The Scottish Government is committed to the progressive implementation of all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights. As part of the UK, Scotland is signed up to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) core conventions, the eight fundamental principles of which are:
1. Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87),
2. Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98),
3. Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29),
4. Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105),
5. Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138),
6. Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182),
7. Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100),
8. Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111).
The UK has ratified seven core United Nations human rights treaties and seven Council of Europe human rights treaties. These include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the European Social Charter (ESC). The ICESCR requires state parties to protect, respect and fulfil fundamental economic, social and cultural human rights, which include rights to work, health, and an adequate standard of living (including food and housing). The right to work encompasses fair work and decent working conditions.
The Scottish Government has a vision for a Scotland where everyone lives with human dignity, and is committed to giving effect to the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
The UNGPs are based on a framework of state duty to protect human rights; business responsibility to respect human rights; and the requirement for remedy. They are a set of guidelines for states and companies to prevent, address and remedy negative human rights impacts that businesses can cause or contribute to through their operations or relationships.
Scotland was one of the first counties in the world to sign up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Many of these goals align with Scotland’s National Performance Framework. The Goal relevant to human rights, working conditions and exploitation is goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, involves the eradication of forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour.
The International Fair Trade Charter explains that “Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers and workers – especially in the South.”
Scotland is a Fair Trade Nation, having achieved this status in 2013 and renewed it in February 2025. This means all sectors of society embed the principles of Fair Trade in their approaches and play their part in contributing to a just, equitable and sustainable world.
Buying certified Fair Trade goods demonstrates a robust commitment to fair wages and safe working conditions for disadvantaged producers, and promotes sustainable practices, in line with the 10 principles of Fair Trade. Additionally, investing in Fair Trade helps address global trade inequalities and contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Scotland’s Fair Trade Nation status requires accurate benchmarking and monitoring of the levels of certified Fair Trade products bought in the public sector annually. Organisations can support the collection of consistent spend data by identifying certified Fair Trade products in their procurement spend reports. For example, products sourced under the standards set by the two major international Fair Trade systems: Fairtrade International and the World Fair Trade Organisation and carry the Fairtrade Mark or the World Fair Trade Organisation label.
Scottish Fair Trade have an e-learning module to support understanding of Fair Trade for public sector workers.
In 2015 the Scottish Parliament passed the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, which sets out the legislative framework governing human trafficking in Scotland. Human trafficking is the buying and selling of people, adults and children, for the purposes of exploitation.
It is a crime that can take many forms but trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation is the single biggest type.
Labour exploitation relates to behaviour that goes beyond bad employment practices such as a failure to pay the minimum wage. It encompasses slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. These terms are further explained here.
The equivalent UK legislation is the Modern Slavery Act 2015, parts of which apply in Scotland, including section 54, provides that all commercial organisations with a turnover of £36 million or more must complete and publish a Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement.
This is to be done annually and is designed to achieve transparency in supply chains (TISC). The Scottish Government published a Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy in May 2017, which sets out the steps that the Scottish Government and partners will take to eliminate human trafficking and exploitation.
Part of that will be to ensure that people and businesses are aware that what they do and what they buy can contribute to this crime.
Slavery and Human Trafficking Guidance for Businesses has been produced to help businesses identify and prevent human trafficking and exploitation across their operations.
COSLA has produced guidance for all local authorities in Scotland on human trafficking and exploitation. This guidance is intended to develop good practice in order to identify, refer and support victims of human trafficking and exploitation, and disrupt and deter criminal activities.
NHS Health Scotland has published guidance for NHS Scotland staff on human trafficking. The guidance aims to help frontline health professionals spot the signs of human trafficking and what action to take if they have concerns.
It is important that a buyer carries out an appropriate level of human rights due diligence early in the process to establish if what they are buying raises any concern about human rights and worker conditions / exploitation. The table on the front page of this guidance identifies indicators of risk / opportunity.
A buyer should conduct their own research for up-to-date information on risks related to a particular commodity or service. This could include using the various sources of information available on-line, for example see the sources of advice / reference below:
TISC Report or Modern Slavery Registry.
There are also various industry initiatives and campaigns to improve workers’ conditions and ensure that their fundamental rights are respected.
The information available from these sources can be used to help embed ethical standards into procurement. For example the Clean Clothes Campaign, Green Electronics Council, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Fairtrade Foundation and Ethical Trading Initiative, together with the criteria behind some of the certification labels available: Fairtrade, WFTO, Ecolabel, etc.
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