Ironic that women visibly moved by Suffragette wear clothes made by women suffering similar conditions to laundries.https://t.co/1bbDesl7TR— Christine Milne (@ChristineMilne) January 31, 2016
Markets & Justice
Freely operating markets yield a just outcome?
White Australia Has A Black History
Showing posts with label Human trafficking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Human trafficking. Show all posts
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Where do your clothes come from? Sweated labour, exploited labour, trafficked labour = slave labour. Check your labels.
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Workplace exploitation of varying degrees in Australia - and how workers are becoming more vulnerable day by day.
Mark Zirnsak is Victorian and Tasmanian social justice spokesman, Uniting Church; Heather Moore is national policy and advocacy co-ordinator, The Freedom Partnership – End Modern Slavery, The Salvation Army.
Mark and Heather have written a most enlightening article for The Age. People not involved in employee organisations might be surprised at how often even otherwise good employers might end up in breach of award wages and conditions - which form part of the industrial laws of Australia. The employers referred to are otherwise good employers who have not set out to defraud or exploit their employees.
Then there are the careless employers. These are the ones who are ill-informed, ill-educated perhaps who don't try to bring their standards up to anywhere near professional. They probably would not know what an award was if it bit them in their painful parts. Their employees are probably offered cash in hand instead of penalty rates and as for a time and wages record - what's that and why bother!
Then there are the third group of employers. The ones who deliberately set out to defraud and exploit working people. The proliferation of labour hire companies in modern Australia has made it very easy for fraudsters and exploiters to multiply to the detriment of human society. In modern Australia, human trafficking continues across a wide number of industries - and in a manner not seen until recently. Go here to find a number of posts relating to the revelations of human trafficking and exploitation in agriculture in Australia made public last year on ABC's Four Corners. 2015 saw the revelations relating to oppression in the 7-Eleven petrol/convenience store chain.
As Adele Ferguson points out in her article:
With 1.3 million workers in Australia on visas, equivalent to one in 10 of the workforce, it has wider economic implications. Besides undermining the award system, it is potentially robbing the Australian Taxation Office of hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax.
Please note the last sentence because at this point in time the Turnbull Government is indulging in all sorts of cost cutting which will impact widely the most vulnerable Australians.
More could be said of sex slavery in Australia; and of poor Occupational Health & Safety training and conditions which result in severe injuries and even death across many industries; and of the regular exploitation of the 457 system by some employers. 457s are the regulations which allow employers to bring to Australia foreign workers.
Australia has relied strongly over the last century on trade unions and trade union membership to look after the exploited. However, as Australia enters the 21st Century, union membership and participation has declined and the political situation is such that conservative governments try their best to undermine the union movement. A middle-class Labor movement has not helped the situation either.
So if union power and influence declines and governments will not provide appropriate levels of resources for government instrumentalities who have the purview of a variety of workplace practices, then workplace ethics and practices overall will be at best 'iffy' and at worst a form of slavery ... and there will be widespread exploitation in between these extremes.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/worker-exploitation-destroys-the-economy-20151001-gjz2sn.html#ixzz3wvRCIfso
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Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/worker-exploitation-head-20160109-gm2fgq.html#ixzz3wvM3koS7
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Highlighting companies' role in fight against slavery and human trafficking
Posted on: November 20, 2015 2:36 PM
Human
trafficking in Brazil: Bolivian migrants working in slave labour
conditions in Sao Paulo having been tricked by recruiters.
Photo Credit: United Society (Us)
[ACNS, by Gavin Drake] A leading Anglican mission agency is
calling for companies to appoint an individual board member with
responsibility for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to ensure that
the company – and its suppliers and partners – comply with human rights;
particularly in the area of modern slavery and human trafficking.
The United Society (Us) has teamed up with Finance Against
Trafficking, the Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR)
and Rathbone Greenbank Investments to produce a report looking at the
risks of human trafficking in the supply chains of FTSE 100 companies.
The FTSE 100 companies are the top 100 companies traded on the London
Stock Exchange and have a combined value of £1,700 billion. Together,
they account for 80 per cent of the market capitalisation of all listed
UK companies.
Under new regulations introduced in the Modern Slavery Act 2015, such
companies must now produce an annual statement setting out the steps it
has taken to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking
place in any of its supply chains or in any part of its own business.
Alternatively, the company can issue a statement saying that it has
taken no such steps.
Such a statement can include information about the company’s policies
in relation to slavery and human trafficking; and its due diligence in
relation to slavery and human trafficking in its business and supply
chains; together with its effectiveness in ensuring that slavery and
human trafficking is not taking place in its business or supply chains.
The statements will be publicly available and companies will have an obligation to publish them prominently on their websites.
The report produced by Us and its partners is intended to provide
guidance to such companies. It includes information about the risks that
such companies can face in unwittingly benefiting from slavery and
trafficking. It also highlighted poor examples of company’s current
reporting practices.
“Some companies made no mention of either forced labour or human
trafficking as a potential risk nor detailed any actions or measures
that would deal with it,” the report says. “Many of the companies
mention human rights policies and their compliance with these policies,
but often only in terms of equal opportunity or freedom of association.
There is little disclosure or evaluation of human rights risks in their
supply chains -
“We found examples of businesses reporting on one aspect of their
supply chain, whilst remaining silent on other aspects. For instance, a
company may have paid close attention to just one out of a number of
potentially high-risk commodities used to manufacture its products. Such
instances show inconsistency and a lack of overall transparency in
reporting which makes it difficult to assess the credibility of their
disclosure.”
The report summarises a number of weaknesses found in relation to the
reporting of human trafficking and forced labour risks within certain
sectors. “For the companies in the textiles industry, no information was
provided on how inclusion of forced labour prohibition within Codes of
Conduct is being implemented. For companies sourcing seafood there was
minimal disclosure of the risks and there was a comprehensive lack of
company information on the issues.
“For companies with gold in their supply chain, whilst forced labour
was mentioned in company policies, there was no specific mention of
human trafficking risks. There was no mention of the risks within gold
supply chains in banking sustainability reports. For companies in the
travel & leisure industry, there was no mention of the risks that
staff may not recognise trafficking operations on company premises nor
the potential for third party agencies to exploit migrant workers.
“We found that risks that are prevalent on an industry-wide level
tend to be dealt with in a more transparent way by companies within the
industries (though this varies from company to company), with some
information given on action that is being taken to address the risk. On
the other hand, specific risks which can affect a company, for example a
commodity to which the company has exposure, tend not to be addressed
clearly within reporting, if at all.”
The 50-page report isn’t a catalogue of errors and contains numerous
examples of best practice. In the Jewellery trade, it highlights the
work undertaken by Tiffany & Co: “The company details the risk posed
by ‘conflict diamonds’ in which diamonds are mined with proceeds used
to finance conflict and war, which involve human rights abuses and
exploitation.
“In 2014 the company claimed to have received 100% of its rough
diamonds either directly from a known mine or from a supplier with
multiple known mines. The company cuts and polishes the diamonds
in-house, mostly in the location from which they are sourced, with
strict policies on fair wages for employees and a focus on developing a
skilled workforce with sustainable incomes which benefit the community
as a whole.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has welcomed the report.
“Modern slavery is a scourge that grossly undermines the inherent and
God-given dignity of the human, and we must work urgently to eradicate
it from our world,” he said. “This report highlights that in our
globalised economy, any business can be exposed to slavery through its
supply chain.
“Companies that have conducted audits have been shocked to discover
that they have been unwitting beneficiaries of slave labour. The
transparency in supply chains measure in the Modern Slavery Act is a
call to action that I urge British business to seize.”
His words were echoed by the Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of
Westminster, Monsignor Vincent Nichols: “Transparency in the supply
chain and measures that prevent modern slavery and exploitation in
business will help to change cultures to ensure that human dignity is
protected in the workplace,” he said.
“The measurement of business success cannot be limited to profit
margins. It has to be how we treat our fellow human being. The FTSE 100,
having taken a clear position of respecting and protecting all workers
linked to their supply chains, demonstrates how attitudes can change to
create a better society, particularly for the poor and vulnerable who
depend on their employers.”
US partner churches have examples of people within their communities
who have survived and escaped being trafficked, while many more continue
to endure forms of slavery,” the mission agency’s director for global
relations, Rachel Parry, said.
“It is easy to forget that we are all ‘investors’ in systems and
businesses which can, through complex and distant supply chains, be
connected to trafficking. This research considers how companies might be
exposed to trafficking in their supply chains and suggests ways in
which such risks can be managed and minimised.
“For those concerned about investing ethically, the report gives
guidance on questions that investors could ask investment managers or
companies regarding these risks. Companies need to improve their efforts
to monitor and manage their supply chains. This report gives some
practical guidance about how better to go about this.”
Bishop Michael Doe, chair of the ECCR, said: “In a recent survey,
over 70 per cent said they would be unhappy if their money was invested
in unethical business. That figure would be even higher if they found
they were profiting from abusive labour practices and the treatment of
people, including children, which amounts to present day slavery.
“All of us, and especially those of us who believe that every person
is created equal with the right to a free and fulfilling life, need to
know more and to act more decisively. That is what this report can help
us to do.”
The report, “Forced Labour, Human Trafficking & The FTSE 100” can be downloaded from the WeAreUs website. (PDF)
Sunday, 18 October 2015
To-day is Anti-Slavery Day : Australia's first ever free anti-slavery training course online from Uni of NSW starts on Oct 22
To find out more about Anti-Slavery Australia
please go here
To-day, 18 October, is Anti-Slavery Day
please go here
To-day, 18 October, is Anti-Slavery Day
Anti-Slavery Day,created in 2010 by an Act of Parliament in Britain, aims to raise awareness of modern-day slaver and to inspire people to do what they can to eliminate it. The bill defines modern-day slavery as child trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
This day is championed by Anti-Slavery International which, founded in 1839, is the world's oldest international human rights organisation and the only charity in the United Kingdom to work exclusively against slavery.
18 October: Anti-Slavery Day
Anti-Slavery Day, created in 2010 by an Act of Parliament in Britain, aims to raise awareness of modern-day slavery and to inspire people to do what they can to eliminate it. The bill defines modern-day slavery as child trafficking, forced labour, domestic servitude and trafficking for sexual exploitation.
Hear Anti-Slavery Australia Director Jennifer Burn talk about forced marriage in this 1800RESPECT webinar next Thursday 22 OctoberRegister here: http://www2.redbackconferencing.com.au/1800Respect22Oct2015
Posted by Anti-Slavery Project on Wednesday, 14 October 2015
Sunday, 2 August 2015
Fighting human trafficking
“Fighting human trafficking is not just about law enforcement” – UN rights expert http://t.co/mp5MLshpKq pic.twitter.com/EiVTYvxlVd
— UN Human Rights (@UNrightswire) July 30, 2015
Sunday, 22 February 2015
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