Increased risk of modern day slavery entering UK, says Supply Chain index

Russia, Slovakia, India and Pakistan, according to the BSI Trafficking & Supply Chain Slavery Patterns Index, are all ‘severe risk’ source countries of ‘modern day slaves’ to the UK. Of the G7 nations, Italy is identified as a ‘high risk’ nation – partly due to the conflict in Syria. Greece and Turkey are additionally categorised as ‘high risk’ countries.

The Index is a revolutionary way for businesses and organizations to assess and avoid the risks posed by slavery and trafficking. The Index is unique in cross-referencing source countries of displaced people, and their likelihood of being exploited in destination countries.

The Index’s lead developer, Michiko Shima, BSI, said: “The Index is unique in that it looks at the intersection and relationship between source countries of displaced people, and the likelihood of being exploited upon arrival in destination countries. Other indexes are one dimensional – looking only at source or destination countries.”

The presentation of tens of thousands of pairings of source/destination countries and their relative risk provides a broad understanding of the breadth of threats to global supply chains. These include human rights abuses, security threats and business continuity risks.

In the UK, the ground-breaking Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) is highlighting the scourge of modern slavery and human trafficking, and the risk to business of finding examples of it in global supply chains. Several high-profile court cases have highlighted - the heinous practices that are occurring in full view across Britain.

Kevin Hyland, OBE, The UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has said: “Evidence suggests labour exploitation is rife in the UK. Construction, agriculture, hospitality and seafood are core sectors in my work against modern slavery. Along with statutory agencies, government departments and NGOs, it is incumbent on companies to drive out any forms of exploitation.”

BSI’s unique Trafficking & Supply Chain Slavery Patterns Index shines a critical light for business, government, and civil society to understand the risk associated with the movement and exploitation of people between 191 source countries and 193 destination countries. Each combination of countries has been ranked from low to severe based on the risk score.

The Index’s inputs include independent and BSI proprietary trafficking and exploitation data, economic disparity and countries’ geographical proximity. The data has been verified against the citations made by credible sources# to provide a holistic understanding of the probability of these types of abuses, threats and risks as well as real-world documented cases.

Chris McCann, Principal Consultant, BSI Supply Chain Services and Solutions, said: “The Index, allied with BSI’s solutions-based services, empowers organizations to focus their supply chain risk management on identifying and assessing ‘at-risk’ suppliers and to manage the risks proactively. In doing so, progressive organizations will lessen their exposure to operational disruption, reputational damage, financial – including share price volatility – and potential legal consequences.”

The January issue of Supply Chain Digital is live!

Follow @SupplyChainD on Twitter.

Supply Chain Digital is also on Facebook.