UK fashion brands take action to tackle modern slavery

Monday, 12 November 2018 16:35

Major UK fashion retailers are joining forces with law enforcement bodies to help eradicate modern slavery from the textiles industry.

The announcement follows the latest meeting of the Modern Slavery Taskforce, created by the Prime Minister Theresa May, which discussed how to better identify and tackle forced labour in business supply chains.

The UK’s multi-billion fashion industry employs tens of thousands of people, which can make its companies vulnerable to unscrupulous providers and criminals who exploit workers for their labour.

The new agreement will commit its signatories, John Lewis, M&S, New Look, NEXT, River Island and Shop Direct, to work together with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), and others, to root out criminality and shine a light on hidden victims.

These efforts to uncover hidden slavery in businesses come as activity to respond to modern slavery offences has reached an all-time high, with police forces across the UK running more than 920 live investigations in September, involving over 2,000 victims.

The Prime Minister said:

“Modern slavery is an abhorrent crime that denies its victims of liberty, and it is disturbing to think that some of the products we buy could have been produced by someone exploited into forced labour.

“As global leaders in the fight against modern slavery, I am clear that this will not be tolerated in the UK – and our consumers won’t stand for it either.

“I welcome the action being taken by businesses which are leading the way in being open and transparent about the modern slavery risks they face, and have pledged to raise awareness to prevent slavery, protect vulnerable workers and help bring more criminals to justice.

“But with Modern Slavery police operations at an all-time high, clearly there is more to do to stamp out this vile crime and prevent criminal groups from operating in the shadows of supply chains to exploit people for commercial gain.”

Businesses with a turnover of more than £36 million are already legally required to publish annual transparency statements, known as a Modern Slavery Statements, setting out what they are doing to stop modern slavery and forced labour practices occurring in their business and supply chains.

Last month, to coincide with Anti-Slavery Day, the Home Office wrote directly to the Chief Executives of 17,000 businesses to remind them of their responsibilities, or face being publicly named.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. In 2016 the Prime Minister announced a new Modern Slavery Taskforce, which sits at the centre of Government, to drive further progress in tackling slavery and people trafficking.

2. Attendees at today’s (Monday 12 November) meeting included:

The Prime Minister (Chair)
Home Secretary, Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Rt David Gauke MP
International Development Secretary, Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP
Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP
Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Heather Wheeler MP
Joint Intelligence Committee
National Security Secretariat
National Crime Agency
Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority
Metropolitan Police

3. The term ‘modern slavery’ subsumes the offences of human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour, including sexual or criminal exploitation.

4. The UK is the first country in the world to have dedicated legislation in place to tackle modern slavery.

5. With the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 we have ensured law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to tackle this sickening crime.

6. Internationally we have successfully lobbied for the establishment of the first ever UN Sustainable Development Target to end modern slavery, and are working to embed this within the international system.

7. At UNGA on Monday 24 September 2018, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced new protections for vulnerable children at risk of falling prey to traffickers, bringing the UK ODA commitment on modern slavery to over £200million.

8. The new Apparel and General Merchandise Public and Private Protocol commits signatories to work together to eradicate slavery and exploitation in textile supply chains. Enforcement bodies including the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Employment Agency Standards inspectorate, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), HMRC, Immigration Enforcement and the Insolvency Service have also signed the document, which is supported by industry bodies British Retail Consortium, UK Fashion and Textiles Association, and auditing system Fast Forward.

9. In September 2018 there were 922 live modern slavery policing operations in the UK – a 130% increase in the number of operations reported a year before. This is almost five times the number of cases police were investigating in December 2016.