Know the Chain’s third benchmark report reveals a sustained failure by technology companies to tackle forced labour in their supply chains.

The best of the companies was Hewlett Packard Enterprise, topping the benchmark in 2020, closely followed by HP, Samsung, Intel and Apple. These five companies all disclose repayment of fees to workers in their supply chains as well as steps to better understand (and thus ultimately prevent) fees from being charged to workers.

That said, the highest score achieved in the benchmark is 70/100, showing that even the stronger-performing companies in the sector can do much more—especially in closing the gap between policy and practice.

Companies scoring 10/100 or lower include the US semiconductor company Broadcom, the German semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies, and the Swedish electronics equipment company Hexagon. The three lowest-scoring companies include the world’s largest surveillance equipment manufacturer, Hikvision, and Largan Precision, which manufactures lenses for electronic devices and is a supplier to Amazon and Apple. Xiaomi, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer, is the only company to score zero in the benchmark.

Some of the greatest failures are in some of the most important areas for combatting forced labour, such as ensuring workers’ right to organise and bargain collectively for better conditions, and prevention of charged recruitment fees, a situation which puts many at risk of debt bondage.

Full report here.

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