According to the UN International Labour Organization 56 per cent of workers in south Asia’s key manufacturing hubs could lose their jobs in the next two decades due to automation.

This drastic loss of jobs due to robot technology could lead to a spike in labour abuses and slavery in global supply chains, says risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft in a new report.

“Displaced workers without the skills to adapt, or the cushion of social security, will have to compete for a diminishing supply of low-paid, low-skilled work in what will likely be an increasingly exploitative environment,” says Verisk Maplecroft’s Head of Human Rights, Dr Alexandra Channer.

Women in the garment, textile and footwear industries are particularly at risk, says the report.

These industries employ 59 per cent of all manufacturing workers in Cambodia and 39 per cent in Vietnam. Any job displacement from this sector will therefore impact a large proportion of the entire manufacturing workforce, the majority of whom are women.

“Businesses may argue they are not responsible for the knock-on effects of the rise of automation, but robots will never completely replace workers. People will still have to find work further down supply chains where abuses are more likely to occur, and regulation and worker rights can be more easily ignored,” said Dr Channer.