Important steps have been taken recently to put responsible recruitment firmly on the agenda of businesses around the world. In November at the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, several panels discussed solutions to recruitment abuses. The issues were also featured prominently at the annual Trust Women Conference in London while recruitment and labor migration were key features of discussions at this year’s Global Forum on Migration and Development in Turkey. These are encouraging times for advocates of responsible recruitment in supply chains.
Migrant workers are frequently confronted with a choice: pay illegal or unethical recruitment fees for employment abroad or go without work altogether. To finance these exorbitant costs, they may take out loans that leave them vulnerable to debt bondage, a form of forced labor. For more than a decade, Verité has worked with global companies in diverse sectors to ensure their suppliers and business partners absorb the true cost of recruitment and prohibit the charging of recruitment costs to workers, in accordance with international standards and regulations.
In an unprecedented step toward protecting Kenyan migrant workers in Qatar, this past December, seven Kenyan licensed Private Employment Agencies (PEAs) participated in a visit to Doha to learn about ethical recruitment and worker welfare initiatives in Qatar, a key...
Dhaka Principle 7 – Working conditions are safe and decent – the vital principle to ensure migrant workers enjoy safe and decent conditions of work, free from harassment, any form of intimidation or inhuman treatment. They should receive adequate health and safety provision and training in relevant languages.
Verité and the Tent Partnership for Refugees’ new report “Combating Forced and Child Labor of Refugees in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Responsible Sourcing” offers guidance that can help companies hire and incorporate refugees into their supply chains and advocate for their rights as a proactive strategy towards combating forced labor.
