Yodel has been announced as the first logistics company to partner with Slave-Free Alliance, a social enterprise launched by anti-slavery charity, Hope for Justice. Becoming a member of the Slave-Free Alliance, Yodel will lead the industry’s efforts to prevent human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
The partnership, which was formally announced today on the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, will see Yodel work to raise awareness of human trafficking and teach colleagues how to identify the issue. This will directly support Slave-Free Alliance’s vision to end modern slavery by preventing exploitation, rescuing victims, restoring lives and reforming society.
A report into the subject found that 77% of companies think there is a likelihood of finding modern slavery in their operations or supply chains. Slave-Free Alliance is a social enterprise that supports businesses in a wide range of sectors to build towards a slave-free supply chain. It will provide specialist services to Yodel that include Gap Analysis, Technical Consultation, Proactive Investigation and Training.
Mike Hancox, CEO of Yodel, commented: “Our colleagues up and down the country are our greatest asset and we are proud to be a member of the Slave-Free Alliance. Hope for Justice, the charity behind the enterprise, does excellent work in putting victims first and preventing people from becoming enslaved. We hope that our partnership will encourage other logistics companies to follow suit in the drive to eradicate modern-day slavery and to support the ongoing fight against trafficking and exploitation.”
Marc Stanton, Director of Slave-Free Alliance, said: “We would like to thank Yodel for taking this important step by becoming a member of Slave-Free Alliance. We hope this first for the logistics sector encourages other organisations to get involved, both to ensure industry supply chains are protected against modern slavery and to assist in the wider global fight against trafficking and exploitative forced labour. We look forward to working closely with Yodel.”