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Sodexo has partnered with OCS to create a new council of 19 organisations to form a cross-industry, government-backed group to confront modern slavery.
Corporate members of the service and infrastructure modern slavery council will work to eradicate risk, stop the crime and support the victims of modern slavery caught in supply chains.
Sodexo and OCS have been collaborating on the idea since the middle of last year and presented the proposal during a webinar on modern slavery held by the Business Services Association (BSA) in December, with speakers from government and industry including Sodexo and Serco.
The BSA has supported Sodexo and OCS in the formation of the council. A key aim of the group is to create an industry playbook incorporating all the rules by which organisations should abide. The group will also raise awareness within the industry, markets and communities and share best practice to mitigate risks relating to modern slavery.
Madeline Lodge, modern slavery lead for Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: “We are committed to tackling modern slavery and by bringing together a collective body of organisations we are looking to ensure standards are set and maintained. This is a hugely important area; modern slavery can take many different forms including forced labour and servitude. It is estimated that at any given time over 40 million people worldwide are in modern slavery and the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem.
“We look forward to working with all in an open and collaborative manner to address this important issue. Working together we have the power to make real change.”
The intention is that the council should hold virtual meetings on alternate months. The first meeting was attended by several large organisations, as well representatives of the Cabinet Office, Home Office and the Business Services Association (BSA). Guest speakers included Peter Campbell from the BSA and Susan Bannister from the Slave Free Alliance, a social enterprise and membership initiative launched by anti-slavery charity Hope for Justice.
Steve Caddell, procurement director at OCS, added: “We at OCS place the highest priority on human rights, in particular, modern-day slavery. We continue to work tirelessly to eradicate this from our supply chains, increase standards and drive genuine social change. As such, we are committed to working across the sector to bring together fellow industry leaders and specialists to make a real and tangible difference.”
The formation of the Service & Infrastructure Project Providers Modern Slavery Council follows the formation last April of its Modern Slavery Strategic Supplier Forum with its four largest strategic suppliers – Brakes, Bunzl Catering & Hospitality Division, Blue Arrow and Mi Hub Ltd.
