We don't just need a Modern Slavery Act, we need one that really works, writes World Vision's Grant Bayldon
Last month, a petition with more than 37,000 signatures was presented to Parliament, calling on the Government to do its part to end modern slavery by bringing in a Modern Slavery Act.
The petition follows an earlier open letter to Minister Michael Wood from more than 100 big and small Kiwi businesses, sending a message that forced labour has no place in responsible business.
The need could hardly be clearer – there are a staggering 40 million people believed to be in modern slavery today, more than at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. Many are children or forced labourers who may be picking our cocoa, sewing our clothes, assembling our electronics – or working in dozens of other industries where modern slavery is rife.
Research from World Vision found New Zealanders spend over $3b each year on goods implicated in modern slavery. For each household that’s about the same as we spend on our power bills. More than $1billion of that is clothing from Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Yet there is currently no requirement for even the most basic supply chain checks.
This approach of “don’t ask, don’t tell” means it’s almost impossible for us as New Zealanders to have confidence that what we buy and use isn’t supporting slavery. And for businesses that are already doing the right thing, there’s no level playing field requiring their competitors to do likewise.
Australia passed modern slavery legislation in 2018, the UK in 2015. Germany and Norway brought in laws in June, and Canada is ready to pass its bill later this year.
Australia is even moving towards strengthening its modern slavery laws.
Through my work at World Vision, I see the impact of modern slavery on families in some of the toughest parts of the world.
Take 12-year-old Karan (not his real name). Instead of learning at school, he worked eight or nine hours a day gluing the soles onto shoes in a back-street factory in Bangladesh. He used industrial strength chemicals with little protection or ventilation.
Shoes made by Karan may have been among the 20 million pairs sold to New Zealanders each year from countries where child labour and forced labour are common in the footwear industry.
That’s four pairs for every Kiwi.
The fact New Zealand doesn’t have more clarity on child and forced labour is one reason we need a Modern Slavery Act, one that builds on learnings elsewhere to create the most effective modern slavery legislation we can - a model for other countries to follow.
I offer three ways in which New Zealand legislation could be shaped to be truly effective:
- First, a Modern Slavery Act needs to be workable for Kiwi businesses and other organisations so that they can do the right thing. This means being clear about obligations. It means having effective systems and mechanisms in place that support businesses to take the required steps. That’s why we are calling for the government to ensure there’s a central system for reporting, and clear guidance on what companies need to do. A central system also would make it easier for Kiwis to track the products they buy.
- Second, an act needs teeth. A key critique of the UK’s Modern Slavery Act was the lack of enforcement and monitoring resulted in a lack of compliance. Responsible businesses doing the right thing rightly pointed out their competitors could ignore their obligations without consequences. The UK Government has now confirmed that penalties will be introduced. The clear message is that a New Zealand Act must hold businesses and public bodies accountable.
- And third, we are calling for legislation that creates more than a tick-box reporting regime. Rather it must require businesses and public bodies to take steps to identify risks of modern slavery in their supply chains, and meaningfully address these risks. It’s not enough to find slavery and report on it, they must act.
Taking such steps will not only protect more people from modern slavery, it will help to set the standard for a responsible and humane way to do business. Modern slavery has no place in the DNA of Kiwi products or business, so let’s make sure we have a law that reflects our values.
