(16 October 2023 – Australia) ASX-listed companies are carrying a higher level of forced labour risk in their operations than other developed countries according to the NSW independent anti-slavery commissioner.
A collaborative group including the NSW Office of the Anti-slavery Commissioner, Bridgewater Associates, Dun & Bradstreet, Google and the McCain Institute at Arizona State University has developed a tool for analysing forced labour risk within company operations called the Forced Labor Open Risk Estimation Tool (FLORET).
Modern slavery is defined not only as a violation of human rights, but also a governance risk to companies.
“Firms on the ASX have a higher level of forced labour risk in their operations than other developed indices, though lower than those in emerging markets such as Korea, China and India” stated NSW Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, James Cockayne.
“In some ways this is not surprising, Modern slavery risks tend to be higher in sectors that rely more on lower-skilled labour. We have not yet extended the analysis to supply-chains, which requires a more complex nested risk analysis. We will be undertaking this more advanced analysis in the coming months”