Modern Slavery | What you need to know 2

As a reporting entity under the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), Landcom are committed to educating staff and suppliers on this issue.

This Modern Slavery training contains three modules and a quiz and will only take 30 minutes

Lesson 01

Understanding Modern Slavery.

Lesson 02

Forms of Modern Slavery and how it's encounterd in supply chains.

Lesson 03

Reporting Incidents of Modern Slavery.

Quiz

Test your knowledge during this short quiz.

Lesson 01

Understanding Modern Slavery

  • The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth.)
  • Who is affected by Modern Slavery
  • Global view of Modern Slavery
  • Modern Slavery in the construction industry
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The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act

In 2018 the Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act was introduced and enacted on 1 January 2019 with changes expected in 2024 following a Federal review.

Landom has reported under the act since 2020. A part of our management plan includes supplier training, like this one.

The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act

The Act defines Modern Slavery as including eight types of serious exploitation.

Select each of the types to learn more about them.

Human trafficking
Forced labour
Slavery
Debt Bondage
Servitude
Deceptive recruiting for labour or services
Forced marriage
Child labour and exploitation

Human trafficking

People are recruited, harboured and moved for exploitation through Modern Slavery. Human trafficking is similar to, but not the same as, people smuggling.

Forced labour

The victim is either not free to stop working or not free to leave their place of work.

Slavery

The offender exercises powers of ownership over the victim, including the power to make the victim an object of purchase and use their labour in an unrestricted way.

Debt Bondage

The victims services are pledged as a security for a debt. The debt may be excessive, and the terms of the debt undefined or unlimited.

Servitude

The victim's personal freedom is significantly restricted, and they are not free to stop working or leave their place of work, often for a specific time period.

Deceptive recruiting for labour or services

The victim has been deceived about the conditions associated with the labour or services to be provided and is exploited through a type of Modern Slavery.

Forced marriage

Occurs when coercion, threats or deception are used to make a victim marry or when the victim does not understand or is incapable of understading the nature and effects of the marriage ceremony.

Child labour and exploitation

Children are exploited through slavery or similar practices, including for sexual exploitation, hazardous and harmful work, or to produce and/or traffic drugs. Children may be trafficked from orphanage or residential care situations or subject to child labour in factories, mining and agriculture.

Modern Slavery Stats

Select a circle to reveal a Modern Slavery statistic

12 million of all people in modern slavery are children.
Migrant workers were three times more likely to be in
forced labour than non-migrant workers.
Two-thirds of all forced labour cases are connected to global supply chains.
50 million people worldwide are thought to be living in
modern slavery.
2023 Global Slavery Index - estimates that on any given day in 2021, there were 41,000 individuals living in modern slavery in Australia.

Source: Walk Free 2023, Global Slavery Index 2023.

Available from: https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery/index

Where does Modern Slavery occur in the world

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According to the Global Survey Index, these countries are ranked as the top ten globally with the largest estimated numbers of people in Modern Slavery.

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Select the green markers to show the types of construction related products where Modern Slavery occurs.

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Select the blue star icon to reveal the types of industries in Australia at risk of Modern Slavery.

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Americas

  • Timber

Africa

  • Granite
  • Gravel

Central Asia

  • Bricks
  • Cement
  • Iron
  • Carpets
  • Stone
  • Rubber
  • (eg. soft fall)

India Pakistan

  • Carpets
  • Bricks
  • Stone

China

  • Bricks
  • Electronics such as air conditioners
  • Nails
  • Manufacturing Products
  • Solar panels

Industries in Australia at risk include:

  • Construction
  • Mining
  • Forestry
  • Agriculture
  • Fishing

Asia Pacific

  • Coal
  • Bricks
  • Cotton
  • Garments
  • Fishing
  • Rubber

Reference: Global Estimates of Modern Slavery (2017),
2018 Global Slavery Index, Products of Slavery, Anti-Slavery

Forced labour

The construction industry poses many risks for Modern Slavery.

Watch this 2:38 minute film to learn more.

Source: the Supply Chain Sustainability School

There are 3 main construction risk areas

Hover over each images to learn more about construction risk areas.

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Material used in construction

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Complex supply chains

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Low skilled labour force

What these construction risk areas look like

Select each icon to learn more.

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Underpayment and exploitaion of migrants in construction projects.

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Underpayment and exploitaion of migrants in subcontracted services.

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Labour rights in offshored services e.g call centres, professional services.

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Labour conditions and child labour in supply chain of manufactured goods products.

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Labour conditions and child labour in supply chain of construction products and materials.

How this might eventuate in Landcom contracted works

Colours represent inherent risk:

High risk

Medium risk

Low risk

Landscaping contractor with permanent employees and some sub-contractors via direct contracts for materials and labour.

Select the circle to learn more about how this eventuates at Landcom.

Cement company with all permanent employees.

Playground company with all permanent employees.

Sole trader carpenter replying on subcontractor labour with fees paid by the worker.

Labour risk

Product made in Australia with third party certified raw materials

Bricks sourced from Pakistan factory. No third party certifications.

Softfall rubber underlays sourced from Myanmar, with Fair Trade certification and third party audits.

All timber is FSC certified and Australian sourced.

Materials risk

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Forced labour in construction

The construction industry is one of the sectors most vulnerable to modern day slavery.

The work is often hard, manual labour. A proportion of them do not do this out of free will;
they are forced to work and are exploited.

An estimated 7% of the global workforce works in
construction. Many millions of people building homes,
offices and infrastructure.

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Building materials

Materials also represent a Modern Slavery risk.

Select the arrow to learn how.

There are risks of Modern Slavery for workers, but also materials being used in projects.

Materials are often sourced from countries with a high risk of Modern Slavery. For example:

material 1

Cement is often sourced from Indonesia.

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Bricks are often sourced from Afghanistan.

material 3

Steel is often sourced from China.

Lesson 02

Forms of Modern Slavery

  • What does Modern Slavery look like?
  • How victims are impacted
  • Case Studies
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Nuances of Modern Slavery

Many people around the world may feel that they are in 'bad jobs', or that they are 'not paid enough'.

The difference with Modern Slavery is that those caught up: (select each box)

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Modern Slavery practices

Modern Slavery is only used to describe serious exploitation and does not include practices like:

  • substandard working conditions
  • underpayment of workers.

However, these practices are illegal and harmful and could potentially escalate into Modern Slavery if they remain unaddressed.

Indicator: Recruitment and hiring practices

Recruitment and hiring practices that may indicate an increased risk of Modern Slavery.

Select the buttons to learn about some recruitment and hiring indicators.

Long chains
of labour recruiters

Direct recruitment fees

recruit

A long chain of labour recruiters make it difficult to see how people have been employed and uphold human rights standards.

recruit

Direct recruitment fees may lead to incidents of debt bondage which is a form of Modern Slavery. High recruitment fees may indicate this.

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Indicator: Contracts

No employment contracts can make it difficult to know what the worker has been promised and the practices of the employer.

Landcom needs to understand the standards that subconsultants/casual workers are experiencing while on our sites. This is why we have Modern Slavery clauses in our contracts, so our suppliers have obligations to assess risks in their supply chains.

Indicator: Employment practices

Select each circle to learn about some employment practices that could indicate Modern Slavery.

Excessive working hours.

Limited communication - confiscating mobile phones or refusing outside interaction.

Irregular contract provisions - such as no holiday leave entitlements or no indication of normal work hours.

Restriction on freedom of movement - high levels of security in the workplace and organised transport to and from the workplace to organised accommodation.

Irregular salary deductions - excessive deductions for food and accommodation.

Understanding what victims of Modern Slavery may endure

Select the arrow to learn about just ten of the many incidents that victims of Modern Slavery may experience.

Victims of Modern Slavery may...

face abuse, trauma, degrading living conditions or degrading
working conditions.

have their wages withheld or
are not being paid properly.

be forced to repay a debt, recruitment fees or travel
expenses.

have their passport, travel documents or identification
documents detained.

be supervised from one location to another, with no
access to a phone or other means to reach out for help.

encounter intimidation,
threats or actual physical and
sexual violence.

see their movement restricted, with limited family and
social contact.

not be able to see a doctor or have access to medical care.

be forced into excessive overtime with little or no
breaks or time off.

be terrified of a handler, a trafficker or what might
happen if they try to escape.

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Forced labour

The following case study is a situation of forced labour.

Alyssa is a cleaner for a crew that sub-contracts to one of the biggest property companies in Australia. She works on multiple sites and across different shift times. Alyssa is one of the few people of her nationality in the cleaning crew - the rest are all the same nationality as the supervisor.

Her supervisor gives all the best shifts in the best locations to those he knows from his community. On any day, Alyssa can be allocated shifts in locations that take hours to travel to. She's been asking for more regular shifts at the one location, but the supervisor tells her she's lucky to get what she's given and implies he's well known in the industry so his views count.

Alyssa doesn't know how to get help as she fears she'll lose her job and not be hired again on any work site. The company that contracts her cleaning crew are oblivious to these issues, as the supervisor assures the company all the workers are happy.

Source: Listening And Responding To Modern Slavery In Property & Construction. KMPG Australia; 2022.

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Forced labour

In 2015, the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union exposed a fit-out company for charging illegal visa fees and underpaying wages to a group of migrant workers on the 457 visa scheme. The skilled fitters moved to Australia on the promise of lucrative wages, board and lodging, but the company paid them at almost half the rate of Australian fitters, failed to pay overtime rates and stopped paying any wage after six weeks.

The company also illegally and secretly deducted visa fees and industry fees. With no wages, the workers became homeless and were forced to sleep and live on an office floor.

Source: Listening And Responding To Modern Slavery In Property &
Construction. KMPG Australia; 2022.

Lesson 03

Reporting Incidents of Modern Slavery

  • Landcom supplier obligations
  • Logging a suspected incident of Modern Slavery
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Your obligations as a Landcom Supplier

If you suspect Modern Slavery you should alert your supervisor and log the incident via the below channels to Landcom:

  • If you are on a Landcom project site you can either log or ask your supervisor to log an incident via Safe Me. Watch our 'how to' video on the next slide.
  • Via the independent and anonymous reporting avenue 'Speak Up' either by phone, email or online.

Reporting via SafeMe

If you are a principal contractor on site - you have the ability to report any suspected incidents of Modern Slavery via the Safe Me portal.

Watch this short video on how to create a new incident in SafeMe.

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Then follow these steps to report a suspected incident of modern slavery. Select the screenshot to see the steps.

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'Speak Up' reporting line

Landcom have introduced an independent reporting mechanism called 'Speak Up'. You can make reports of concerns via phone, website, email and mail, and these can be anonymous.

Posters like the one opposite, are located at Landcom site offices and we are encouraging employees of our contractors to 'Speak up' if they feel something is not quite right at their workplace.

If you are not located on a Landcom project site you can access the same reporting line via our website:

https://landcom.com.au/contact-us/speaking-up

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Obligations for suppliers

  • Landcom requires all suppliers to complete the Property Council of Australia Modern Slavery Supplier Questionnaire at tender stage.
  • Landcom may request that any subcontractors may also be required to complete the assessment.
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Quiz

Now it's time to test your knowledge. Answer the following multiple choice questions.

Correct

Which examples below represent the highest risk of Modern Slavery in the construction supple chain?

What should you do if you suspect or discover Modern Slavery in the Landcom supply chain?

Modern Slavery exists in Australia.

What is not a form of Modern Slavery?

Results

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Modern Slavery | Quiz

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You've completed the Modern Slavery module.

Additional resources and training can be found here:

Modern Slavery Anti- Slavery Australia - UTS Open Slavery is not over | Justine Nolan | Australian Human
Rights Institute Supply Chain Sustainability School