The food and beverage industry is an at-risk sector. Forced labor occurs both in the production of raw materials and during the food processing stages of food and beverage companies’ supply chains. Food commodities are produced by agricultural workers who often come from vulnerable groups such as women, international migrants, and internal migrants with little education. Weak labor laws and law enforcement in the sector, together with isolated workplaces where housing tends to be provided by the employer, aggravate the typically poor working conditions and can leave workers vulnerable and dependent on their employer.
Companies that are included in this benchmark can use it as a tool for internal and external engagement with relevant stakeholders to drive improvements in their operations. All companies—including any company in the food and beverage sector—can use the findings and recommendations to identify good practices and assess areas where they may need to pay greater attention to forced labor risks.
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“the Act”) is a ground-breaking piece of legislation. Four years after it received Royal Assent, and as other countries are following our lead and developing similar legislation, it is critical to consider the legal ...Read More
The research finds that most companies complied with the minimum requirements of modern slavery reporting, with clear groups of leaders and laggards within the ASX200. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given this is the first year of reporting, the majority o...Read More
Written by Hinrich Voss. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed vulnerabilities and fragilities in global value chains. The worldwide economic lockdowns to contain COVID-19 have led in some industries to unilateral cancellations and suspensions of or...Read More
This Oxfam briefing note presents compelling new evidence that our food supply chains are rife with violations of human, labour and women’s rights. The paper summarizes new research commissioned by Oxfam, which shows the depth and scale of huma...Read More
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