Tag Archives: ILO

Will Ratification of the ILO Protocol on Forced Labour Make Australia’s Approach to Modern Slavery More Survivor-Centred?

April 8, 2022Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, Australia, exploitation, forced labour, forced labour protocol, global supply chains, governance, human rights, human rights abuses, ILO, legislation, Martijn Boersma, modern slavery, ratification, supply chains, trafficking, transparency, vulnerable workers, worker exploitationmartijn

40.3 million people are a victim of modern slavery, 21 million of which are in forced labour.

While these estimates are not uncontentious, recurrent news reports that detail abusive working practices, including modern slavery in Australia and overseas, remind us that this is a real and significant problem.

For example, investigations into the Australian horticultural industry have uncovered a pattern of systemic underpayment and abuse of workers. Similarly, the production of rubber gloves in Malaysia is tainted by exploitative practices, such as excessive recruitment fees, withholding of passport and wages, threats to workers and forced overtime.

In the last four years, the Australian Government has taken steps to address workplace exploitation in the operations and supply chains of Australian companies and this week it ratified the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Protocol on Forced Labour.

With the ratification of the ILO Protocol on Forced Labour, Australia inches closer to making its response to modern slavery more survivor-centred, placing increased emphasis on the rehabilitation and compensation of those that have been exploited.

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Banning Goods Produced By Uyghur Forced Labour

February 11, 2021UncategorizedAustralia, forced labour, government, ILO, justine nolan, legislation, Martijn Boersma, modern slavery, uyghurmartijn

The Customs Amendment (Banning Goods Produced By Uyghur Forced Labour) Bill 2020 is currently under consideration by the Australian Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee and a report is due by 12 May 2021.

Professor Justine Nolan and Dr Martijn Boersma have made a submission arguing that the Australian Government should:

Expand the proposed Bill to prohibit the importation of all goods produced or manufactured using forced labour (regardless of their geographical origin).
Consider the ability to impose fines on importers and end-buyers who import prohibit good and apply such fines for the provision of institutional support for survivors of trafficking and modern slavery.
Ratify ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (PO29) to ensure the development of holistic legislative framework that will sit alongside the Modern Slavery Act, and a new law that bans the importation of goods produced or manufactured using forced labour.
Consider publicly disclosing which goods are prohibited from importation, as well as associated importers, manufacturers and geographical locations.

Cotton Value Chain – Labour Risk Heat Maps

March 14, 2020UncategorizedAustralia, cotton, fashion, government, human rights, ILO, labour, labour rights, risk, supply chains, Value Chain, working conditionsmartijn

The Queensland University of Technology and the University of Technology Sydney have been funded by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation to research “Strategies for improving labour conditions within the Australian cotton value chain” (2019-2022).

Non-Government Organisations are active in pressuring fashion brands to be accountable for their social and environmental claims. Labour is currently in the spotlight. Over 20 million employees in garment manufacturing in Asia Pacific are paid below the minimum wage. ILO ratification in Australia’s export countries is low and non-compliance high (up to 90%). This project will provide information to enable the cotton industry to understand labour issues along its value chain and recommend strategies for the industry to explore.

Phase 1 produced a heat map, based on secondary data, which provides an overview of labour issues affecting the textile and apparel industry in primary export destinations in the Australian cotton value chain. Click on the image below to see the full interactive heat maps which were created using Tableau.

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The long and winding road to respecting workers’ rights in supply chains

September 12, 2019Uncategorizedaddressing modern slavery, Australia, companies, corporate social responsibility, exploitation, forced labour, global supply chains, human rights, ILO, International Trade Union Confederation, Martijn Boersma, Supply Chain, workmartijn

Companies often talk about being on a human rights ‘journey’; a long and winding course with many stops along the way. On the other hand, they are never on a ‘journey’ to profit – this tends to happen as quickly as possible. Given that Big Business has long been accused of paying lip service to its social responsibilities, the statement signed last month by virtually all the members of the US Business Roundtable, has caused quite a stir.

Their statement on the purpose of a corporation talks about dealing fairly and ethically with suppliers, supporting the communities in which they work and respecting people and the environment by embracing sustainable practices. It also highlights that the signatory companies, including Amazon, Ford and JP Morgan, ‘are committed to transparency’.

However, global supply chains are anything but transparent; today there are more than 21 million people around the world trapped in forced labour, most of whom produce goods for consumers around the globe.

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Australian government slow to respond to supply chain labour exploitation

April 25, 2016UncategorizedAustralia, Bangladesh, catalyst, civil society, companies, exploitation, forced labour, government, ILO, labour standards, modern slavery, regulation, Supply Chain, supply chains, trafficking, transparency, working groupmartijn

Rescue workers and volunteers search by hand for victims amongst the debris of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo: Jeff Holt

Sunday marks three years since the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Bangladesh. This disaster led to the tragic loss of 1130 lives, left 2500 injured, and sparked a global debate about workers’ rights and ethical labour standards in low-wage countries. In Australia, civil society organisations such as Baptist World Aid and Oxfam lead the charge to expose labour abuses and improve working conditions in global supply chains. But thus far the government has been largely absent form this debate and has been slow to act.

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2SER Radio Interview about the Catalyst CSR Dashboard and Corporate Reporting

June 21, 2013Environment, Gender, Politics, Society, World2SER, Bangladesh, Catalyst Australia, Corporate Governance, CSR, Guidance, ILO, labour standards, Martijn Boersma, NGOs, OECD, Radio Atticus, Rana Garment Factory, Reporting, supply chains, Sustainability, Unions, UTSmartijn

Annamarie Reyes from 2SER’s Radio Atticus talks to Martijn Boersma, Researcher at Catalyst Australia and the University of Technology Sydney, about the Catalyst CSR Dashboard and the poor corporate reporting on labour standards and supply chains.