Workshop

Overview

***All face-to-face training and events are currently postponed due to Covid-19. To support businesses remotely, this workshop has been adapted to recreate the experience of our face-to-face training and is now available as an interactive online training session.***

Understand responsibilities and best practice associated with new international legislation and market requirements on forced labour.

Do you understand the new market requirements on forced and bonded labour?

Practices affected by new legislation include:

• Sourcing & recruitment of workers
• Termination of employment
• Overtime
• Wage payments
• Wage deductions
• On-farm accommodation
• Employment of family members
• Freedom of association.

Stronger Together in partnership with the Wine and Agricultural Ethical Trade Association (WIETA) and the Sustainability Initiative South Africa (SIZA) are offering subsidised training – ‘Detecting, Deterring and Dealing with Forced Labour for Agri-Businesses’ for agricultural businesses across South Africa.

Workshop attendees will receive a toolkit and checklist to support them to ensure they are: working ethically and responsibly; informed and equipped to deal with any suspicions of forced labour or irregular labour practices that may arise; prepared for ethical audits; and able to show retailers and the wider export market that they are taking active steps to prevent forced and bonded labour in their business and supply chain.

By the end of the workshop attendees will:

• Know what forced labour is and the key role which responsible businesses can play in preventing it
• Know how to spot the signs that someone may be being exploited and how to respond
• Understand how forced labour occurs in agri-businesses, the potential risks and impacts, and the business case for tackling it
• Be familiar with the policies and practices that can be implemented to minimise the risk of exploitation in businesses
• Be confident in their next steps to address forced labour in their business and supply chains and have the tools needed to implement what they’ve learnt.

This workshop is ideal for:

• Senior managers of agricultural producing and supplying businesses
• Those responsible for recruitment, HR or worker representatives

How sessions run:

Workshops are delivered by expert local facilitators in Afrikaans & English

• Online sessions: 3-hours live training plus a short prerecorded introduction: the training workshop is split into 2 live interactive training sessions of 1.5 hours each including practical exercises and the opportunity to ask questions. The sessions are either delivered on the same day in the morning and afternoon or on two consecutive mornings. All attendees will receive clear joining instructions detailing everything they need to know for the training after they have registered.
• Face-to-face workshops: 8:30 am –  4 pm

Costs

Free – the training is currently subsidised until end of March 2021.

Outcomes

In the first two years of the programme 62 workshops were delivered across 7 provinces. Following these workshops:

• 96% of participants reported increased understanding of what modern slavery is, the risks and impacts to their business and what they can do to prevent it.
• 74% had raised the issue with senior management
• 85% had set up grievance mechanisms for workers
• 75% had appointed a representative responsible for forced labour