The presence of modern slavery in various industries reveals the flaws in our social structure and norms. Every person deserves to be treated respectfully and fairly. But social evils such as modern slavery reduce some humans to merely being used as a source of labour. These practices hinder social and economic progress and take our civilisation centuries back where the rich keep becoming richer, and the poor keep getting poorer.
Prevention of modern slavery can begin with businesses that understand their role and responsibility to encourage fair practices in society. Numerous laws and regulations have been designed and developed to help businesses implement the required changes. Organisations across all industries are responsible by law to identify and eradicate slavery in their workplace or supply chain.
Whether you are a business owner or an employee, you must understand the types of modern slavery to be able to identify it in your workplace and raise the issue with the appropriate persons.
To safeguard your workforce against modern slavery, the best method is to spread as much awareness as possible. Your employees must know what modern slavery is and how it is practised. This is the first step towards identifying it in the real world and the way you deliver this information is through compliance training.
The next step is to guide them on how to report an incident of modern slavery when required. Developing and implementing a robust governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) plan can include and address all these concerns.