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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:33 am
Time: 11:33 am
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1 results foundAuthor: LeBaron, Genevieve Title: The Global Business of Forced Labour: Report of Findings Summary: The era of globalisation has been characterised by a growth of the world's biggest retail and brand companies, coupled with a deepened concern regarding the presence of forced labour in global supply chains. Indeed, one of the gravest and growing risks that brand companies face is the use of forced labour, human trafficking, or other illegal labour practices within their supply chain. Research on this topic has focused almost entirely on the big brand businesses at the top of the supply chain, rather than the worksites that actually deploy and manage forced labour and exploitation, which usually involve much smaller and more informal business actors. However, the overwhelming and singular focus on multi-national corporations (MNCs) at the top of supply chains has hindered our understanding of some of the broader patterns surrounding the business dynamics of forced labour in the global economy. Designed to address this gap, the Global Business of Forced Labour project is a first-of-its kind international research study investigating the business models of forced labour in global agricultural supply chains. The project has systematically mapped the business of forced labour, focusing on case studies of cocoa and tea supply chains. Through extensive primary research in the cocoa industry in Ghana and the tea industry in India and with domestic and international business actors, the project generated an original dataset that sheds light on the drivers and patterns of forced labour in agricultural supply chains feeding UK markets. This dataset includes in-depth interviews with over 120 tea and cocoa workers, a survey of over 1000 tea and cocoa workers, and over 100 interviews with business and government actors. Summary of Findings Business of Forced Labour There is a coherent pattern of labour exploitation including forced labour at the base of global tea and cocoa supply chains. Tea and cocoa businesses profit from forced labour and exploitation in two main ways: Employers use forced labour to reduce their costs of doing business. Our research uncovers that employers systematically under-pay wages and under-provide legally-mandated essential services for workers. Employers are legally required to provide basic services for tea workers on permanent contracts and their families. However, our study found that 47% of tea workers do not have access to potable water and 26% do not have access to a toilet. Workers also reported being charged by employers for services like electricity but not receiving these. In the cocoa industry, employers seek to cut costs through a complex system of financial calculations, including fines (e.g. for failing to carry out mandatory unpaid labour), fees (e.g. for obtaining a job on a cocoa farm), and deductions (e.g. for costs of inputs like pesticides and safety equipment) to systematically under-pay workers and create situations of debt bondage. In both industries, these widespread forms of exploitation are also sometimes accompanied by physical violence, threats, verbal abuse, and/or sexual violence. Employers use forced labour to generate revenue. In the tea industry, employers seek to generate revenue by lending money or providing services to workers and charging high interest on debts, thus engendering situations of debt bondage. Situations of debt bondage are closely linked to the under-provision of services; most tea workers reported borrowing money to pay for food or medical care (which employers are legally required to provide). In the cocoa industry, employers seek to profit by forcing workers to carry out additional labour beyond the agreed terms and conditions of the work, such as working for free on the employer's other farmlands for periods as long as three months. Failure to perform this involuntary labour results in deductions from the worker's wages, fines, threats, or even dismissal. In both industries, these widespread forms of exploitation are also sometimes accompanied by physical violence, threats, verbal abuse, and/or sexual violence. Workers face severe constraints on their ability to exit exploitative tea plantations and cocoa farms. Although chocolate and tea companies are highly profitable, the tea and cocoa workers at the base of their supply chains are living far below the poverty line and are routinely subjected to abuse. According to the World Bank, the poverty line for lower middle-income countries such as Ghana and India is $3.20 (L2.35) per day. Tea workers' wages in India are as low as 25% of the poverty line amount and cocoa workers' wages are around 30% of the poverty line amount. Producers - tea plantation owners and cocoa farmers - claim they do not receive enough payment for their products to obey labour laws and pay the minimum wage. Details: Sheffield, UK: University of Sheffield, Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute, 2018. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 25, 2018 at: http://globalbusinessofforcedlabour.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Report-of-Findings-Global-Business-of-Forced-Labour.pdf Year: 2018 Country: International URL: http://globalbusinessofforcedlabour.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Report-of-Findings-Global-Business-of-Forced-Labour.pdf Shelf Number: 150650 Keywords: AgricultureBonded LaborDebt BondageForced LaborHuman Rights AbusesLabor ExploitationModern Slavery |