Councillors unanimously backed plans tabled in a Motion by Deputy Leader Cllr Danny Gibson to sign up to the national Charter Against Modern Slavery.
More than 40 million people across the world are believed to be impacted by modern slavery, the highest-ever figures, surpassing even those recorded during the Transatlantic Slave Trade which formally ended in the 19th century.
Modern slavery bares all the hallmarks of its historic predecessor, but has moved from plantations and large scale industry to include sexual exploitation, slave labour and human trafficking in every day, low-paid trades, along with a list of other horrific crimes.
At the recent full Council meeting (Feb 28), Cllr Gibson’s motion was backed by Council Leader Scott Farmer, and received cross-party support in the Chamber.
The motion included a 10-point plan committing the Council and its teams to ensure that local authority contractors are not involved in people trafficking or modern slavery of any form.
Deputy Leader, Cllr Gibson said: “Modern slavery is one of the great evils of our time and could be impacting 13,000 people in the UK, according to figures from the Home Office.
“It includes forced labour, sexual exploitation, forced begging, fraud, illegal adoption. Traffickers use whatever means they have to force victims into a life of abuse, servitude and inhumane treatment. Figures estimate that there are around 40 million people impacted by slavery, which is more than at any other time in history. That is quite astonishing.
“Modern slavery can be happening all around us without us being aware, be it in nail bars, farms, factories or restaurants, and we don’t see it because we’re not looking for it. By adopting this charter, it sends a clear message to anyone in Stirling or working for Stirling Council that it will not be tolerated.”
Council Leader, Councillor Scott Farmer said: “We all share a responsibility to be aware of this issue, which makes profit out of people’s misery, and challenge it in our daily lives. By adopting this charter, we aim to raise awareness of this pressing issue and urge Stirling’s citizens to be vigilant against what is essentially organised crime. This is not about politics, it’s about humanity and decency.”
The Council’s Charter against Modern Slavery commits the Council too:
- Train its corporate procurement team to understand modern slavery through the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) online course on Ethical Procurement and Supply.
- Require its contractors to comply fully with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, wherever it applies, with contract termination as a potential sanction for non-compliance.
- Challenge any abnormally low-cost tenders to ensure they do not rely upon the potential contractor practising modern slavery.
- Highlight to its suppliers that contracted workers are free to join a trade union and are not to be treated unfairly for belonging to one.
- Publicise its whistle-blowing system for staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.
- Require its tendered contractors to adopt a whistle-blowing policy which enables their staff to blow the whistle on any suspected examples of modern slavery.
- Review its contractual spending regularly to identify any potential issues with modern slavery.
- Highlight for its suppliers any risks identified concerning modern slavery and refer them to the relevant agencies to be addressed.
- Refer for investigation via the National Crime Agency’s national referral mechanism any of its contractors identified as a cause for concern regarding modern slavery.
- Report publicly on the implementation of this policy annually.