Change in Rhetoric but not in Action? Framing of the Ethical Issue of Modern Slavery in a UK Sector at High Risk of Labor Exploitation

Abstract

This article shows how the ethical framing of the contemporary issue of modern slavery has evolved in UK construction, a sector in which there is a high risk of labor exploitation. It also examines how these framing dynamics have inhibited the emergence of a common framework of action to deal with the issue. We draw on both framing theory and the literature on the discursive construction of moral legitimacy. Our longitudinal analysis reveals that actors seeking to shape the debate bring their own moral schemes to justify and construct the legitimacy of their frames. Actors cluster their views around five evolving frames: human rights issue (later shifting to hidden crime), moral issue, management issue (later shifting to human moral obligation), social justice issue, and decent work issue—which promote particular normative evaluations of what the issue is, who is responsible, and recommendations for action. Our study contributes to a dynamic and political understanding of the meaning making of modern slavery. We identify the antecedents and conditions that have forestalled the emergence of new patterns of action to tackle modern slavery in the UK construction sector thereby evidencing the effects of the interplay of morally competing frames on field-level change.

Adoption and transferability of joint interventions to fight modern slavery in food supply chains

“…Lawrence et al, 2009), the social movement may be curbed and even driven back in its market coverage and eventually be erased by those with vested interests in the previous status quo. Gutierrez-Huerter et al (2023) give an account for the UK construction sector of how dominant actors may forestall the emergence of new patterns of action to eradicate modern slavery and preserve the status-quo. The time it takes to convince enough actors and reach the tipping point of institutional normalization can therefore be crucial considerations for successfully establishing a market-driven socially sustainable supply chain improvement like the FFP.…”

“…Despite some consensus that joint approaches are important for tackling modern slavery, it remains unclear under which conditions exactly such collaboration turns out to be effective. In fact, there are several examples where well-intended multi-stakeholder action does not yield substantial improvements on a systemic scale (Matos et al, 2020), as recently shown for the case of the UK construction sector (Gutierrez-Huerter et al, 2023).…”

“…Modern slavery is a complex societal problem. Its persistence hampers advancement of various Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, while being particularly at odds with Goal 8.7 to end all forms of labour exploitation by 2030 (Gutierrez-Huerter et al, 2023). As an umbrella term modern slavery comprises serious forms of labour exploitation and phenomena such as debt bondage, forced labour and trafficking in persons (O'Connell Davidson, 2015).…”

Modern Slavery in Projects: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda

“…As seen from the different definitions in the Appendix, modern slavery is an umbrella term (Carrington et al, 2021;Nolan & Bott, 2018;Rioux et al, 2020) that is debatable and contentious, and researchers argue that the term does not adequately describe the situation of severe labor exploitation with no clear consensus on which practices or kinds of people would be included under the term (Allain, 2012;Quirk, 2011;Gutierrez-Huerter O et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2022;LeBaron, 2018). More radical scholars even discussed if the term "modern slavery" should be abolished because it describes many forms of unethical practices that cannot be tackled or treated as one specific issue (O'Connell Davidson, 2015).…”

“…• The sector is not fully rigorous about enforcing labor standards (CIOB, 2018). • Limited visibility and transparency in lower tiers of the supply chains (Gutierrez-Huerter O et al, 2021). Construction projects are characterized by complex supply chains comprising many subcontractors, suppliers, and labor agencies (Russell et al, 2018;.…”