{"id":41315,"date":"2018-05-14T10:56:08","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T09:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=41315"},"modified":"2018-05-14T10:56:08","modified_gmt":"2018-05-14T09:56:08","slug":"ciob-join-the-battle-to-eradicate-worker-exploitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/ciob-join-the-battle-to-eradicate-worker-exploitation\/41315\/","title":{"rendered":"CIOB joins the battle to eradicate worker exploitation"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new report from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)<\/a> says that the construction industry is failing to eradicate worker exploitation, despite recent legislation. Lowest cost tendering, abuse of the retentions system and late payments\u00a0are pricing ethical practices out of the industry<\/h2>\n

The CIOB report also alleges that blacklisting has not completely gone away.<\/p>\n

Since the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act in 2015<\/a>, many companies have introduced immigration checks on their workforce but have failed to go beyond this and tackle the systemic employment abuses that remain prevalent.<\/p>\n

The CIOB is urging UK contractors to face up to the significant human rights risks in their supply chains, with the launch of a new report that finds both British and foreign workers at risk of exploitation.<\/p>\n

Its report,\u00a0Construction and the Modern Slavery Act: Tackling exploitation in the UK<\/em><\/a>, is published as the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and National Crime Agency (NCA) jointly lead a national enforcement campaign<\/a> involving police forces and other agencies aimed at tackling labour exploitation. NCA analysis has identified construction as one of the most common sectors for labour exploitation in the UK.<\/p>\n

Criticising the industry\u2019s slow response to the Modern Slavery Act, CIOB\u2019s report highlights the aggressive business models that are creating an environment for unethical procurement and recruitment practices, and the systemic auditing failures that are allowing criminals to infiltrate major projects.<\/p>\n

Problems start at the top of supply chains with lowest cost tendering, abuse of the retentions system and late payment pricing out ethical practices. The situation is creating an imbalance of power that leaves all nationalities vulnerable to exploitation. Illegal activities such as blacklisting<\/a> are also believed to be continuing, despite recent high profile court cases, it says.<\/p>\n

Major contractors in construction typically have long and fragmented supply chains, with little visibility beyond tiers one or two. They are also heavily reliant on temporary migrant labour, a significant indicator of risk. Nevertheless, the report found examples of complacency and disbelief that major projects were vulnerable to criminal infiltration and human trafficking. This contrasted with incidents of modern slavery being found on major UK infrastructure programmes, PFI hospital projects, power plants, recycling centres, renovation projects, demolition sites and local authority schemes.<\/p>\n

CIOB chief executive Chris Blythe said: \u201cIt\u2019s time to get real about the challenges facing UK construction. Contrary to public perceptions, modern slavery is not confined to small illegal operators. Criminals are attracted to big business because of the greater profits that they can earn. Unscrupulous labour providers, operating in the grey area of the law, are also creating misery for thousands of British and foreign workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report highlights:<\/p>\n