Due diligence is a staple within the sustainability programs of most businesses. However, the narrow focus on supply chain actors involved in corporate production and processing activities has emerged as an obstacle to comprehensive due diligence and regulatory compliance. This is because other actors in the supply chain are often left out of human rights risk assessments and associated mitigation activities, even though these laborers are among the most vulnerable in the entire supply chain.
Increased Pressure on Companies to Check “Blind Spots”
As a result, human rights and regulatory bodies are pressuring companies to identify and address their supply chain “blind spots”, where slavery risks are high. Workers operating in these “blind spots” typically fall outside of a company’s core production and processing activities, and are usually subject to little (or no) due diligence. This can include low-skilled, low-paid, temporary and sometimes migrant workers who provide support services in economies characterized by minimal risk levels, such as trucking and transportation, cleaning, catering and security.
Rather than being outliers, these invisible workers are integral to a company’s ability to bring its product and/or service to the market. Given the majority are low skilled and financially insecure due to the emphasis on contract-based work, many do not have the economic freedom to terminate their employment if their human rights are violated. In the absence of proper corporate due diligence, this leaves them with little access to remedy, and exposes companies to risk of reputational damage, supply chain disruption and more.
Don’t let blind spots ruin your company’s human rights record. Learn more in our eBook: Anti-Human Trafficking and Your Supply Chain.
Case Study
A number of high-profile companies have recently made headlines for failing to check their blind spots. Among them are companies recognized for strong leadership in the improvement of workers’ rights in their suppliers’ factories. However, further investigation revealed the same due diligence had not been conducted across the entire supply chain.
One company in the apparel industry, for example, was accused of exporting through a Madagascan port manned by casual dock workers whose labor rights were called into question. Most of these workers operated without any safety equipment and struggled to make ends meet on their low wages. Furthermore, some of them were allegedly fired for trying to unionize to obtain better working conditions. The issue is now being disputed at the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The office cleaning industry is another area plagued by complaints of worker’s rights violations. For example, cleaning staff hired indirectly by thousands of UK companies have long raised concerns about “work intensification” and unrealistic workloads, with reports revealing workers are frequently threatened with dismissal if they speak out about their maltreatment. Given the majority of this cleaning work is outsourced wholesale by big businesses to companies employing low-skilled, migrant labor, their lack of knowledge of UK workers’ rights standards makes them particularly susceptible to rights-based violations. In turn, this leaves many major companies exposed to the risk of supply chain disruption and brand damage if these violations surface.
How Assent Helps
Assent’s Anti-Human Trafficking Module is helping companies take action to identify and address risks of trafficking and slavery in their supply chains. It accepts data from the industry-standard Human Trafficking Risk Template (HTRT), and allows companies to screen for risk among forgotten supply chain actors, gain visibility into their practices, and better target audits, risk mitigation and prevention activities.
Assent also offers training and education on human trafficking and slavery risk mitigation and due diligence to companies for both internal staff and external supply chain actors. Providing this training is essential to remaining compliant with trafficking and slavery regulations. Find out more about preparing your staff and suppliers for human trafficking and slavery compliance in our Due Diligence Guide: Training & Education.