abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

9 Mar 2016

Author:
Katie Nguyen, Thomson Reuters Foundation

Firms show patchy compliance with UK anti-slavery requirements

Britain may need to enforce better reporting of what companies are doing to erase slavery from their supply chains, after corporate statements show dozens of firms have not fully complied with landmark legislation, two pressure groups said...The law was passed a year ago, in response to growing alarm over revelations that slave labour is being used to produce everything from cotton T-shirts and cellphones to catfood for global consumption. Only 22 of the 75 statements collected so far were signed by a company director and available on the company's homepage - as required by the new law, according to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre and CORE Coalition. The legislation also suggests six areas that companies should consider reporting on, including company policies and due diligence. But only nine firms met the minimum requirements and covered the six suggested areas, the groups found. Their research noted, however, that Intel and Ford - two of the biggest brands - had some of the most detailed statements."... there's far too many slave-like conditions in the products entering Britain," said Phil Bloomer, director of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, which has created a registry of statements to benchmark companies."(The Act) has sent out very powerful signals to companies around the world that they have to start looking at their supply chains and their own operations to make sure they're doing better. That's the good news," Bloomer told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "The bad news is that the UK government Act has some significant weaknesses." The government should follow up with non-compliant companies and demand that firms provide more detailed statements on what they are doing to combat modern slavery, Bloomer said.

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.