The University of Derby and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) next year are to jointly run an academy that provides training to businesses and employees in the UK’s food and agriculture sectors on how to spot potential victims of human trafficking, forced labour and exploitation in labour supply chains.
Minister for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime Karen Bradley visited the University of Derby in mid-December. She said: “The fact that slavery still exists in the 21st Century is shameful. That is why we have brought forward a Modern Slavery Bill, the first of its kind in Europe, and published a wide-ranging strategy to tackle this crime. If we are to abolish it, everyone needs to play a part. We need to raise awareness of the issues involved at a local as well as national level. I am grateful for the vital work being carried out by the University of Derby and the GLA, to help consign slavery to the history books where it belongs.”
Meanwhile the GLA and the and the supermarket Sainsbury’s are to deliver bespoke training for the retailer’s product suppliers: for identifying whether hidden exploitative practices exist at the farms, pack houses, processing plants and factories in the global supply chain.
GLA Chief Executive Paul Broadbent, a former Nottinghamshire assistant chief constable said: “There is a real commitment and desire on both sides to identify any practice that subjects workers to exploitation. Such activity, by its very nature, is kept hidden by its perpetrators as far as possible and is difficult to detect but there are indicators to look out for and these are what we will be teaching Sainsbury’s product suppliers to spot. By raising awareness through training, Sainsbury’s is showing a determination to identify any issues of concern. I applaud them for this and will continue to work alongside them to tackle it.”
The licensing body says this new training arrangement builds upon the GLA’s Supplier/Retail Protocol, launched in October 2013 by Home Secretary Theresa May. The protocol was a commitment from major retailers and suppliers to share information
and intelligence with the authority about suspicions and wrongdoings with confidence. GLA seeks to raise awareness of worker exploitation within the specified regulated sector of agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering and associated processing and packaging.
Judith Batchelar, Director of Sainsbury’s Brand adds: “We’re proud to have carried out the first pilot training for our suppliers in partnership with GLA, we hope this takes us a step further in tackling hidden labour exploitation. Modern slavery within global supply chains is a serious issue and it is a priority of ours to work with our suppliers to address it.”
