Report published by Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre
A report on modern slavery was recently published by the Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre.
Written by the Management School’s Dr Jo Meehan and Dr Bruce Pinnington, along with Dr Alexander Trautrim (Nottingham University Business School), the report looks at the impact of COVID-19 on the management of global supply chains.
The research finds that pandemic-related disruptions impacted all aspects of business supply chains, logistics and internal operations, with modern slavery pushed down the pecking order in firms' priorities. It also highlights how a combination of procurement responses in the pandemic increased the risk factors for exploitation of workers.
The report contains a number of recommendations for policymakers including:
- Modern slavery should be built into tender processes and included in the forthcoming Procurement Bill
- UK Government should include reducing the impact of demand volatility on modern slavery into the Modern Slavery Act reporting
- Due diligence should not be constrained to the sourcing phase
- Data on risks and changing structures should be updated regularly
- UK Government should collaborate with strategic partners throughout the contract lifecycle
Dr Bruce Pinnington said “Whilst it is encouraging to see that managers’ awareness of modern slavery in supply chains is increasing, it is also clear that much more needs to be done to increase the business priority of this issue.”
This project builds on Jo and Bruce’s previous work with the UK Government’s Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the Home Office’s Modern Slavery Unit and the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).