Electronics companies failing to protect against forced labor in their supply chains

A new benchmark report from KnowTheChain found that ICT companies are failing to address the problem of forced labor in their supply chains. The report reveals that there is a critical gap between stated policies of ICT companies and actual practices within their supply chains.

Photo: ILO/Asrian Mirza

Two of the most significant gaps identified pertain to workers’ right to organize and collective bargaining and to the issue of recruitment fees (which when not reimbursed, create a system of debt bondage).

All 49 companies surveyed scored 0 points (out of a total 100-point benchmark) for failing to ensure that workers in their supply chains have the right to organize and collective bargaining. And, only 27% of the companies were able to disclose evidence that recruitment fees had been paid back to workers, though 73% of them have policies in place that prohibit the charging of recruitment fees within their supply chains.

Read the full article and published report here.