Daily CSR
Daily CSR

Daily CSR
Daily news about corporate social responsibility, ethics and sustainability

Abolishing Slavery & Child Labour From Modern Corporate Sector With Technology & Policies



02/17/2018

Various countries, investors and policymakers take interest in addressing various forms of ‘modern slavery’.


Dailycsr.com – 17 February 2018 – By signing on two “global agreement” dealing on child labour or the “employment of minors”, India fixes an aim of “eliminating child slavery”. As per 2011 census, “four million workers” in India were between the age of five to fourteen.
 
According to Brian Collett:
“Now India must observe a minimum working age, varying from 13 to 18 depending on the employment type, and a ban on minors in dangerous areas, including armed conflict, prostitution and drug trafficking, under the two agreements – the Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour and the Minimum Age Convention, both drawn up by the International Labour Organisation”.
 
As per the rule, in every four years’ time, all the signatories who ratified the conventions will require to get their “progress” reviewed by “other nations”. Estimations show that, India has over, “18.3 million” people under the yoke of slavery. However, under the Labour Minister of India, Bandaru Dattatreya, India confirms its “commitment to a child labour-free society”.
 
Likewise, government will have to spend “more on children’s services” while strengthening “child labour policies”. India’s “economic boom” has also pushed in the formation of “social welfare schemes and laws” that protect minors and stress on their education. Nevertheless, child trafficking is still an issue which lures children with the promise of “a better life”, while the poor kids land up being sold for “forced labour and debt bondage”.
 
With the help of a “Nottingham University device” that uses “satellite imagery” for tracking “kilns”, the “exploited workers, adults and children” in India could now be easily located, as kilns are notorious for “bonded labour”.
 
The said device is a part of the university project called “Slavery from Space” under “Professor Doreen Boyd”, whereby the professor added:
“There are certainly activists on the ground who will help us in terms of getting the statistics and the locations of these brick kilns to officials.”
 
Furthermore, the university has more technology to offer for the government in the U.K. to help in discovering “modern slavery” without even stepping into any premises, like the “low-prices car washes” area. Through a computer programme, these areas are analysed from the data received from tax authorities like others, as provided by the companies, besides “activities observed by investigators.
 
Nottingham University’s School of Business’ “supply chain management expert”, Dr. Alexander Trautrims, informs:
“You could, for example, scrutinise the costs the company is claiming to the tax office for personal protection equipment and then the size of the car park, and you could make the assumption that there isn’t enough protection for the people who work there.
“Or you could do it the other way around and say that maybe there are more workers in there than you say there are – and why aren’t they being accounted for?”
“Although they might not be aware of it, people are faced with modern slavery in their everyday lives.”
 
In fact, Nottinghamshire Police’s detective superintendent, Austin Fuller, said:
“We are really excited about piloting this new programme.”
 
Additionally, the technology is under consideration for the agriculture sector in Spain, as it could bring into light “slaves are being used if there is not a reasonable match between the number of workers registered and the amount of fruit produced by a farm”. Meanwhile, the Australian government is looking into “modern slavery legislation” similar in nature of the U.S. as well as the U.K.
 
While, Collett added:
“Besides supply chain transparency, the researchers will look at the nature and extent of modern slavery in Australia and elsewhere, international best practice for businesses, governments and other organisations, and compensation for modern slavery victims”.
 
 
References:
ethicalperformance.com