Mika’s Minute—Modern Slavery
Words by Mika Hervel (he/him)
Kia ora and welcome to Mika’s Minute! In this new column, I hope to help you engage in the big political decisions being made and provide you with the information you need to have your say! I will break down central and local government consultations as they come up, highlight how they are relevant to students, and then suggest a couple of things to think about when making your submission.
Making a submission is a great way of engaging in democracy and letting the Government know your thoughts on a particular issue. Submissions help the Government to consider a wide range of perspectives when designing new policies and making laws based on what the people of Aotearoa want. After all, we live in a democracy and that is their job.
Until 7 June, the Government is asking for submissions on how to tackle the issue of modern slavery and worker exploitation in Aotearoa and abroad. The Government is asking if you think creating new laws to eliminate modern slavery is a good idea. These laws would put responsibilities on corporations to identify and take action to address modern slavery in their international and domestic operations and supply chains. The bigger the company, the more responsibilities they will have to address modern slavery.
Modern slavery is an extreme form of worker exploitation, defined by the Ministry of Buisiness Innovation and Employment as “severe exploitation that a person cannot leave due to threats, violence or deception. It includes forced labour, debt bondage, forced marriage, slavery, and human trafficking.”
This consultation arose after a recent case of modern slavery was uncovered in Aotearoa. This high-profile case involved a man luring people from overseas by promising work or schooling. They were forced to work 14-hour days, as horticulture contractors, with no pay.
In 2021 there was a big push from World Vision, Trade Aid, and over 100 NZ businesses, as well as a petition signed by over 37,000 people calling for a new law to be created to address modern slavery.
In response to this, the Government created a plan in 2021 to explore ways to eliminate worker exploitation and slavery. This consultation is part of that plan.
As you submit, it might be worth considering if you think all companies, big or small, should have the same responsibilities to mitigate modern slavery? Or should larger employers have more rigorous standards? How could modern slavery in small businesses be mitigated?
More broadly, consider what you think successful business practice should look like. Modern slavery is used by businesses to unethically cut costs and produce cheap goods. Does worker exploitation really give companies a competitive edge? What measures could be introduced in new laws to make exploitation an undesirable business practice?
As students, we often have small budgets and can only afford to buy cheap food and goods. Unfortunately, the cheapest goods are often produced using slavery and exploitative practices. Considering this, what might help you be a more conscious consumer?
You can submit on this consultation by going to www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/modern-slavery. You have the option of completing a short survey, a questionnaire, or writing your own detailed submission and emailing it to modernslavery@mbie.govt.nz.