Modern slavery statement

Status of this statement

Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires a slavery and human trafficking statement from organisations with an annual turnover of £36 million or more. The German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act applies to companies with 1,000 or more employees. Black Standard meets neither threshold and is therefore not legally required to publish a statement.

We publish it voluntarily. Air cargo touches supply chains where forced labour risks are real, and a broker that arranges capacity is part of that chain even though it operates no aircraft of its own.

Our business and our supply chain

Black Standard, trading as Cargo Charter Network, is an independent broker for air cargo charter and ACMI capacity. The business holds no air operator certificate, operates no aircraft and employs no crews.

Our supply chain consists mainly of licensed air carriers, ground handling companies, trucking providers for pre- and on-carriage, customs and handling agents, and a small number of technology and professional service providers. The workforce exposed to labour-standard risk therefore sits primarily with our counterparties, particularly in ground handling and road feeder services.

Risk assessment

We regard the highest risk areas as ground handling and road transport in jurisdictions with weak labour enforcement, subcontracted warehouse labour at transit points, and agency staffing used to cover peaks.

Risk in flight operations is comparatively lower, because operators are subject to licensing, safety oversight and crew regulation, all of which involve documented employment relationships.

Due diligence

We verify that every operator we place business with holds a valid air operator certificate and the insurance cover required for the mission.

We check counterparties against applicable sanctions lists before contracting.

We prefer established handling agents with documented processes over the cheapest available option, and we do not select a provider on price alone.

Where we become aware of credible indications of forced labour, human trafficking or serious labour abuse at a counterparty, we suspend the relationship pending clarification and end it where the concern is confirmed.

What we expect from counterparties

No forced labour, bonded labour or human trafficking in any form.

No child labour, and compliance with the applicable minimum age rules.

Wages and working hours in line with applicable law, and no withholding of identity documents from workers.

The same standards applied to subcontractors engaged to perform any part of our work.

Training and internal responsibility

Responsibility for this statement rests with the director. The people handling charter enquiries are briefed on the indicators of labour abuse relevant to their work — for example unexplained subcontracting chains, refusal to name the performing party, or pressure to bypass documented handling procedures.

Reporting a concern

Concerns about forced labour or human trafficking anywhere in our supply chain can be raised at welcome@cargocharternetwork.com or through the channel described in our whistleblowing statement. Reports can be made anonymously and no one who reports in good faith will suffer any disadvantage.

Review

This statement is reviewed annually and updated when our business, our supply chain or the applicable rules change. It is approved by the proprietor of Black Standard.