Posted on 06 April 2023
The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) have revealed that only 29% of required UK organisations handed in a modern slavery statement to government last year. The uncertainty in what practices organisations are carrying out creates concern that ethical standards are not being upheld.
Gaining this data is critical in addressing, and combatting, modern slavery which is still prevalent in many organisations supply chains. David Taylor, CIPS chief operating officer, says “It is an open secret that vulnerable adults and children are exploited every day to produce the goods and services we consume.”
CIPS is calling on the government to better enforce these laws around transparency, and a new bill to make submissions compulsory is on the cards. Acknowledging the convenience of organisations ignoring the problem, Taylor says “it is precisely during times of economic hardship that we must be vigilant and keep up our efforts to tackle this issue.”