Latest news with #JustineCarter
The National
22-06-2025
- The National
Fears US-UK trade deal 'may open door to food made with slave labour'
Under terms reaffirmed by the UK and US governments on Tuesday, up to 13,000 metric tonnes of American beef can be imported into Britain tariff-free each year. Though the Labour Government has said this US beef will meet current UK food safety standards – so it will not be hormone-treated – it will not take an active hand in ensuring that goods produced with forced labour do not enter the UK, instead leaving it up to individual companies. However, Justine Carter, the director of strategy at the influential anti-slavery charity Unseen, said that although there were provisions in place to compel companies to comply with UK modern slavery regulations, punishments had 'never' been levied. READ MORE: Record high modern slavery referrals 'shows shocking scale' of issue in UK Last year in the US, AP published a two-year investigation which found that food produced with prison labour was "on the shelves of virtually every supermarket in the country' and had also been exported abroad – including to 'countries that have had products blocked from entering the US for using forced or prison labour'. According to conventions from the United Nations' International Labour Organization (ILO), forced labour is all work extracted under a threat of penalty and not undertaken voluntarily. While there is an exemption for labour imposed as a penalty following a court conviction, using that labour for economic benefit is prohibited. Prisoners at sites including Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary on the site of a former slave plantation, reported being beaten if they refused to work the fields, or being given toilet paper and menstrual pads in lieu of pay. AP further reported that forced-labour goods entered 'intricate, invisible webs' of supply chains which made it near-impossible to trace them back to their prison origin. The outlet had to resort to literally following trucks of cows from prisons in order to establish where their meat ended up. Beef produced with forced or prison labour was found to be widespread in the US supply chainThe lack of transparency in the US supply chain, and poor enforcement of anti-slavery regulations in the UK, raise fears that meat produced using forced labour could enter British supermarkets – as was recently found to have happened with China-produced tomatoes. Carter – who led the development of the Modern Slavery Act during her time working as a policy advisor in the Home Office – said that prison labour 'can tip into modern slavery, where inmates really have no choice around doing the work and there's no means for them to refuse to do the work without receiving some kind of penalty'. 'It's dependent on the context, on the conditions that they're working in, and really on the kind of legal framework,' she added, suggesting that such legal complexities mean it may be possible for prison-produced beef to enter the UK legally. Her charity Unseen notes that the 2015 UK Modern Slavery Act places 'obligations on companies with a turnover of £36 million or more to publish what they are doing to ensure their business and supply chains are free from slavery'. However, as of July 2022, some 5551 UK companies had failed to do so without any consequence. READ MORE: Labour set to bin anti-slavery policy in GB Energy Bill Carter said that while the exact figure 'goes up and down' and was likely now closer to 4000, that is 'the sad reality'. 'The penalty is a bit convoluted,' she went on. 'The Home Secretary has to take an injunction out on a business that's failed to comply, and if they then continue to fail to comply, the court could award a fine, an unlimited fine, but that process has never been gone through. 'So although we know there are all these cases – and we've raised these with the Home Office – no action has been taken.' Carter pointed to legislation developments abroad, including in Canada, Australia, France, and the EU's 2024 Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. She said these laws were 'very much looking at financial penalties as a percentage of global turnover etc', adding: 'There's a real push for the UK to follow suit.' The Home Office has never fined a company for failing its modern slavery obligations (Image: Alamy/PA) 'At the moment, [in the UK] we've got businesses who are ticking boxes, who are putting out statements – even if they do put out a statement – and it's just been tweaked from the year before. It's not a real effort to make sure that their supply chains are free from slavery.' Sian Lea, the head of UK and European advocacy at Anti-Slavery International, urged the UK Government to bring in more robust anti-slavery regulations. 'We must all be able to purchase food without fear that they have been sourced and produced with forced labour,' she told the Sunday National. 'While the UK Government expects UK companies to do everything in their power to remove forced labour from their supply chains, there are no laws that compel them to do that. 'Through this trade deal [with the US], the UK Government has the opportunity to drive better business practices and more adequately address forced labour risks. READ MORE: Commissioner: Modern slavery no longer Home Office priority 'With import controls, the UK could ensure that products being imported from anywhere are not reliant on forced labour. And this should be complemented by a due diligence law which requires UK companies to prevent harm in their supply chains.' Carter said that a drive to push down costs could lead to forced labour entering the supply chain, and urged companies to be diligent. 'If you're pressing down on cost, time, quality, to the extent that you know it's going to have some implication down the supply chain, then you can only expect to be called out on that when forced labour is found,' she said. 'I've always talked about legislation being a bit of a blunt instrument because it does provide the framework, but the framework has to be strong, it has to be resilient, it has to be robust – and then there has to be also an enforcement of that.' READ MORE: MP hits outs at supermarkets selling products linked to slave labour 'Unfortunately, when you're in these times of austerity when people are struggling, high interest rates, high costs of food, etc, you know people cut corners, consumers are less interested in where it's come from and how it's arrived on the shelf and more interested in the price. 'This is why maybe the onus is put on businesses a bit. There's almost an expectation that as a consumer, I'm expecting that business to have done its due diligence.' A UK Government spokesperson said: 'No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain and we expect UK businesses to do everything in their power to remove any instances of forced labour from their supply chains. Any evidence of businesses not doing so is highly concerning. "British farmers produce some of the best food in the world and this is a great deal as we have opened up access to a huge American market, but without any weakening of UK food standards on imports."
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
More women than men in contacts to anti-slavery charity helpline for first time
More female potential victims of exploitation in the UK than males have been identified by an anti-slavery charity helpline for the first time since it was launched nearly a decade ago. Unseen said the findings 'expose a deeply troubling trend' of women and girls being 'targeted in cycles of abuse, forced labour, and sexual exploitation'. A total of 4,839 potential victims of modern slavery were identified through contacts made to Unseen's helpline in 2024. Of the victims for which gender information was provided, there were 1,478 females, accounting for 53% of the total, compared to 1,306 males (47% of the total). Of the females, 971 were women, 119 were girls and ages for the rest were not known. The rise in the numbers of female potential victims is partly down to an increase in exploitation of migrant women in the care sector, the charity – which set up its helpline in 2016 – said. Unseen's latest report said potential victims of labour abuse in the care sector had almost doubled in a year, from 564 to 1,217. Examples of labour abuse include employers not complying with the National Minimum Wage, employees being required to work long or excessive hours, and harassment, intimidation or bullying, the charity said. While these cases demonstrate worker rights abuses, they do not involve the level of control common in instances of modern slavery, Unseen said. The most common type of exploitation affecting females was sexual exploitation, followed by labour exploitation and domestic servitude, the charity said. Unseen executive director Justine Carter said: 'These individuals are not just numbers – they are real people who have been deceived, coerced, or forcibly trafficked into horrific situations. 'Many are subjected to physical and psychological abuse, often too afraid to seek help due to threats from their exploiters.' Of the male potential victims for which age and gender were known, there were 1,038 men and 87 boys. While the care sector remained the most common for potential victims, the construction industry overtook services – such as car washes and beauty salons – becoming the second biggest area for cases and potential victims. Indian remained the most common potential victim nationality, but there was what the charity described as a 'significant' rise by two-thirds for Chinese potential victims, with 140 identified last year. While there was a rise in Bulgarian potential victims from eight to 54 last year, the number of Albanian potential victims almost halved to 59. The 2023 report saw forced surrogacy feature in the helpline figures for the first time with three potential victims, but this dropped to one last year. The total number of contacts to the helpline fell slightly to 11,464 from 11,700 in 2023. Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons said: 'The sharp rise in female victims, particularly in cases of sexual exploitation and forced labour in sectors like care, is deeply alarming. 'It reflects a growing crisis that cannot be ignored if the Government are serious about tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). The Government's commitment to halving VAWG within a decade will only be possible if modern slavery is fully addressed within its VAWG strategy. 'The Helpline remains an irreplaceable source of independent, confidential support, but these figures are a stark call to action: we must do more to protect the most vulnerable and ensure every survivor has a path to justice and recovery.' Government figures, published in March, showed a record high of almost 20,000 potential victims of modern slavery referred into the system last year – a rise of 13% in 12 months. A total of 19,125 potential victims in the UK were referred to the Home Office in 2024, up from 16,990 the previous year. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said: 'Modern slavery is a totally unconscionable crime, and I have witnessed firsthand how it dehumanises its victims. This Government's commitment is to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade, as part of our Plan for Change, and we will use every lever at our disposal to protect survivors and punish their abusers. 'I urge anyone with evidence of abuse and exploitation in the workplace to come forward and report this to the relevant authorities, so we can thoroughly investigate the vile criminals responsible, and ensure that the survivors of their abuse get the support they need.'
