Guidant Global recently held a workshop for our recruitment suppliers on the subjects of on tackling modern day slavery. The event was held in partnership with our client John Lewis and was run by Stronger Together, the leading authority in helping businesses to prevent labour trafficking, forced labour and other hidden worker exploitation.
Many people are surprised to hear that slavery is not an issue that is confined to history, but sadly, exists in today’s working world. Forced labour and trafficking are hidden crimes undertaken by exploitative individuals and criminal gangs with detected cases in the UK on the increase. Many employers are unaware of how this exploitation may be taking place within their business and supply chains, nor the good practice to prevent it, how to spot it or how to deal with it when uncovered.
The retail sector is a prime target for criminal gangs and traffickers, as it employs a high proportion of migrant workers undertaking unskilled and irregular work who may be vulnerable.
As a leading UK retailer, John Lewis takes its responsibility to develop policy and implement operational procedures to tackle modern slavery very seriously. The partnership and Guidant Global also expect the same high standards from all of our recruitment partners. We all have a responsibility to stop this exploitation. Hence we stepped forward to run this event for our suppliers to help raise awareness and drive change.
The invaluable interactive training session was designed to help attendees understand the responsibilities and best practice associated with tackling modern slavery in the UK.
The full gravity of the issue was revealed in the workshop and attendees left with a clear understanding of implementing good practice to deter and detect exploitation.
Reflecting on their workshop experience, attendees’ feedback includes:
"I thought the workshop captured the key issues of modern day slavery and it was great to see a number of engaged suppliers present who feel that slavery is an issue that needs to be kept high on the agenda."
"It really opened my eyes, I could not believe it is happening in the 21st century, it was good to see that John Lewis wants to eradicate this awful exploitation of people."
"I found the session to be a real 'eye opener' to something that is happening in our modern world. It's great to see the guidance, resource and support network that stronger together have created to help reduce modern slavery. It's also reassuring to see a number of our key suppliers also recognising that slavery is unacceptable in the 21st century."
To find out more about tackling modern slavery, please visit: http://stronger2gether.org/