Norwegian law against modern slavery on the docket

Business Minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen (H) wants to end the exploitation of workers in Norway and says the government is enacting a law against modern slavery.

– “We have started working on examining a modern Norwegian slavery law to prevent workers being exposed to human trafficking and what is called modern day slavery,” says Røe Isaksen to VG.

The Act the Government is working on is modeled on the new British Modern Slavery Act of 2015. The Act defines penalties for 17 forms of modern slavery, including forced labor, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, organ theft and child labor.

However, the Minister of Industry says that British law has had little effect.

– “We have based it on the British law, but research indicates that we have to think about it. In fact, if we are to have a law, it must work. At the same time, we need to balance, so that we do not introduce schemes that create unnecessary bureaucracy for companies that do things right,” Røe Isaksen tells the newspaper.

UK law requires companies operating in the UK, with annual revenues of more than NOK 430 million, to publish a “modern slavery statement”. The companies must not be able to guarantee that the entire supply chain is free from slave labor, but they must be able to explain those measures, VG writes.