As companies, civil society organisations and government representatives gather together for the UN Business and Human Rights Forum, we warn that transparency measures alone aren't enough to solve labour exploitation. Our animation takes you through the 10 steps needed for a meaningful corporate accountability framework.

The government recently announced a new temporary worker programme for British agriculture and horticulture, the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Pilot (SAWP). Such programmes, if designed badly, can lead to exploitation and modern slavery. FLEX calls on the government to ensure workers are protected under the scheme.

In 2015 the UK adopted the Modern Slavery Act, which included a requirement for companies to report on measures taken to tackle modern slavery in their supply chains. Notably absent from this requirement however were public authorities.

In recent years, there have been a growing number of campaigns calling on the general public to participate in identifying victims of human trafficking and forced labour by ‘spotting the signs’ of modern slavery. Despite increasing popularity, the effectiveness of such campaigns is questionable. Often, they rely on a racialized narrative of victims and perpetrators, and shift responsibility from government to consumer, ignoring the structural causes of trafficking and forced labour.