Australia inches closer to ratifying international forced labour treaty but more needs to be done
The Human Rights Law Centre is calling on the Federal Government to take additional measures to combat forced labour as Australia prepares to ratify the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Protocol.
Australia is set to join 57 other states, including Canada and the United Kingdom, who have pledged to take stronger measures to prevent and combat forced labour.
Freya Dinshaw, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre:
“We strongly support Australia’s proposal to ratify the Forced Labour Protocol and hope it achieves full cross-party support. But it must be followed through with a range of measures to strengthen Australia’s framework for addressing forced labour in order to fulfil our international obligations.
"You only have to look at recent instances of migrant workers labouring in terrible conditions on Australian farms, not to mention some of the horrific examples of forced labour in overseas supply chains linked to Australian companies, to see just how much more needs to be done. Every single one of those people are being abused, whether they are trapped on a Thai fishing vessel or in bonded labour making rubber gloves in Malaysia.
"Australia's Modern Slavery Act needs to be strengthened, for example, to require companies to take action to prevent forced labour and sanction companies that fail to report. The Government must ban imports made with forced labour and improve access to justice for affected workers. Australia's visa system and labour laws also need to be reformed to stop the systemic exploitation of migrant workers on temporary visas.
"Ratification of the Protocol would be an important step forward, but much more is needed if Australia is serious about ending forced labour in our region."
The Forced Labour Protocol was tabled in Parliament last month and is currently subject to parliamentary inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. The Protocol requires States to take effective measures to prevent and eliminate forced labour, including providing victims with access to effective remedies, sanctioning perpetrators, supporting due diligence by the public and private sectors and addressing root causes.
Last month, the Human Rights Law Centre and a coalition of human rights organisations, church groups and academics released a major new investigative report which found that many companies are failing to identify obvious risks of forced labour in their supply chains or taking action to address them.
Media contact:
Alex Sheehy, Media and Communications Manager, 0485 864 320, alex.sheehy@hrlc.org.au