Experts say some New Zealand businesses still have major changes to make, to ensure they are delivering slavery-free products and services.
Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood launched the Government’s modern slavery plan last Friday, which – if enacted – would place greater requirements on companies to address slavery in their supply chains.
Companies with an annual revenue of more than $50 million will need to prove they have undertaken due diligence to root out modern slavery in their international supply chains, and all businesses will need to disclose their preventative methods in local supply chains.
Tearfund advocacy specialist Morgan Theakston says the legislation will mean many businesses will need to do more.
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“Some business already have these processes in place, but there are a lot of businesses that are not currently doing those things that will need to step it up,” Theakston says.
Tearfund research last year found a third of New Zealand’s largest fashion retailers had not traced their supply chains for human rights abuses or slavery even at a surface level, she said.
But fashion was not the only industry that needed to do more. Forced labour was rife in the international supply chains for textiles, agriculture and the mining of certain minerals, she said.
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Tearfund advocacy specialist Morgan Theakston says the new modern slavery legislation, if passed, will mean many local businesses will need to step up to the plate.
As the rest of the world ramps up legislation to tackle slavery in the global supply chain, New Zealand is playing catch-up, she says.
“Both Australia and the UK have legislation requiring businesses to do due diligence in their supply chains. They have also signalled they will require this of their trading partners. It is important for NZ to take action on this if we want to maintain our reputation as a progressive country.”
Examples of the action businesses would need to take included third-party auditing, education for supply chain partners, and mechanisms for all workers to raise grievances back to head offices in New Zealand, she said.
Hawke’s Bay technology firm AskYourTeam has built a product, Ethical Voice, to allow workers throughout the supply chain to raise a grievance.
AskYourTeam chief executive Chris O’Reilly sait it could change the way businesses oversaw international and local supply chain processes.
“You may be a great CEO, have the best board, and you have the best policies and processes. But how do you know what is happening in every factory, every orchard, every farm, every supervisor. You need to know where your people are at, and if there are any pockets of exploitation in your business,” O’Reilly said.
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AskYourTeam chief executive Chris O’Reilly says the new legislation gives New Zealand a chance to lead the world in eradicating modern slavery.
Ethical Voice is a digital app which gives every worker in the organisation access to an anonymous portal in which they can report on the business, and escalate grievances directly to head offices in New Zealand.
The system has been used by more than 100,000 workers over hundreds of businesses, and O’Reilly is preparing to scale up even further.
O’Reilly predicts the new legislation will mean local businesses will want to make sure their international partners are overseen by the same processes.
“Most employers know it is the right thing to do, now they have to do it, and now there is a way of doing it.”
Kathmandu has partnered with AskYourTeam to launch a version of the Ethical Voice system across several of its factories in China.
Kathmandu social impact manager Gary Shaw says it is clear something needs to be done to clean up the international supply chains of modern slavery.
“Our lifestyle in New Zealand is only possible because of slavery-like conditions in parts of the world that supply us with cheap goods. We need to change that, but it will take a cultural shift,” Shaw says.
Shaw is a former police detective and international human rights investigator, hired by Kathmandu for the specific role of making sure there was no worker abuse in the business.
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Kathmandu corporate responsibility manager Gary Shaw says the modern slavery legislation will require a mindset shift for many businesses to be comfortable with more transparency.
He is happy with the current shape of the legislation.
“This is not just a box to tick, this is not about green-washing or businesses covering their own backside. This legislation has teeth and shows that the bigger the business, the bigger the responsibility to act.”
Shaw says the legislation will require a mindset shift for many businesses to grow more comfortable with transparency.
“Transparency has traditionally been seen as a threat to business, because no business is free from imperfections.
“But this legislation has the opportunity to change that mindset. To make finding instances of exploitation and remedying it to be seen as a success. It is the positive response to a global problem that will give New Zealand business the opportunity to become a world leader.”
