Centre For Research On Modern Slavery Established

A new research centre has been established by the Department of Management and International Business at the University of Auckland Business School, to tackle the issues of modern slavery.

Founded by international business scholars, Dr Brent Burmester, Professor Snejina Michailova, and Associate Professor Christina Stringer, the Centre for Research on Modern Slavery (CReMS) has been formed to foster research with particular emphasis on the role business plays in both sustaining the practice and contributing to its eradication.

Modern slavery appears in many forms, from bonded labour to exploitation of migrant workers. It thrives both internationally and domestically, as the recent case of Hastings-based Joseph Auga Matamata revealed – convicted of 10 charges of human trafficking and 13 charges of dealing in slaves - and generates billions of dollars in illegal profits globally every year.

Since discovering serious human rights abuses aboard foreign fishing vessels in New Zealand waters, Christina Stringer has been researching the incidence of modern slavery and other forms of labour exploitation for over a decade.

Snejina Michailova, an expert on work in multinationals, has joined her in recent years to help establish modern slavery as a critical issue for international business scholars and to provide policy input to government.

Brent Burmester, who specialises in the politics of international business, is interested in the role of corporations in regulating labour relations.

As modern slavery is a matter of concern to a range of disciplines, the CReMS founding scholars are interested in building collaborative links with researchers from other disciplinary areas and with external stakeholders.

More information is available athttps://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/business/our-research/research-institutes-centres/centre-for-research-on-modern-slavery.html

© Scoop Media