THE fact the Government has committed to bring forward modern-slavery legislation for Jersey, with a focus on “…preventing exploitation, improving support and protection for victims,” is of course to be warmly welcomed.
As has been reported extensively in these pages previously, the Island has long needed migrant workers across its economy, and notably in sectors such as hospitality and agriculture. The Government has recognised that, and amended the permit system to make it smoother for employers, and employees, to navigate.
In recent years, those employers have had to look further afield for those workers, such as the Philippines, Rwanda or India, a trend which recent official reports suggest will continue as competition increases for jobs within the European Union.
Recognition of those factors, as well as the obvious moral imperative, is no doubt why Ministers have come out strongly following the reporting of recent court cases, to reaffirm their commitment to act on this important issue.
What was missing was specific details. We don’t yet have a timeframe for changes, or even what exactly those changes will be, or confirmation of who will be directly responsible for making sure they happen. There will now be a period of consultation, and of course, as the relevant charities pointed out this week, there is the small matter of a forthcoming election after which today’s Ministers may, or may not, be part of tomorrow.
There is also the (no) small matter of the scale of legislative work which needs to be completed, from improving the laws relating to violence against women and girls, to online safety and the international competitiveness of the financial services industry, to pick just three of many examples, which are all at varying stages of development.
The point here is an obvious one – supportive Ministerial statements are welcome, and necessary, change won’t happen without them. They are not the starting point, just a crucial milestone. But the way to counter the cynics who argue they are more about grabbing the headlines than actually effecting that change, is to commit – follow up with timelines, specific changes and responsibilities. For an electorate which is increasing sceptical about the transition of words to deeds, this is an opportunity. Prove the doubters wrong and set in motion a chain of events whose momentum will carry on through the ballot box. The problem isn’t going away, so why should the solution?
The road ahead is still a long one; but now the commitments have been made, it is vital for them to be followed through, if we are to have trust in the system.
