Retail Sector: Unemployment Debate
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Baroness Goudie
Main Page: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Goudie's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Retail Sector: Unemployment
Baroness Goudie Excerpts(3 years, 9 months ago)
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The Deputy Speaker (Lord Faulkner of Worcester) (Lab)
The noble Lord, Lord Field of Birkenhead, is not available, so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Goudie.
Baroness Goudie (Lab) [V]
My Lords, high-street retailers, their customers and their staff should not be prejudiced by unfair online competition, which is contrary to the public interest. To an extent, the supply chains of online retailers rely on the victims of human trafficking, modern slavery, appalling working conditions and exploitation through low pay. These issues are notoriously prominent among a number of the bigger names in online shopping. This is a scandal that must be stopped.
Lord Callanan (Con)
Like the noble Baroness, I have seen the media reports. One hopes that they will have shamed many of those companies into action, doing what they can to make sure that their supply chains are robust and sustainable and that they do not indulge in the terrible practices that she has outlined.