By all usual measures, the latest Sedex guidance on contemporary slavery is an excellent document. It provides a concise overview of the problem, sets out the risks to business and shares ideas on how organisations should begin to respond to the risks of forced labour in their supply chains. Yet none of this will make any difference to the lives of vulnerable workers across the world, whose search for decent work has led them to end up in slavery.
A handful of businesses might be inspired to change, but the vast majority will not: because the guidance is voluntary, it matters not one iota to businesses whether they introduce the recommendations of Sedex or not. There will be insufficient sanction from either government or consumers to worry them if they do not act. From the construction sites of Qatar to the fisheries of Thailand, and the garment factories of India and Bangladesh, the brutal routine of forced labour will continue unabated.
Most contemporary politicians and many business leaders are only opposed to slavery in principle, not in practice. The very idea of politicians confronting those captains of industry who have decided to source their goods from slavery-tainted supply chains seems as unlikely as them holding bankers to account for their failings.
Business leaders know that their companies are so ensnared in the web of slavery-polluted supply chains that it is a practical impossibility for the consumers to sanction the businesses that are forcing such tainted goods and services upon them. The carnage at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh had little, if any, impact on the profits of those retailers that sourced their goods from the factory. Consumer pressure is difficult to organise on the scale that can have a significant effect, even if it were simply a matter of one errant company rather than our systemic problem of forced labour.
Rather, what is needed is action by citizens and political effort to demand a systemic response to the problem of forced labour through international legislation to regulate supply chains. UK law threatens significant sanctions on business executives who are found guilty of bribery in their international business dealings. No such sanction is applied if they are guilty of profiting from the use of forced labour.
When the joint committee of the Houses of Commons and Lords was taking evidence on the modern slavery bill, some people (myself included) argued that a law on forced labour in supply chains should be modelled on the Bribery Act, making individuals legally accountable for forced labour in their supply chains. The idea was dismissed out of hand.
Others argued for a lower standard modelled on the Californian Transparency in Supply Chains Act (pdf). There was a parade of evidence from business in opposition.
What was acceptable to business was a slight modification of the Companies Act to require them to mention slavery in their annual reports. Unfortunately, this became the committee's recommendation.
Work by the likes of Sedex is vital in showing what should be done to end slavery in European and US supply chains. But until politicians fulfil their responsibilities as public representatives to regulate businesses and make action against slavery mandatory, not just window dressing, there will be no systemic change – and vulnerable workers will continue to be brutalised and exploited for decades to come.
Aidan McQuade is director of Anti-Slavery International.
The supply chain hub is funded by the Fairtrade Foundation. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled as advertisement feature. Find out more here.
Join the community of sustainability professionals and experts. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox.