Commitment to tackling modern slavery | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Commitment to tackling modern slavery

“Modern slavery is a horrific crime which treats victims as commodities and robs them of their basic human rights.”

claire 1That was the message from Justice Minister, Claire Sugden as she gave the opening address at the annual Cross Border Conference on modern slavery and trafficking for labour exploitation.

This year the focus was engagement with the private sector to raise awareness of the indicators of serious labour exploitation and to advise them on how they can prevent it in their businesses and supply chains. The conference was attended by around 100 business representatives from across Ireland.

Minister Sugden said, “Modern slavery has long been a largely hidden crime so I welcome the opportunity in my first formal cross border engagement to shine a light on this very serious issue so that we can all learn to recognise it, to understand it better and ultimately to eradicate it from these islands.

“Today’s conference focuses on forced labour, specifically in the supply chain. It allows us to further develop lines of communication with the private sector to ensure that employers and businesses are equipped to recognise suspicious signs of exploitation and to know where to report this safely.

“In the past year there have been positive developments notably the recent Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Gangmasters Licensing Authority and the Irish Workplace Relations Commission which is ensuring that agencies on both sides of our border can deliver an effective joined-up response to modern slavery across both jurisdictions.”

Article continues below:

May June 2016 updatedThe Minister added, “My Department works closely with the Department of Justice and Equality and I know there are also good working relationships between law enforcement agencies north and south.

“As Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland I am committed to building on those relationships and working closely with Frances Fitzgerald, Minister for Justice and Equality on tackling modern slavery and on a range of cross border issues.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=56467

Posted by on Jun 27 2016. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Leave a Reply







Find us on Facebook

Log in | Designed by Gabfire themes