UK anti-slavery charity Unseen is partnering with Alcumus to help address modern slavery in the supply chain.

The tech-led risk management company will share its knowledge on the importance of business accreditation and technology to demonstrate compliance to regulations.

According to Unseen, which was launched in 2009, 49 per cent of reports to the charity concerned labour exploitation, with 1,812 cases of modern slavey raised through calls to its helpline.

The charity said that since the Modern Slavery Act came into force in 2015, the number of victims identified has grown year on year as a greater focus is given to uncovering incidence of modern slavery.

Because of its hidden nature, there is no definitive source of data to accurately quantify the number of victims of modern slavery in the UK.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Alcumus,” said Andrew Wallis, chief executive of Unseen and co-chair of the Home Office Modern Slavery Strategy and Implementation Group - Transparency in Supply Chains.

“Their insights will help Unseen further our work to raise awareness and effectively tackle modern slavery in supply chains and business practices. Our collective experience and first-hand knowledge of forced labour will be invaluable to those organisations who want to act responsibly and combat the exploitation of innocent people.

He added: “It’s essential we have a comprehensive approach to tackling forced labour in businesses and supply chains. That means a fundamental change in approach – addressing the root causes of modern slavery. The way businesses can do this is by demonstrating that they’re compliant, ethical, sustainable and managing the risks of vulnerability to exploitation. With the power of technology, data and responsible business practices, we can enable worker voices to be heard much more easily. And this will only help us in our mission to end slavery for good.”

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