Juan J. Monroe 
A coalition of human rights organisations, faith groups and academics are calling on the federal government to strengthen Australia’s modern slavery laws after releasing an investigative report into the matter.
The report found that many companies fail to identify obvious forced labor risks in their supply chains or take steps to address them.
The report by the Human Rights Law Centre, assisted by the private Catholic University of Notre Dame and RMIT University, examines statements from 102 companies sourcing from four sectors with known modern slavery risks: clothing from China, rubber gloves from Malaysia, seafood from Thailand and fresh produce from Australia.
The Modern Slavery Act was introduced in 2018 and now requires around 3,000 companies to review their supply chains and check whether workers are facing human trafficking, servitude, forced labour, misleading recruitment or other poor terms.
The report found that 77% of companies surveyed failed to comply with basic reporting requirements imposed by law and 52% failed to identify clear modern slavery risks in their operations or supply chains. ‘supply.
Only one in four garment companies sourcing from China, for example, mentioned the risk of Uyghur forced labor in their supply chains.
Only 27% of companies appeared to be taking effective action to address modern slavery risks.
The lowest rated companies included Lite & Easy, Drakes Supermarkets and Clifford Hallam Healthcare, while the highest included Woolworths, Coles and Kathmandu.
“The Modern Slavery Act was meant to drive a ‘race to the top’ by companies to tackle modern slavery in global supply chains, but our research indicates that most companies have barely left the starting blocks,” said Human Rights Law Center senior counsel and report co-author Freya Dinshaw said
“Many companies have issued statements about modern slavery, but when you dig into the details, many are not even at the point of identifying the most obvious risk areas in their supply chains, let alone taking significant steps to address it.
“There is growing evidence that reports alone will not be enough to bring about fundamental change.
“When you talk to a glove worker in Malaysia forced to work around the clock to make PPE for the COVID crisis, or a migrant worker on an Australian farm working in terrible conditions, it shows how much he remains still a lot to do.
The Catholic Church in Australia is now deeply involved in anti-slavery efforts in 40 major Church entities – almost 75% of Catholic activity – from education, health and care to seniors, finance and investment, social services and dioceses.
Action against modern slavery is a mandate of Catholic social teaching.
Pope Francis has described modern slavery and human trafficking as an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge on the Body of Christ and a crime against humanity.
He emphasizes that the purchase of goods is not just a commercial matter. Our shopping habits have deep moral dimensions.
Today, February 8, the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Josephine Bakhita, patron saint of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
