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Article

30 Aug 2017

Author:
Fiona David, Investment Magazine (Aus)

Commentary: Investors should demand companies they invest in to have anti-slavery policies in place

"Investors Must Stop Turning a Blind Eye to Slavery," 29 August 2017

[I]t is time to apply [the] discipline [of investor due diligence] to ending modern slavery... Just as investors need to secure against environmental risks, they need to secure against abuse of the people who are working for - or in the supply chain of - the companies they invest in. The risk is real. According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 45.8 million people around the world are engaged in modern slavery...

The United States Department of Labor tracks forced labour in products and recently published its updated list of goods produced by forced labour. The list includes more than 100 products, as diverse as bamboo from Myanmar and electronics from Malaysia...

The trigger may be concern about increased compliance risk, or simply a moral compass. Either way, investors should be demanding that the companies they invest in have anti-slavery policies in place and are making serious efforts to roll that policy out across the business. No responsible investor wants to inadvertently support crimes of this gravity. [refers to Fiat, Signal International, and Volkswagen]