Three-step guide to tackle slavery in food and drink

28-Aug-2014 - Last updated on 29-Aug-2014 at 10:21 GMT

Food and drink firms need to adopt a three-step approach to tackle slavery in the industry

Food and drink businesses should incorporate a three-step approach into their management practices to tackle forced labour in the industry, according to a report by Stronger Together.

The Stronger Together initiative aims to equip employers with the knowledge and resources to tackle hidden worker exploitation and ensure ethical labour standards.

It was developed by the Association of Labour Providers (ALP), the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and Migrant Help. It is also sponsored by UK retailers and supported by bodies including the British Growers Association, British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).

New guidance

Its new guidance, entitled ‘Transparency in the UK food supply chain – guidance on ensuring ethical labour standards’ encourages firms to start by mapping and risk assessing their entire supply chains.

After this, they should set an agreed upon set of standards with key suppliers for the supply and management of labour services, it urges.

Food and drink businesses should work in partnership to ensure due diligence with those agreed standards, it added.

David Camp, director of ALP and programme manager for Stronger Together, said: “Stronger Together equips employers with the knowledge and resources to deter, detect and tackle hidden forced labour in their supply chains by providing access via www.stronger2gether.org to a range of free resources.”

These included best practice guidance and a toolkit containing multi-language workplace posters, leaflets, template forms and procedures and a video, he added.

The document is free to download and offers practical good practice for UK-based growers and producers.

The FDF said it worked closely with its members to ensure they are aware of the latest best practice.

Responsibility

Angela Coleshill, director of employment, skills and corporate services at the FDF, said: “The food and drink manufacturing industry employs around 400,000 people and takes the treatment of its workers very seriously.

“We recognise our responsibility to support fair treatment throughout the supply chain and we are proud to be part of the Stronger Together alliance that aims to help businesses safeguard the rights of workers within the industry.”

The BRC backed the guidance, adding that public awareness was the best way to eradicate forced labour, exploitation and modern slavery out of food supply chains.

The BRC is set to publish its anti-slavery guidelines for its members at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, last week the government launched a campaign to tackle forced labour in agriculture and food supply chains.

The £3.2M public awareness campaign includes television, online and poster advertising warning that ‘modern slavery is closer than you think’.