Applying Technology to Help Eradicate Recruitment-Fee Debt Bondage in Global Supply Chains

Who’s behind it? – Business Fights Poverty, Nestlé, and WBCSD (2019)

How can it help? – This report summarises six case studies that demonstrate the potential for technology to contribute to the fight against recruitment-fee debt bondage in global supply chains. They show how technology can help to create closer, two-way connections between a company and the workers in its supply chain, which may in turn reveal hidden, illicit practices that contribute to modern slavery. Technology applications also focus on increasing transparency in the recruitment and contracting process, and in relation to workplace conditions. Blockchain-enabled applications can guarantee that the contract and terms offered to attract a worker into a role are maintained securely and not altered at the whim of an employer. Social auditors can benefit from both kinds of application – improving the quality and inclusiveness of worker engagement in the auditing process and assessing the degree to which the original terms of a contract are being complied with.