Louise Eldridge, CORE Policy and Communications Officer

The second interim report by the Modern Slavery Act Independent Review makes a series of far-reaching recommendations to remedy the shortcomings of the Transparency in Supply Chains (TISC) clause (section 54), echoing CORE’s submission.

Almost four years on from the introduction[…]

Anirudha Nagar, Asia Director, Accountability Counsel

CORE Coalition, Accountability Counsel, Nazdeek, and other civil society organisations concerned about labour exploitation on Assam tea plantations are writing to 12 major British tea brands and retailers that source tea from Assam, urging them to use their purchasing power to help[…]

CORE and 35 other organisations, including NGOs Anti-Slavery International, Unicef and Oxfam, Supermarkets Tesco and the Co-op, and Unions the TUC and Unison have signed a joint statement published by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner calling on the Government to establish a central modern slavery registry.

Section 54 of the[…]

On Friday 12^th January the Joint Committee on Human Rights published the Government’s response to the Committee’s 2016 report, ‘Human Rights and Business 2017: Promoting responsibility and ensuring accountability’. While the inquiry and subsequent report were very thorough, the Government response over-emphasises the impact of[…]

This month, the Australian Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade published the findings from its inquiry into introducing a Modern Slavery Act, ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’, following an Australian government consultation paper containing a proposed model for the Act, released last summer.

In its preamble, the[…]

CORE, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre and Repórter Brasil are partners in a University of Nottingham and Fundação Getulio Vargas research project funded by the British Academy on ‘The Interaction of Law and Supply Chain Management in Cross-Judicial Supply Chains: Supply Chain Effectiveness of Modern Slavery[…]

CORE is among a coalition of 87 civil society groups, worker organisations, businesses and European Parliamentarians which have sent an open letter sent to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha regarding criminal defamation charges brought against Myanmar workers.

Early September marked the return of Parliament and saw peers scrutinise new proposals to strengthen support available for victims of modern slavery.

Lord McColl’s Modern Slavery Bill which received its 2^nd Reading on Friday 8 September aims to enshrine in law victims’ entitlement to support during the reflection and recovery period, while the competent authorities are deciding whether there is evidence that they have been a victim of modern slavery. This would be accompanied by a statutory duty to provide confirmed victims of modern slavery with ongoing support and leave to remain for a period of 12 months.

In an effort to curb sports-linked abuses, the 85,000 player affiliated union World Players Association has released a human rights policy aimed at protecting those in the sporting profession. This comes two months after FIFA published its own policy on human rights standards and marks a growing awareness of the varying threats posed to players’ welfare.

Leading NGO and trade union representatives from UK organisations including Oxfam, the Trade Union Congress, Cafod, Homeworkers Worldwide and Fairtrade Foundation came together at UNISON’s head office this month to advance work on labour rights in global supply chains.

Blog by Patricia Carrier from the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

Modern slavery is pervasive across corporate supply chains in all regions of the world, generating approximately $150bn a year in illegal profits. Sectors that are vulnerable include: agriculture, apparel & footwear, construction, food & beverage, manufacturing[…]

In the run up to this year’s general election, the three main UK-wide political parties have now unveiled their manifestos.

There are many commonalities across three, with parties professing a desire to confront labour abuses such as modern slavery, and respond to new labour vulnerabilities driven by the “gig economy” and zero hour contracts. However, there are some notable differences on Brexit, corporate governance and the use of procurement to encourage better practice.