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Article

27 May 2016

Author:
Claire Falconer, Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX) on openDemocracy

Carrots and sticks: increasing corporate accountability for "modern slavery"

Labour exploitation, including forced labour, happens in the supply chains of corporations all over the world. Fishing boats in Thailandconstruction sites in Qatar, and bedding factories in the UK have all been publicised as sites of forced labour, and many other labour abuses have been linked to the supply chains or operations of UK and European companies. This problem has long been known, but it is only recently that the role of companies in preventing and addressing labour exploitation has received significant political and legislative attention. This article looks at some of these recent efforts in the UK and the US, their current and potential impact, and considers what these efforts tell us about current approaches to ‘modern slavery’.