Despite slavery being illegal worldwide, millions of people are living in conditions of slavery, most of which were women, reports Supply & Demand Chain Executive (July 19, 2019). The UN describes the definition of modern slavery as “people whose work is performed involuntarily and under the menace of any penalty.” The UN and its member states are committed to eliminating slavery by 
2030, though progress has been little and slow. Only 31 countries have ratified the UN-developed protocol on forced labor.
There is currently a lack of procedures to identify victims of slavery and an area that is particularly troublesome is the business supply chain. Upwards of 16 million victims of slavery work within poorly-monitored supply chains. That number excludes child labor or exploitative work conditions that don’t limit the freedom of movement.
There are less than 40 countries that have laws and systems in place to prevent businesses from buying products that may have relied on slave labor somewhere along the supply chain. Countries that do have laws in place often fail to enforce them effectively. With the lack of visibility in most supply chains, it is difficult to track and trace where and how the components were made. The fashion and tech industry have had reports of slave labors within their supply chains. In California, all companies with revenues above $100 million are required to disclose their efforts to fight slavery through checking their supply chains. However, this law leaves out smaller companies and is only limited to just the one state.
While American-made goods can be verified, the U.S. actually imports the largest volume of goods that are made with slave labor at some point before it reaches the consumer. This doesn’t take into account that labor practices that don’t fall under the definition of slavery, but are still questionable, such as labor exploitation.
Classroom discussion questions:
- What can an operations manager do to prevent abuse in distant supply chains?
- Why has this issue not been dealt with effectively?