Sep. 29, 2009 (PR Newswire) --
MILWAUKEE, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN), a world leader in the employment services industry, announced today that it has formed a strategic global alliance with Polaris Project to fight human trafficking and forced labor in the United States and Japan.
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"Manpower's commitment to ending human trafficking is a natural extension of our values - a genuine respect for people and the importance of work in their lives, and determination to keep the supply chain free of unacceptable practices," said David Arkless, Manpower's President of Corporate and Government Affairs. "We are committed to developing programming and policy connecting affected individuals to the dignity and independence of safe, sustainable work."
Under a Memorandum of Understanding, signed 24 September, Manpower Inc. and Polaris Project, one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations in the United States and Japan, will join forces to help survivors of forced labor recover and re-integrate into the community through greater access to sustainable, non-exploitative employment alternatives and training options. Both groups will also work together to raise awareness of human trafficking among businesses, governments and communities, and exchange knowledge and expertise to enhance effectiveness in the anti-trafficking fight.
Manpower, through local branch offices, will offer a range of assessment, training and job search assistance services to qualified candidates among trafficking survivors identified by Polaris Project. Both groups will collaborate on raising public awareness on the issues of human trafficking, and on the expansion of employment alternatives for survivors and persons at risk of exploitation.
Manpower Inc. is a leader in the global fight against human trafficking, and was the first company to sign the Athens Ethical Principles, which declare a "zero tolerance" policy for working with any entity, which benefits in any way, from human trafficking. The company's effort to engage more companies in support of the Principles has resulted in more than 12,000 organizations signing up directly, or through the commitment of their industry federations.
Manpower and Polaris will first create partnerships and programs in Washington, DC, Newark, NJ, Denver, CO, and Tokyo, Japan, where both entities operate.
