My first-hand account of the trip has recently been published in Pentland’s modern slavery report. The audit took place at a factory that had been identified as high risk by a supplier risk assessment tool, that I have helped to develop. The factory was identified as high risk as it employs a high proportion of international migrant workers. Unlike a standard social audit, this investigation focused on the end-to–end recruitment process by using a parallel structure of management and worker interviews and documentation review.
Through the triangulation of information, the audit team identified key areas of concern which can be considered indicators of forced labour. A collaborative working group has now been formed to respond to the areas of concern identified.
The company is now better informed about the risks in their supply chain, allowing them to improve their standard social audit, further develop their risk assessment matrix, and develop a specialised modern slavery audit process.
This audit investigation was part of an on-going action research PhD project with Pentland Brands. This part of the research involved participating in the audit, observations, interviews, documentation and using diaries to record key aspects of the process for operationalising due diligence. This method has enabled the gathering of rich qualitative data concerning a sensitive high-profile issue which is being used to further understand detecting modern slavery in supply chains.