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Written question asked by Catherine West (Labour) on Monday, 19 December 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 January 2023. It was answered by Andrew Mitchell (Conservative) on Friday, 13 January 2023 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Myanmar: Conditions of Employment

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of recent reports of allegations by Burmese workers who produced F&F clothing for Tesco that they were subject to forced labour and low pay conditions.

Answer

The UK Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights throughout their operations, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights. In 2015, we introduced the Modern Slavery Act, which requires businesses with a turnover of £36 million or more to publish an annual modern slavery statement stating the steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

The Government expects companies to report transparently about how they are mitigating modern slavery risks and to use their modern slavery statements to demonstrate year on year progress. This enables consumers, shareholders and civil society to scrutinise the efforts being made. The Foreign Secretary has not discussed labour conditions or the rights of garment workers in Thailand with his counterpart in Thailand.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
113301
Session
2022-23
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Conditions of employment Myanmar Tesco
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk