Live chat: how to tackle slavery in supply chains

Over the last year events such as the Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh and the revelations of Quatar's World Cup slaves, have served to highlight the case for framing slavery not only in terms of human rights but also as an economic and labour issue. Now the third biggest criminal industry, generating more than $32bn each year it is clear that slavery is big business.

But is it no more than corporate social responsibility to speak of business as part of the solution as well as the problem of modern slavery?

While examples of businesses voluntarily engaging with the issue are out there – after all, some of the retailers whose clothes were manufactured at the Rana Plaza were part of the Ethical Trading Initative – how far will businesses jump without being pushed? How can self-regulation be given more teeth or is legislation the way forward?

The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (pdf) which took effect in 2012 requires companies in California to report publicly on what they are doing to remove forced labour from their own supply chains. While seen as an important step forward, many have argued it lacks teeth and demonstrates that 'compliance is not enough' (pdf).

Lobbying efforts in the UK, around Teresa May's proposed modern slavery bill, have called for policymakers to listen to the lessons learned from the limitations of Tisc. But if policymakers are to legislate, where are there best practice examples of the law working effectively to reduce slavey in supply chains?

Brazil's National Slave Eradication Pact (pdf) saw the government and private sector rally around the issue, with more than 400 companies signing and pledging to eradicate slavery from their supply chains and cut commercial ties with those suppliers refusing to follow suit. Those that do not join, face being named and shamed on Brazil's company 'dirty list'.

So what is the best way to tackle slavery in supply chains? How do you build the political will that precedes change and once that is in place, what are the practical steps to identifying and improving conditions for the labourers behind the label? Join us to discuss all this in our live chat this Thursday, 5 December at 1pm GMT.

The live chat is not video or audio-enabled but will take place in the comments section (below). If you are unable to get online on Thursday, email your views to globaldevpros@theguardian.com or follow our tweets using the hashtag #globaldevlive

Panelists

Beate Andrees, head of the special action programme to combat forced labour, International Labour Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland. @ILONEWS

Dan Viederman, chief executive, Verité, Amherst, US. @Verite_DanV

Genevieve LeBaron, vice-chancellor's fellow in politics, University of Sheffield. Sheffield, UK. @GLeBaron

Andrew Wallis, chief executive, Unseen, Bristol, UK. @andyw1

Peter Williams, NGO co-ordinator, Ethical Trading Initiative, Oxford, UK.

Robin Averbeck, senior campaigner, Rainforest Action Network, San Francisco, USA.

Neill Wilkins, migration programme manager, The Institute of Human Rights and Business, Chichester, UK.

Rachel Phillips Rigby, office of child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking, U.S. Department of Labour, Washington D.C., USA.

Aidan McQuade, director, Anti-Slavery International, London, UK. @the_mcquade

More panelists to follow