Urgent action against forced labour is possible. Here's how

The risk ​and prevalence ​of forced labour in global supply chains remains unacceptably high. Exposure to this most egregious human rights violation is a material problem for multinational companies. Big businesses face significant penalties if they don’t undertake effective human rights due diligence and run the risk of trade interdictions if they import goods made with forced or child labour to the US or EU.

Analyses indicate an increase in vulnerability to forced labour across the globe with conflict, climate change and other unresolved factors contributing to this rise. Business leaders must recognize that failure to act comes at a cost. Ignoring these trends calls into question the validity of the various voluntary, industry-led initiatives that have grown over the past decade and contributes to a loss of trust from consumers and the public.

Addressing forced labour in supply chains is complex. Supply chains are intricate, networks overlap and intersect and economic pressures are real. While some individual companies have taken bold steps to address and prevent forced labour, the business sector as a whole has not treated this issue with the urgency it requires – an urgency mandated by law. Collective action among businesses is needed.

What might meaningful action look like? There are numerous established and effective approaches, including those below, ready for adoption:

Forced labour cannot be resolved without the active participation of workers. Worker participation will strengthen the design and validation of anti-forced labour initiatives. There are numerous ways to engage workers in business efforts. Among the most successful are those structured around binding agreements, most notably that within the Fair Food Program, which resolved forced labour among farmworkers in the US. More recently the Dindigul Agreement to eliminate gender-based violence and harassment shows how buyers, suppliers and workers can collaborate to prevent risks from forced labour vulnerability.

Technology also provides opportunities for worker engagement. Specific solutions have been used resolving the risk of forced labour in mining in the DRC and as part of a proactive effort by digital training platform Quizrr and the International Organization for Migration to help migrant workers avoid risk before they migrate. These approaches take advantage of technology to access the voice of the worker at scale and to amplify worker perspectives and concerns, making engagement more scalable, cost-effective and efficient.

Large-scale networks of workers present a new and powerful opportunity for business engagement. The Global Migrant Workers Network boasts 18,000 individual members and 71 member organizations from 43 countries. Virtually all of these members have experienced some subset of the risks faced by migrant workers in supply chains. Their insight into employment practices is unparalleled.

Debt-bondage resulting from excessive recruitment fees remains a systemic risk in global supply chains. Eight years after Verite’s landmark report on forced labour in Malaysia, the risks facing migrant workers in debt-bondage persist. A recent New York Times report highlighted similar long-standing risks of forced labour for farm workers in Maharashtra, India, who are in debt-bondage owing to third-party recruiters. Addressing how workers are recruited is critical to preventing forced labour.

Businesses should see red flags anywhere cross-border labour migrants are present. Verite recommends incorporating an 'employer pays’ obligation into due diligence requirements, whereby employers cover any recruitment costs, complementing ‘no fees to workers’ policies. These obligations can be audited by assessing the presence (or absence) of contractual language in supplier agreements.

Emerging startups dedicated to responsible recruitment are contributing their own solutions, from PinkCollar in Malaysia and Huntr in the Middle East to FSI-Worldwide’s FairLink. Businesses which proactively seek responsibly recruited workers see a return on investment in an estimated three years, through avoided diligence costs, reduced worker turnover and enhanced productivity.

Advances in technology make end-to-end supply chain visibility more achievable and cost-effective than ever. Technology enables businesses to identify risky or trustworthy suppliers more efficiently. Big data analytics analyse billions of data points to reveal the hidden risks of forced labour at the scale of supply chains. Technology can deliver real-time, granular information about wages, payments and working conditions, such as on farms in high-risk locations through OpenSC’s platform.

Measuring forced labour requires reliable, validated data from sources including forced labour incidents, risk factors and the effectiveness of due diligence efforts. Sharing this type of information between businesses can generate a more accurate and collective understanding of the problem at hand and the progress being made.

When individual businesses have made progress against forced labour in supply chains, it’s because they are obligated to do so under their own codes of conduct. These codes lack specific timelines for addressing human rights risks. It’s notable that businesses set measurable and time-bound environmental targets, yet similar targets for upholding human rights are rare. This is understandable given the relative difficulty of measuring human rights compared to many environmental issues, but it’s time for businesses to recognize that milestones drive progress.

Companies that adopt time-bound goals will mobilize internal resources, foster innovation and position themselves as leaders. Advocates must support public disclosure against these targets provided the mechanisms of information gathering have credibility.

Solving forced labour is complicated, but not impossible. There is an urgent need to adopt new approaches, which can lead to measurable progress. It’s in the interest of workers – and for those businesses who seek legitimacy and differentiation in an increasingly socaially aware global marketplace.