Following last week’s announcement of the forthcoming General Election on 8th June, FLEX and partners CORE Coalition, Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery International and Traidcraft have joined forces to set out four key priorities for the next government on corporate accountability, responsible business and trade:

• Commit to continued action on modern slavery and human trafficking including a five-year review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015
• Reform the law to allow for criminal prosecutions against UK companies for conduct that results in human rights abuses
• Reform corporate governance to protect the environment and workers’ rights
• Human rights protections must be a central pillar of future trade deals

For FLEX, key actions for the next government under these priorities include proper resourcing of labour inspection agencies to address exploitation across the UK labour market, and independent oversight of labour rights protection and enforcement in trade deals with other countries as the UK leaves the EU.

FLEX has launched efforts to make sure all parties prioritise the protection of workers’ rights and human rights in their manifestos, to ensure that the next government makes a strong commitment to support those most at risk of labour exploitation and modern slavery.

Read the full briefing here.