaches towards stakeholder collaboration and due diligence, companies are moving away from reactive and paternalistic approaches to child labour and instead increasingly adopt proactive and pluralistic strategies. The influence of the UNGPs has the potential to ameliorate some the tensions in multi-stakeholder partnerships by requiring companies to be first movers and using this advantage to include stakeholders rather than exclude them in developing CSR strategies. While these developments can help to elevate child labourers from latent and discretionary stakeholders to expectant and dependent stakeholders, they continue to rely on CSOs to add weight to their claims.