Forced Labour Indicators Tool

New Forced Labour Indicators tool empowers businesses to tackle forced labour risks in supply chains.

A new data tool from responsible business organisation Sedex highlights operational practices that indicate forced labour could be occurring at a worksite. The Forced Labour Indicators tool enables businesses to better identify potential instances of forced labour in their supply chains, supporting them to prevent and remedy this form of exploitation.

Sedex has announced its latest technology tool to support businesses in efforts to assess the risk of forced labour and combat human rights issues in supply chains.

The Sedex Forced Labour Indicators tool uses data on sites in members’ supply chains to draw attention to operational indicators of forced labour. These indicators can – independently or in combination – signify a risk of forced labour for workers.

Highlights:

·      Forced labour is a severe human rights abuse and form of labour exploitation. It is a critical issue for companies and can occur in any supply chain. The International Labour Organization estimates 24.9 million victims of forced labour globally.

·      Forced labour is notoriously difficult to detect. Businesses need effective tools to help them address forced labour risks in their supply chain.

·      The Forced Labour Indicators tool uses audit and risk data to draw attention to where forced labour is or could be an issue in a supply chain.

The Forced Labour Indicators tool is part of Sedex’s risk assessment solution. It draws on issues and observations raised during audits of sites within a supply chain to identify practices associated with a risk of forced labour, such as retention of workers’ identity documents. 

The strength and number of indicators identified at a specific site are used to calculate a risk score out of 10. The tool also includes a custom Forced Labour Risk Index developed by labour and human rights experts Ergon for Sedex. This assesses risks for four economic sectors (agriculture, food processing, manufacturing and logistics) within 248 countries.

“Sedex’s mission is to help businesses improve working conditions and eliminate worker exploitation throughout their supply chains. Forced labour is extremely difficult to identify, but data is our ally here. Our Forced Labour Indicators tool is valuable in helping businesses with this challenging task, enabling them to prioritise taking action where the risks of forced labour are highest.” Simon McCalla, CEO, Sedex

“Sedex’s tools support companies to better understand their supply chains from a human rights perspective. We appreciate the opportunity to work with Sedex on refining and improving forced labour data frameworks.”  The Mekong Club

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang–en/index.htm

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/publications/WCMS_203832/lang–en/index.htm

 

Source: www.sedex.com