AIM-Progress published a report summarising the findings and outcomes of its 12-month pilot Ganapati Responsible Recruitment Collaborative Project, conducted with Embode. The pilot project aimed to strengthen responsible recruitment practices with 17 member suppliers in Thailand and Malaysia — regions known for high numbers of migrant workers in manufacturing and agricultural sectors.
Human Level’s Take:
- Migrant workers remain particularly vulnerable in global supply chains, facing high risks of forced labour. As businesses face increasing pressure to address these risks, driven by legislation like the EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and import bans, suppliers are under growing scrutiny to conduct responsible recruitment and prevent forced labour. However, suppliers often lack the capacity or prioritisation to meet these evolving standards.
- Internal capacity constraints and shifting priorities can be compounded by fatigue from meeting new and changing sustainability requirements, and from seeking to meet sometimes conflicting requirements from multiple suppliers. And while traditional written guidance can be useful, suppliers often lack the resources or expertise to translate requirements and guidance into actionable steps.
- The findings of the AIM-Progress-Embode pilot project suggest that companies—whether individually or through business associations— benefit from investing time and resources in providing suppliers with technical support, frequent engagement and capacity building. This approach improves recruitment and employment practices.
- For effective action, companies are encouraged to provide direct and bespoke technical guidance to suppliers on ethical recruitment practices, to align expectations with other buyers to reduce supplier fatigue and facilitate more consistent improvements, and to schedule more frequent training and conversations with high-risk suppliers.
Some key takeaways:
- Why is a new approach to responsible recruitment needed? The risks of forced labour remain high, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The 2022 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery show that over 29 million victims of modern slavery are found in the Asia-Pacific region, with more than 15.1 million subjected to forced labour, the majority of which are linked to private sector activities. Migrant workers, in particular, are three times more likely than local workers to experience instances of forced labour. At the same time, agricultural and manufacturing suppliers still have low levels of maturity in responsible recruitment processes. The pilot project aimed to provide alternatives for effective action for companies, based on the understanding that audits and written guidance are not effectively supporting suppliers in adopting responsible recruitment practices.
- What can be done to support suppliers to improve recruitment and risk management practices? AIM-Progress and Embode worked with 17 suppliers in Thailand and Malaysia which had varying levels of maturity in their responsible recruitment practices. Most were struggling to navigate the complexities of existing and new compliance and regulatory landscapes. The pilot project found that suppliers need stronger support from buyers and other stakeholders in six core areas: (1) Developing or improving grievance channels and mechanisms for workers; (2) Providing post-arrival processes and orientation for workers; (3) Giving workers fair terms and proper access to their contracts and pay slips in their first language; (4) Adopting ‘employer pays’ policies and reimbursing workers for recruitment fees; (5) Adjusting policies and systems to stop retaining passports and personal documents; and (6) Enhancing communication and feedback mechanisms with workers, including through town hall meetings and consultations.
- What are some key takeaways for companies who want to be more effective at managing responsible requirement in their supply chains? The initiative demonstrated the critical importance of long-term investments in supplier engagement and capacity-building as pathways to better recruitment practices and more sustainable supply chains. In particular, it found that investing in providing expert support and collaboration to suppliers can be more effective at addressing recruitment challenges and forced labour risks than other types of training and written guidance. The report advises companies to increase the effectiveness of their actions on responsible by: (1) Providing direct and bespoke technical guidance to suppliers on ethical recruitment practices; (2) Aligning expectations with one another to reduce supplier fatigue and facilitate more consistent improvements—since suppliers working with multiple buyers often face conflicting demands, making progress on sustainability goals more difficult; and (3) Scheduling more frequent training sessions and touch-points with high-risk suppliers to help them to navigate regulatory requirements and improve their practices.
