Tech sector still failing to rid supply chains of forced labour | Computer Weekly

Dozens of technology firms are continuing to put the lives and livelihoods of supply chain workers at risk by failing to meet even the most basic due diligence expectations around forced labour and human rights abuses, finds sectoral analysis.

Conducted by KnowTheChain (KTC) – a project run by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) that is attempting to drive awareness and corporate action on the issue of forced labour in international supply chains – the benchmark analysis revealed that the world’s largest technology firms are neglecting their responsibilities to uphold their workers’ human rights.

Using a range of indicators such as recruitment, purchasing and monitoring practices, and workers’ rights to organise, KTC scored each of the 45 global tech firms out of 100 on their efforts to tackle forced labour and other human rights abuses in their operations.

Across all 45 companies benchmarked by KTC for 2025, just three (Hewlett Packard, Samsung and Cisco) scored over 50 out of 100, with the average score being just 20.

Forced labour and slavery are significant and continuing problems, and when it comes to the tech sector are particularly prevalent in the mining of raw materials and the production of components that make up technology products.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates there are 24.9 million victims of forced labour globally, while the Global Slavery Index estimates there to be 40.3 million victims of modern slavery.

Following the publication of its third benchmark report in June 2020, KTC found that tech firms were “negligent in their efforts to address forced labour” and that, following its fourth benchmark in January 2023, firms have “abjectly failed” to address the risks and impacts of forced labour throughout their supply chains, despite soaring profits at the time.

The ICT sector continues to neglect its responsibility to uphold worker rights across supply chains. It must step up its efforts to root out forced labour as a matter of urgency

According to KTC’s latest benchmark analysis, while there has been progress in the establishment of policies, governance and baseline human rights due diligence processes, “it is equally clear that the gap between policy and practice is growing, with companies providing little evidence of how these policies and processes are implemented”.

It added that almost half of firms were given overall scores of less than 15/100 – including BOE (0), SMIC (3), Luxshare Precision Industry (4), Broadcom and Infineon Technologies (both 8), FujiFilm (9), Panasonic (10), Nvidia (11), Texas Instruments (12), Motorola and Canon (both 13), and Qualcomm (14) – while 93% of those assessed by KTC scored zero on their support for workers’ freedom of association.

“The ICT sector continues to neglect its responsibility to uphold worker rights across supply chains and underperforms compared to sectors like apparel and footwear on key issues like support for freedom of association. It must step up its efforts to root out forced labour in supply chains as a matter of urgency,” said Áine Clarke, head of KTC and investor strategy at the BHRRC.

“The benchmark findings on corporate human rights due diligence are particularly concerning as most electronics manufacturing is done in jurisdictions that pose heightened risk of forced labour, including China, Taiwan and Malaysia where human rights risks are well documented.”

The KTC benchmark further found that “purchasing practices” and “enabling workers’ rights” are the areas where companies performed worst, with the average being 5/100 for both indicators.

While two-thirds of tech firms disclosed how they conduct human rights risk assessments on their supply chains, just one in five were able to disclose specific examples of engaging with stakeholders to assess risks, which KTC said shows little evidence of commitment to worker-centric models of risk identification.

Its benchmark report noted that the “just-in-time” production models widely used in the tech sector create a greater risk of abuse to workers.

It also highlighted a specific need to protect Taiwan’s large migrant workforce, which it said is at heightened forced labour risks, such as recruitment fees and deceptive contracts, due to the fact it supplies 90% of the world’s advanced chips and is therefore crucial to global tech supply chains.

“While many companies are adept at disclosing human rights policies, there is little evidence these commitments are being implemented in practice or having an effect on workers on the ground. The identified and widening gap between corporate commitments and their implementation means workers continue to be at risk of exploitation,” said Clarke.

“Paper promises are not enough to meet growing legal and stakeholder expectations. Businesses must engage directly with rightsholders and move beyond a tick-box attitude to due diligence.”

KTC is therefore calling on business leaders and supply chain and recruitment professionals to take immediate action by ensuring full risk-based human rights due diligence across their entire supply chains, as well as employing robust and ethical governance, purchasing and recruitment practices.

It is also calling on firms to engage with unions and other worker representative groups to uphold labour rights and prevent exploitations, and to use the European Union’s human rights due diligence laws as a floor for their practices.

In July 2022, Computer Weekly reported on how, despite the high reputational cost that tech companies face in being seen to benefit from forced labour practices, decision-makers within these enterprises continue to rely largely on voluntary reporting measures and static audit processes to deal with forced labour and slavery – something that is exacerbated by a culture of corporate and governmental inaction.