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Panel Discussion: Combatting Modern Slavery: Why Labour Governance is Failing and What we Can do about it
					
 Nov 13, 2020 
 11:00AM to 12:00PM

									

				

					Event Categories   McMaster Global 2020 and   UN SDG 08 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
				

			


	

	

		

			

				

					

						

														

															

						

						

	

		
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	Date/Time

	Date(s) - 13/11/2020
11:00 am - 12:00 pm





	Categories
		

	





Jonelle Humphrey, a PhD Candidate at McMaster’s School of Labour Studies research Canada’s initiatives to end modern slavery, will chair this conversation and Judy Fudge, LIUNA Enrico Henry Mancinelli Professor of Global Labour Issues, will begin the conversation, followed by Professor Genevieve LeBaron, Professor of Politics, Department of Politics and International Relations, The University of Sheffield. Genevieve’s work is at the forefront of the emerging evidence base on forced labour, human trafficking, and slavery in the global economy. Since 2008, she has been investigating the business of forced labour, and its role and dynamics within domestic and global supply chains.


In her important new book Combatting Modern Slavery; Why Labour Governance is Failing and What Can we Do about it? (Polity 2020), Professor Genevieve LaBaron lifts the lid on a labour governance regime that is severely flawed and limited. She takes a close-up look at the millions of corporate dollars spent on anti-slavery networks, NGO partnerships, lobbying for new transparency legislation, and investment in social auditing and ethical certification schemes, to show how such efforts serve to bolster corporate growth and legitimacy as well as government reputations, whilst failing to protect the world’s most vulnerable workers. LeBaron argues that a new approach is needed to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking in global supply chains; one that confronts corporate power and profits, dismantles exploitative business models, and regulates the booming private industry of accounting firms, social auditors, and consultants that has emerged to ‘monitor’ and ‘enforce’ labour standards. Only worker-driven initiatives that uphold fundamental rights can protect workers in the contemporary global economy and make forced labour a thing of the past.


Goal 8.7 of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals calls on governments, companies and civil society to “take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour and end modern slavery”. The International Labour Organization estimates that 16 million men and women work in conditions of forced labour in the private economy and an in-depth analysis of corporate perspectives on tackling modern slavery found that over 77 per cent of the companies surveyed said there was a high likelihood of modern slavery in their supply chains. Thus, business is seen as playing an important role in addressing the systemic causes of human rights violations in their supply chains. Countries such as Australia and the UK have introduced legislation that requires businesses to disclose the steps they are taking to prevent and address modern slavery. In 2019, the Canadian federal government held public consultations on modern slavery legislation.


To register/attend this panel discussion: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5GLKeKTGS2y1SPeQ3if5oA