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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
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Results for debt bondage
19 results foundAuthor: O'Riordan, Bridget Title: Migration and Debt Bondage: Manifestations and Policy Recommendations Summary: In recent years, a heightened awareness of human trafficking has emerged. The extent of the problem has come to light and the plight of 27 million people enslaved worldwide has been recognized. With the increased focus on human trafficking, more information regarding not only the pervasiveness of the problem but its many manifestations are becoming known. In the United States, more cases of forced labor among foreign workers, especially those involved in domestic service and agriculture have surfaced. The increase in movement between nations has lead to more opportunities for trafficking and exploitation. Workers, often in great need of employment, can easily fall victim as their desperation leads them to situations of vulnerability. Due to such vulnerability, a power disparity is created between the workers and their employers, which leads to abuse. Many of these abuses result when migrants are stripped of their rights and incur unbearable levels of debt during the recruitment period. If recruitment methods and policy were changed to promote transparency and eliminate debt, the propensity of workers to be trafficked and engaged in forced labor would be significantly diminished. Details: San Deigo, CA: University of San Diego, Trans-Border Institute, 2010. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Border Brief: Accessed December 9, 2010 at: http://catcher.sandiego.edu/items/peacestudies/FINAL_color_sep22_10.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://catcher.sandiego.edu/items/peacestudies/FINAL_color_sep22_10.pdf Shelf Number: 120425 Keywords: Debt BondageForced LaborHuman TraffickingMigration |
Author: United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking Title: Exploitation of Cambodian Men at Sea: Facts about the Trafficking of Cambodian Men onto Thai Fishing Boats Summary: An estimated thousands of Cambodian men, women, and children are trafficked annually to Thailand for the purpose of labor exploitation. Some of the worst exploited are the men and boys who are deceived onto long-haul fishing boats that fish the waters of the South China Sea, including into Malaysian waters. These boats, out to sea for up to two years or more, become virtual prisons on which the trafficking victims endure inhumane working conditions, and physical abuse. Death at sea is frequently reported, sometimes at the hands of the Thai boat captains. The only way to escape is to jump ship when the boat goes ashore for registration/documentation purposes in places like Sarawak, Malaysia. This SIREN report summarizes the facts about the trafficking of 49 Cambodian men and boys trafficked onto Thai long-haul fishing boats and assisted over the past 18 months by a network of responders spanning Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. There are some variations in the scenarios faced by these men and boys, but the common theme is deception and debt bondage by two or more Khmer and Thai brokers; their sale to a Thai boat owner for 10,000-15,000 Baht; slave-like working conditions at sea, including beatings, deprivation of food, inhumane work hours (for example, working 3 days and nights straight when nets need to be mended), lack of medical treatment for illnesses and injuries, and threats of death; and sometimes, reportedly, murder. Details: Phnom Penh, Cambodia: UNIAP, 2009. 7p. Source: Internet Resource: SIREN Case Analysis: Accessed May 24, 2011 at: http://www.no-trafficking.org/reports_docs/siren/siren_cb3.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Cambodia URL: http://www.no-trafficking.org/reports_docs/siren/siren_cb3.pdf Shelf Number: 121824 Keywords: Debt BondageFishing IndustryForced LaborHuman TraffickingLabor Exploitation (Cambodia)Male Victims of Trafficking |
Author: Leslie, Zorba Title: The Congo Report: Slavery in Conflict Minerals Summary: Slavery in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is nothing new. Central Africa was a site of slave raiding for the Red Sea and Indian Ocean slave trade long before the arrival of Europeans. But the Belgian colonial occupation, and especially the personal fiefdom of King Leopold II, brought a particularly brutal brand of slavery enforced through torture, limb amputation and murder by the mercenary Force Publique. This was slavery on a massive scale, and an estimated ten million people died over a fifteen-year period. The term “crimes against humanity” was first used to describe this slavery and genocide. The driving force behind this assault was the extraction of Congo’s riches, focused then on rubber and ivory. The loss of cultural memory was so great that few Congolese today have any knowledge of the genocide or mass enslavement. Congo’s people achieved independence from colonial rule in 1960, but were soon subjected to the predatory regime of Mobutu Sese Seko. Mobutu robbed the country of its riches while neglecting the government’s most basic functions for more than three decades. The jungle literally grew up over the country’s network of roads; unpaid soldiers turned to living off the people; and the people did whatever they could to survive. A corrupt informal economy flourished, fertile ground for modern forms of slavery. Mobutu was deposed in 1997, ending a short civil war in which the victorious rebels were supported principally by Rwanda. But the resulting instability ushered in a second and catastrophic war that left 5 million dead from the conflict, its aftermath, and related famine and disease. Abuses committed by all sides in the conflict are well documented. Demands for justice for the crimes committed during that era have been strengthened by a recent UN report on the most serious violations, including slavery, committed between 1993 and 2003. While peace came officially in 2002, the conflict between the army, armed groups composed in part of rebels from neighboring countries, and a number of homegrown, rag-tag militias in the eastern countryside never stopped. As of this writing, ill-prepared elections scheduled for November 2011 are generating fears of further instability and even a return to full-scale conflict. Meanwhile, the war against women and girls in particular, fought by both armed groups and civilians through means of sexual violence, has never ended. In a context in which the rule of law has collapsed, members of armed groups fight and—more often—prey upon civilians for several reasons. They secure their survival through looting. They fight for control over land that was once devoted to farming and ranching, sometimes along ethnic fault lines, and they fight for control over the mines. This report documents several types of slavery in Congo’s mines. Some forms of slavery are directly linked to the conflict, including the use of so-called “child soldiers” and the kidnapping of civilians for forced labor and sexual slavery by illegal armed groups and uncontrolled army units. Other forms of slavery are familiar around the world: debt bondage, forced marriage, slavery in the commercial sex trade, and child slavery that grows out of poverty and the lack of community-enforced norms respecting child rights. But while slavery is not new, neither are efforts to stop it. An anti-slavery campaign at the end of the 19th century broke Leopold’s grip on Congo. Today, human rights workers in Congo’s war-afflicted east, supported by activists in North America and Europe, work to end the widespread abuses of rape, slavery, and wanton killing. Nonetheless, the dynamics of slavery and how the slavery of eastern Congo fits into contemporary legal definitions of slavery are not well understood. There is no doubt, however, that this is slavery—the control of people using violence and its threat to extract work or sexual exploitation, a radical diminution of free will, intentional coercion to make the victims believe they cannot walk away, and no pay beyond subsistence, if that. Armed groups are the principal perpetrators, but they are not alone. Civilian middle managers, moneylenders, brothel owners, and even parents in some cases, are also responsible for these modern forms of slavery. This means that ending the conflict is only part of the solution. Nor is it possible for a modern-day abolitionist simply to step into the world of eastern Congo, with all of its history and complexity, and expect to rescue those in slavery one-by-one. Congolese abolitionists and human rights workers, joining with anti-slavery workers around the world, must and do operate at multiple levels. The necessary approaches include: active and courageous international diplomacy, pressure from all quarters on Congolese and neighboring governments including Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi; regulatory, consumer and investor pressure on companies to clean slavery out of their supply chains; and the strengthening of mining communities at the local level. Details: Washington, DC: Free the Slaves, 2011. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 10, 2012 at http://www.freetheslaves.net/Document.Doc?id=243 Year: 2011 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://www.freetheslaves.net/Document.Doc?id=243 Shelf Number: 124426 Keywords: (Democratic Republic of Congo)Conflict Minerals (Democratic Republic of Congo)Debt BondageIllicit Mineral TradeSlavery |
Author: Friebel, Guido Title: Smuggling Humans: A Theory of Debt-Financed Migration Summary: We introduce financial constraints in a theoretical analysis of illegal immigration. Intermediaries finance the migration costs of wealth-constrained migrants, who enter temporary servitude contracts to repay the debt. These debt/labor contracts are easier to enforce in the illegal than in the legal sector of the host country. Hence, when moving from the illegal to the legal sector becomes more costly, for instance, because of stricter deportation policies, fewer immigrants default on debt. This reduces the risks for intermediaries, who are then more willing to finance illegal migration. Stricter deportation policies may thus, ex ante, increase rather than decrease the flow of illegal migrants. Furthermore, stricter deportation policies worsen the skill composition of immigrants. While stricter border controls decrease overall immigration, they may result in an increase of debt-financed migration. We also show that there are complementarities between employer sanctions and deportation policies. We use available evidence to check the empirical consistency of the theory. Details: Bonn, Germany: Insitute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Undated. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 14, 2012 at http://pages.nes.ru/sguriev/papers/Friebel-Guriev.pdf Year: 0 Country: International URL: http://pages.nes.ru/sguriev/papers/Friebel-Guriev.pdf Shelf Number: 124542 Keywords: Debt BondageHuman SmugglingIllegal Migration |
Author: International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Title: Forced Labour: Mini Action Guide Summary: Forced labour is often associated with slavery. That is correct. Forced labour is therefore often associated with the past. This is incorrect. Forced labour continues to manifest itself in new forms throughout the world, and certain contemporary forms are even increasing in numbers of victims in a context of globalisation and increased migration. The ILO made a very conservative minimum estimate in 2005 stating that at any given moment 12.3 million people are working in forced labour conditions. The way in which forced labour is used is constantly changing. The legislation abolishing slavery two centuries ago may have abolished formal slavery and legal ownership of certain people over others; however, in practice forced labour has never been eradicated. Workers in forced labour today loose their freedom of movement through more indirect and less obvious mechanisms such as debt bondage, serfdom, indentured labour, etc. At the same time there are still some persistent vestiges of traditional slavery in certain parts of Africa, and the difference between a modernday domestic worker abused, exploited and locked up in a private home or bonded labourers on remote farms or working with brick kilns and traditional slaves may in practice be smaller than we like to think. Forced labour is a truly global problem affecting every region and all countries in the world whether industrialised or developing, rich or poor. Labour intensive and unregulated industries are affected the most: agriculture, domestic work, construction, mining, quarrying and brick kilns, manufacturing processing and packaging, entertainment and prostitution. Forced labour constitutes the antithesis to decent work and violates all core labour standards. Forced labourers are often victims of discrimination based on ethnicity or sex, and cultural preconceptions about inferiority of certain groups of people are therefore – together with economic hardship – the main root causes of the entire phenomenon. Up to 50 percent of all forced labour victims are children in forced child labour, a “worst forms of child labour”. These workers are under extreme exploitation and often isolated from their peers. Freedom of association and the right to organise will seem a distant dream to them – let alone their right to collective bargaining. Trade unions in most countries around the world are campaigning for decent work for all. We cannot be serious about this if we still allow forced labour and human trafficking to foster in every country around the world. Details: Brussels, Belgium: ITUC International Trade Union Confederation, 2008. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 17, 2012 at http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/guide_forced_labour_EN.pdf Year: 2008 Country: International URL: http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/guide_forced_labour_EN.pdf Shelf Number: 124997 Keywords: Debt BondageForced LaborForced Labor, ChildrenHuman TraffickingLabor Exploitation |
Author: Braunmiller, Julia Title: The Protection Project Review of the Trafficking in Persons Report Summary: On June 19, 2012, the United States Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons released the 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report). The TIP Report is comprehensive, well drafted, and thoroughly documented. In my opinion, the Report constitutes the primary reference and main source of information on efforts made by governments worldwide to combat trafficking in persons. The purpose of this review is to analyze the valuable information provided in the TIP Report. The Report is not only a diplomatic tool designed to engage governments in the battle against trafficking; it also serves an educational function, which has been the inspiration for this research. Details: Washington, DC: The Protection Project, The Johns Hopkins University, The Paul H. Nitze School Of Advanced International Studies, 2012. 128p. Source: Internet Resource: accessed August 13, 2012 at: http://www.protectionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/TIP-Review-2012-Final.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://www.protectionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/TIP-Review-2012-Final.pdf Shelf Number: 126004 Keywords: Child Sex TourismChild TraffickingDebt BondageForced BeggingForced LaborHuman TraffickingSexual Exploitation |
Author: Jani, Nairruti Title: Exploring Vulnerability and Consent to Trafficking Related Migration: A Study of South Asian Bar Dancers Summary: Lack of resources in South Asian countries compel many people to migrate to other countries, some legally, others illegally. In 2005, Over 100,000 bar dancers in Mumbai became unemployed overnight when the state government banned bar dancing under international pressure. Some of these bar dancers were forced to become prostitutes; some others migrated to other countries, including U.S., for work (Chadha, 2007). While dancing in U.S., these girls are kept under heavy security, they are not allowed to talk to the patrons, nor are they allowed to go out of their designated apartment on their own. They are sent from one city to another city, and are generally unaware of their next destination. Even though these girls have migrated with their own will, their prison like situation suggests that they can be defined as victims of human trafficking. Even though the girls actually consented, they are subject to debt-bondage, earn very little income and are denied basic liberties. This ‘consensual trafficking’ has not been studied by the academic community or by the policy makers. This research studies bar dancers in U.S. and explores the factors which create vulnerability in bar dancers to consent to trafficking related migration. The main research question is (1) What are the reasons that create vulnerability among certain groups of people who either get trafficked or smuggled? This research explores a pioneering field of research which is a recent phenomenon. This qualitative research is based on grounded theory involving in-depth data collection from the informants and the researcher. The data collection was based on auto-ethnographic principles, where the researcher observes and interacts with participants and creates a detailed field note that includes researchers own perceptions about participant interactions. Findings indicate that the vulnerability to trafficking within south Asia is characterized by poverty, gender bias, caste or religion by birth, lack of education and lack of awareness. Single women are more prone to trafficking as they do not have any support systems and are required to feed themselves and their children. Lack of employable skill makes it difficult for them to find employment in South Asian competitive markets. Another significant finding is that positive social networks and family support reduced the risk of trafficking among South Asian women from rural areas to urban areas in South Asia. However, lack of family support got translated in lack of community networks for some victims who then chose to use unknown migration networks. Traffickers employed migration agents at rural areas who deceived many of South Asia women and lured them as well as their families by creating false dream jobs in foreign destinations. Some women got trapped in debt trap of these agents who paid the migration cost for the victims and enslaved them after reaching the destination. This finding relates to theory of social support, social exchange and migration theory of network. Lack of employment, increasing age, debts and acculturation in Mumbai bars were the primary contributors to South Asian bar dancers’ vulnerability to international trafficking. Older women and Muslim women were more prone to be trafficked to gulf countries where as Hindu girls and younger girls were trafficked to western countries. After the ban on dance bars in Mumbai the vulnerability of former bar dancers increased significantly due to reduced employment opportunities. Details: Arlington, TX: The University of Texas at Arlington, 2009. 184p. Source: Dissertation: Internet Resource: Accessed September 5, 2012 at http://dspace.uta.edu/bitstream/handle/10106/2015/Jani_uta_2502D_10428.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2009 Country: Asia URL: http://dspace.uta.edu/bitstream/handle/10106/2015/Jani_uta_2502D_10428.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 126271 Keywords: Debt BondageEmploymentHuman TraffickingMigrationSocial NetworksUnemployment and CrimeVictimization |
Author: Reisen, Mirjam van Title: Human Trafficking in the Sinai: Refugees between Life and Death Summary: This report describes the horrific situation of trafficking of refugees in the Sinai desert, a crisis that started in 2009. The refugees include men, women, children and accompanying infants fleeing from already desperate circumstances in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan. An estimated 95% of the refugees held hostage in the Sinai (also referred to as hostages) are Eritreans. Smuggled across borders by middlemen, or kidnapped from refugee camps in Ethiopia and the Sudan as well as their surrounding areas, and then captured or sold, the refugees are held hostage close to the Israeli border in inhumane conditions and tortured for ransoms up to USD 50,000. A large number of the refugees have died, either while being held hostage or after their release – often even after their ransom has been paid. A large number of refugees simply ‘disappear’, killed while being held or shot by the Egyptian military guarding the border with Israel after release. The aim of this report is to give the Sinai refugees a voice. Through the interviews we can hear their stories, and connect with them. It is hoped that this document will raise awareness among the broader public of the desperate plight of these people as a step towards stopping this crime. A second aim of the report is to contextualise these practices within the international legal framework, and, in this way, highlight the obligations of states and international organisations, including the EU, to take action against these practices. This report examines the processes involved in the trafficking of the refugees (i.e., how the refugees are recruited, how they are transported to the Sinai including their routes, and the conditions under which they are being held) and the international legal framework applicable to these practices (i.e., whether or not these practices can be considered ‘trafficking in persons’, ‘torture’ or other). Details: Tilburg, Brussels: Tilburg University/EEPA, 2012. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 19, 2012 at: http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/publications/report_Human_Trafficking_in_the_Sinai_20120928.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Egypt URL: http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/publications/report_Human_Trafficking_in_the_Sinai_20120928.pdf Shelf Number: 126756 Keywords: Debt BondageForced BeggingHuman SmugglingHuman TraffickingRefugees (Egypt)TortureTrafficking in Human Organs |
Author: Justice Centre Hong Kong Title: How Many More Years A Slave? Trafficking for Forced Labour in Hong Kong, Summary: Forced labour, modern slavery, debt bondage and human trafficking are all terms that have recently made their way into headlines in Hong Kong. These have often been in the context of multiple accounts of alleged abuse of foreign domestic helpers, such as the much-publicised cases of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih and Kartika Puspitasari in the past year. There are currently 11.7 million people in forced labour conditions in the Asia-Pacific region. As an important regional hub and both a destination and transit territory for human trafficking, Hong Kong is failing to fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Current legislation merely prohibits human trafficking "for the purpose of prostitution", but not for forced labour or other forms of trafficking, which has been criticised in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report, as well as by UN bodies and several human rights organisations. This briefing - the first of a joint series examining modern day slavery in Hong Kong and offering policy solutions - will provide clarity about the distinguishing features and overlaps between forced labour and human trafficking, with reference to international standards. It will go on to identify the gaps in existing legislation, which is currently failing to provide redress in cases of trafficking for forced labour and to prevent further abuses, is neglecting to prosecute traffickers and is not offering adequate protection to victims of trafficking for forced labour in the HKSAR territory. The briefing calls on the Hong Kong Government to: (1) develop a broader definition of human trafficking which encompasses all forms of human trafficking as set out in the UN Trafficking Protocol (2) create a national plan of action to combat human trafficking (3) adopt a comprehensive anti-human trafficking law and (4) offer more robust labour protections against forced labour. Doing so is crucial to prevent further human rights abuses at a time when Hong Kong is looking at other emerging markets for sources of labour. At this critical juncture, the Hong Kong Government has an opportunity and the resources to redouble its efforts to combat modern forms of slavery and serve as a model in the Asia-Pacific region. Details: Hong Kong: Justice Centre Hong Kong, 2014. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 25, 2014 at: http://www.justicecentre.org.hk/framework/uploads/2014/03/JCHK_Report_final_spreads.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Hong Kong URL: http://www.justicecentre.org.hk/framework/uploads/2014/03/JCHK_Report_final_spreads.pdf Shelf Number: 134246 Keywords: Debt BondageDomestic WorkersForced Labor (Hong Kong)Human Rights AbusesHuman Trafficking |
Author: Massachusetts Interagency Human Trafficking Policy Task Force Title: Findings and Recommendations Summary: It is estimated that across the United States nearly 300,000 children are trafficked for sex every year. The U.S. Justice Department has identified the average age of entry into prostitution is 13.7 These cases involve tremendous violence, are complex and expensive to prosecute. Victims are brutalized in the worst ways imaginable. In Massachusetts, there is currently no systematic way to quantify the problem much less identify and meet the needs of victims. Trafficking victims are individuals lured into this country and Massachusetts with false promises of legitimate work, only often to be forced into the sex or labor industry upon arrival. They are also domestic and Massachusetts born runaways being taken in by traffickers and forced to trade sex for a place to sleep, or girls being baited into "the life" by a presumed boyfriend who later reveals himself as a pimp. Much like a victim of domestic violence, human trafficking victims are trapped by fear, isolation, and brutality at the hands of their traffickers. The Task Force recognizes that frequently one victim is subjected to both sex and labor trafficking. However, because these two types of trafficking are often addressed differently, a separate and in-depth discussion of each is provided below to best understand their specific aspects. Sex Trafficking Sex trafficking of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals occurs across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. For example, in 2011, The E.V.A. Center, a Boston-based program that works with adult women involved in the sex trade, reported that the program served 225 adult women since the program began in 2006.8 Of these women, 20 were identified as foreign nationals and 145 were between the ages of 17 and 25. The E.V.A. Center reports that over half of the women were court involved with an over half of the women were court involved with an over representation of young women aging out of government systems, such as the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families ("DCF") and the Department of Youth Services ("DYS"). The majority of women were referred at a point of crisis, largely from law enforcement ("LE"), community clinics, hospitals, the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, the Probation Department, and SafeLink, the Massachusetts domestic violence hotline. Similarly, the commercial sexual exploitation of youth occurs across the Commonwealth. Although state-wide statistics are not available, in a 2012 report the Children's Advocacy Center ("CAC") of Suffolk County noted that, "[i]n recent years, hundreds of girls in the Boston area have been drawn into 'the life' of commercial sexual exploitation; countless others remain at risk." The report documented more than 480 child victims of sexual exploitation received services in Suffolk County between 2005 and 2012. Of these children, 98% were girls, and 65% of the girls were girls of color. Moreover, the majority were runaways and/or victims of child abuse. The CAC report also acknowledges that "[b]oys and transgendered youth are also involved in commercial sexual exploitation of children ("CSEC"), but less visible." There is a lack of understanding of the nature and extent of trafficking of men and boys. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information regarding children being trafficked in other regions of the Commonwealth, and the identification of child victims outside of Boston remains a challenge. There is also a connection between homelessness and trafficking in Massachusetts, irrespective of age. According to a 2005 report from the Massachusetts Department of Education ("DOE"), approximately 12,000 Massachusetts high school students are homeless with 5,000 unaccompanied or without a guardian. Of these youth, 47% experienced mental illness, 21% of homeless youth have substance abuse issues (compared to 2% of housed youth), and 20% of youth are involved in the criminal justice system. According to Steven Procopio, staff member at Boston GLASS Surviving Our Struggle and subcommittee member, homeless men and boys are more vulnerable to become commercially exploited. Procopio reports that sexually exploited youth are often former runaways due to family violence, sexual abuse, and sexual identity issues. Many turn to the sex industry as a survival mechanism to obtain food or shelter. Survivors report high rates of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, and they are often exploited sexually by men and/or women with economic means. Labor Trafficking Labor trafficking takes a variety of forms in Massachusetts, including forced labor, domestic servitude, or debt bondage in workplaces such as restaurants, bars, nail salons, and factories. Throughout Massachusetts, many individuals work in industries where they are increasingly vulnerable to exploitation, and this is compounded by fact that many of these industries function in the underground economy. In 2011, Governor Deval Patrick recognized the hazards of these jobs, noting that the underground economy "exploits vulnerable workers and deprives them of legal benefits and protections." While trafficking involves both U.S. citizen and foreign nationals, undocumented workers are often particularly vulnerable to abuse due to their lack of immigration status and fear of deportation. According to a 2012 study by The Immigrant Learning Center, large industries in Massachusetts thrive off of immigrant workers, including accommodations and food services (10.5%), health care and social assistance (15.6%), manufacturing (13.6%), and retail (9.6%).17 Furthermore, the report states, "immigrants are much more highly concentrated in occupations that require little education such as building and grounds cleaning and maintenance (3.13%), production (2.24%), health care support (1.74%), food preparation and serving (1.67%) and farming, fishing, and forestry (1.43%)" - industries where workers are more prone to abuse and exploitation. While labor statistics are not available, Lutheran Social Services of New England, an organization that provides case management and legal services to labor trafficking survivors, confirmed recent cases of labor trafficking in Massachusetts. Cases included: - Workers living in restaurants and subject to poor working conditions and nonpayment of wages; - Domestic workers from Brazil, Bolivia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, employed to provide housekeeping or child care services; - Dancers in strip clubs throughout Massachusetts; - Employees of diplomats brought to the United States to work; - Women working in massage parlors or apartments providing sexual and massage services (mixed sex/labor cases); - Factories employing workers using threats of deportation and poor working conditions; - Agricultural and seasonal workers; - H-2B workers employed by companies providing substandard working conditions and housing to workers; - Women lured by promises to marry or of romance who are then coerced to work; and - Children coerced to beg for money on the street. Workers in certain sectors were more prone to abuse. For example, temporary workers in Massachusetts have been particularly vulnerable to exploitation. According to a 2011 report by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, more than 941 temporary agencies employed 65,720 workers each day, working in industries such as construction, manufacturing, warehousing, and landscaping. Mirna Montano, Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health ("MassCOSH") Worker Center organizer, reports "We had so many frustrated and upset workers coming to us for help with unpaid wages, injuries, illegal fees," and "bad employers [knew] that they could get away with leaving workers in the dark regarding almost everything: pay rate, who was covering workers' compensation insurance, [and] how much transportation would cost." In July 2012, the Massachusetts legislature passed a statute aimed at extending greater protection to temporary workers. However, little is yet known about the legislation's impact on exploitation and trafficking. Details: Boston: The Task Force, 2013. 98p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 31, 2015 at: http://www.mass.gov/ago/docs/ihttf/ihttf-findings.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.mass.gov/ago/docs/ihttf/ihttf-findings.pdf Shelf Number: 136647 Keywords: Child Sex TraffickingChild Sexual ExploitationDebt BondageForced LaborHuman TraffickingProstitutionRunawaysSex TraffickingSexual Exploitation |
Author: Verite Title: A Verite Assessment of Recruitment Practices and Migrant Labor Conditions in Nestle's Thai Shrimp Supply Chain Summary: Seeking to better understand the risks of forced labor and human trafficking in the Thai seafood industry, Nestle contracted Verite to conduct a focused investigation of six production sites in Thailand - three shrimp farms (one in Mahachai and two in Surat Thani), two ports of origin (Ranong Fish Port and Mahachai Fish Port), and one docked fishing boat (in Ranong Fish Port). These sites were identified by a third-party supply chain mapping consultant as being linked with the fishmeal (or fish feed) used as feed input in farms producing whole prawns for Nestle. Verite assessed these and a number of other worksites in the same supply chain. The three-month assessment focused on forced labor and trafficking risks in the recruitment, hiring, employment and living conditions of foreign migrant workers in the targeted vessel-to-marketplace shrimp and fishmeal supply chain of one of Nestle's key suppliers. The findings of this assessment are largely consistent with those of Verite's prior research and other assessment work in the Thai seafood sector, as well as with reporting done by media and other organizations. B. Key Findings Verite found indicators of forced labor, trafficking, and child labor to be present among sea-based and land-based workers engaged in the production sites covered by the assessment. - Workers interviewed by Verite had been subjected to deceptive recruitment practices that started in their home countries, transported to Thailand under inhumane conditions, charged excessive fees leading to debt bondage in some cases, exposed to exploitative and hazardous working conditions, and, at the time of assessment, were living under sub-par to degrading conditions. - Workers reported that they were not provided with adequate information about the terms of their work at the point of their recruitment and, often, the actual conditions of the work were severe, including excessive overtime, no days off, and few protections against working hazards. A few workers reported having been 'sold' to a boat captain or being transported by a broker to a port, with the only alternative to joining the crew being to buy back the contract. - Verite found few and typically inadequate mechanisms for age-verification of workers, and identified underage workers engaged in sea-based work. - Grievance mechanisms for sea-based workers and most land-based workers were largely absent, with little to no communication available to fishers while at sea. - Compounding these issues, workers often lacked appropriate documentation, which would have lent them some level of protection against threats of detention, deportation, and denunciation to the authorities. Even when workers did have appropriate documentation, withholding of passports and personal documents by employers was found to be a common practice. - Pay practices for sea-based workers often resulted in employers withholding workers' total pay. Workers had no means of verifying if they were receiving the wages owed them, and could not leave their employment without potentially facing financial penalties. - Workers also reported intimidation, harassment, and verbal and physical abuse. Freedom of movement was restricted for fishers even when not at sea. Land-based workers reported constant surveillance and intimidation by the local authorities. - Verite found the use of an illegal substance among workers on fishing boats to be rampant; supervisors/crew leaders were fully aware but did not restrict use, as the substance kept workers awake and able to perform long work hours. Details: Amherst, MA: Verite, 2016? 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 21, 2016 at: http://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/NestleReport-ThaiShrimp_prepared-by-Verite.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Thailand URL: http://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/NestleReport-ThaiShrimp_prepared-by-Verite.pdf Shelf Number: 138352 Keywords: Debt BondageForced LaborHuman TraffickingMigrant Labor |
Author: Verite Title: An Exploratory Study on the Role of Corruption in International Labor Migration Summary: In the 2013 white paper, "Corruption and Labor Trafficking in Global Supply Chains," Verite detailed how fraud, corruption, bribery, and other illegal practices are common features of the international recruitment of migrant workers. The myriad official approvals, documents, and associated fees - foreign worker quotas, job order attestations, exit and guest worker visas, medical certifications, police clearances, work permits etc. - required to deploy a migrant worker from one country to another mean the opportunities and incentives for employers and their recruitment agents to bribe civil servants have become a structural feature of the international labor migration process. Since recruitment agents and employers ultimately transfer most, if not all, of the upfront costs of employment to foreign migrant workers, both of these forms of recruitment-related corruption directly contribute to the excessive and illegal fee burdens frequently faced by migrant workers. In this way corruption is a significant contributing element to migrant worker vulnerability to debt bondage, human trafficking, and forced labor. Further, Verite and others have pointed out that the corrupt activities all too common in migrant worker recruitment also create potential legal risk for companies under origin and destination country laws as well as extraterritorial anti-corruption statutes such as the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the UK Bribery Act (UKBA). Because multinationals can be liable for the acts of their foreign subsidiaries, franchisees, joint venture entities, and even suppliers that use third party employment agencies under a number of legal theories including traditional agency principles, the risk arises where corrupt payments result in a direct or indirect benefit to an employer - an improper advantage - through cheap migrant labor or the avoidance of the upfront costs of employment. Ironically, these many procedures and requirements that are so vulnerable to corruption were often put in place to protect workers and ensure regular process in the highly complex governance of international migration. The governments' responsibilities to protect the labor and human rights for migrants and to regulate a growing, dynamic private recruitment sector are not in question. Nor is the fact that legitimate private labor recruiters can play an important role in connecting workers with much-needed jobs; indeed, good recruiters are seeking to reform and reinvent the system. There is a flurry of efforts underway by governments, unions, civil society organizations, recruiters, employers, and international institutions like the ILO and IOM to reform the systems in place. Yet, even as reform efforts proceed apace, as this report outlines, "pay-to-play" kickback commissions and other corruption payments are all too common in the migration process; understanding the nature and extent of those payments is vital to reforming the process. Indeed, the lack of deep knowledge of the role of corruption in the process is a very real threat to the success of reform efforts. With new policies and procedures being proposed or enacted every month in countries around the world, it is vital that deeper understanding is achieved of the nature and extent of corruption. Corruption occurs for many reasons and eliminating controls and processes because corruption is attached to them is by no means the proper approach. Reform efforts themselves will generate unintended consequences in terms of corruption risk and new costs and threats to migrants. Hence, much humility and patience are called for as a wide range of institutions globally promote new models to protect workers. Details: Amherst, MA: Verite, 2016. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2016 at: https://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/Verite-Report-Intl-Labour-Recruitment_0.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/Verite-Report-Intl-Labour-Recruitment_0.pdf Shelf Number: 138606 Keywords: BriberyCorruptionDebt BondageForced LaborHuman TraffickingMigrant WorkersMigrants |
Author: Bergbom, Katie Title: Trapped in the Kitchen of the World: The situation for migrant workers in Thailand's poultry industry Summary: Thailand is a prominent world supplier of poultry meat products. During the last couple of decades the nation's domestic production has experienced several booms, as the poultry industry has evolved into a main ingredient of Thailand's objective of becoming "the kitchen of the world". The EU has become its biggest market for export. About 270 000 tonnes of poultry meat products were shipped from Thailand to the EU in 2014. Sweden has imported poultry products from Thailand since at least the late 1990s. In 2014 Thailand was Sweden's second largest supplier of processed poultry products, after Denmark. Recently Sweden launched a National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights with the explicit expectation that all Swedish companies shall respect human rights, as specified in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). With this report Swedwatch aims to investigate the levels of social responsibility taken by Swedish stakeholders in their trade with Thai suppliers, from the perspective of the above mentioned standards. Thai industries are grappling with a shortage of domestic labour. Like many of Thailand's labour intensive sectors the poultry industry too has found a remedy across the borders, in the neighboring countries. In search for better salaries and the possibility to send money back home, millions of migrant workers from mainly Cambodia and Myanmar have formed the lowest level of Thailand's labour pyramid. Many of these people have also become victims of unscrupulous employers and recruiters as well as corrupt officials. This report indicates that violations of migrant workers' rights occur in Thailand's poultry industry, in resemblance to other Thai sectors that have been exposed by the media during the latest years. According to the global labour rights organization Solidarity Center, migrant workers in Thailand experience some of the worst abuse in the world. Interviews with 98 migrant workers employed by four different Thai poultry producers, that all have exported to Sweden during the last three years, show an extensive variation of violations. In total, six factories were included in the field study. Based on the interviews, four of the factories were found to act in breach of many or all of Thailand's main labour and social protection laws as well as international laws and standards formulated by the UN, ILO and others, at the time of the field study. Migrant workers at all factories included in the study state that personal documents such as passports or work permits have been confiscated by their employers or recruitment agencies. The interviews reveal that workers are in different levels of debt bondage due to excessive recruitment fees and other costs at all selected factories. Interviewees at all factories stated that they had not received health insurance though fees were deducted from their salaries. These practices are only a few examples revealed by the field study. All are indicators of trafficking of adults for labour exploitation, according to the International Labour Organization, ILO. Workers at four of the six factories said there was child labour, at three of the factories with workers as young as 14 years old. Employing youth under 15 years of age is in breach of Thailand's Labour Protection Act of 1998. Thai poultry meat products follow a complex supply chain before they reach the consumer in private restaurants and cafs, public hospitals and schools or at family dinner tables in Sweden. The EU legislation regarding indication of origin on processed food means that products labelled as having an EU country as origin, actually may come from third countries such as Thailand. This makes it near impossible to estimate the total volume of Thai poultry imported to the Swedish market annually. According to one of the Swedish importers, at least half of all the Thai poultry meat that is consumed in Sweden is not included in the official statistics of import. Swedwatch's survey of Swedish stakeholders involved in the import of poultry products from Thailand shows that this decades long business relation was initiated with a focus on animal welfare and product quality, and with no meaningful due diligence performed on potential adverse human rights impacts in the industry. Of the stakeholders interviewed for this report only Axfood, a wholesaler, has started to perform due diligence on adverse human rights impacts in Thailand's poultry industry. Other than that, the UNGP and the Swedish government's National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights are still unknown to many actors in Sweden's food sector. This report further reveals extensive shortcomings of social responsibility in Swedish public procurement of food. Public procurers at county councils and municipalities do not have the routines to set social criteria in their procurement of food. Audits to ensure that their codes of conduct are fulfilled throughout their supply chains are generally not performed due to lack of resources. This means that children and adults in Sweden's public institutions such as schools, retirement homes and hospitals may be served poultry products produced by exploited migrant workers. For this report Swedwatch has also conducted a survey of supermarket chains on the Swedish market. The focus was on house brands containing poultry products. The results show that one out of five food companies included in the survey use Thai poultry in their house brands. This report makes several recommendations. Thai companies should ensure that all forms of unlawful recruitment fees are stopped and ensure that brokers are not charging migrant workers costs leading to debt bondage. As a minimum all the companies should comply with Thai labour legislation. Stakeholders at the Swedish food market that are linked to the import of Thai poultry products should assure that their suppliers follow international labour right standards as expressed in the ILO core conventions. Importers and wholesalers should conduct due diligence on adverse human rights impacts and show with commitment and transparency how potential risks are identified and mitigated, in accordance with the guidelines of the UNGP. Food should be identified as a risk category in trade, not only when it comes to animal welfare and product quality. Details: Stockholm: SwedWatch, 2015. 73p. Source: Internet Resource: Report #76: Accessed October 15, 2016 at: http://www.swedwatch.org/sites/default/files/tmp/76_thaikyckling_151123_ab.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Thailand URL: Shelf Number: 144878 Keywords: Child LaborDebt BondageHuman Rights AbusesHuman TraffickingLabor ExploitationMigrant Workers |
Author: Verite Title: Immigrant Workers in US Agriculture: The Role of Labor Brokers in Vulnerability to Forced Labor Summary: Forced labor is a well-known phenomenon in agriculture in the United States; and labor brokers are key actors in the system, both for documented and undocumented workers. The primary mechanism for entrapping workers in situations of forced labor in US agriculture is the facilitation of grave indebtedness prior to arrival in the United States. As this report will elaborate, labor experts and workers interviewed by Verite have reported brokerage fees ranging from USD 3,000-27,000 among workers coming in legally on H-2A and H-2B gues-tworker visas. Interest rates can be usurious, reaching up to 20 percent monthly. Brokers or moneylenders affiliated with brokers sometimes hold workers' titles to land or other valuables as collateral. Once in the United States, workers can be threatened with deportation, blacklisting, confiscation of land, and violence against themselves and their families if they complain. The brokers themselves can be large or small; and workers on temporary guest-worker visas seem more vulnerable to falling prey to forced labor schemes than undocumented workers. The legal route into the United States for temporary work is the H-2 program. This report focuses explicitly on H- 2A visas, under which workers labor specifically in agriculture; and H-2B visas, under which workers may work in a wide range of "nonagricultural" professions, including some very much akin to agriculture, such as forestry, and produce, meat, and fish packing. The H-2 program is widely criticized by worker advocates for lacking adequate protections for work, health, and housing; legalizing the payment of subminimum wages; and – because workers are, for practical purposes, bound to work for one or more employers – entrapping workers at specified worksites for the duration of their stay in the United States. H-2B visas are subject to significantly less oversight and protections than H-2A visas. In fact, the US Department of Labor has stated that it has no authority to enforce labor law among H-2B visa holders. Many H-2B visa holders face especially egregious violations, including in some cases, huge salary deductions (in one documented case, a worker’s salary was reduced to 13 cents per hour). This in turn makes it virtually impossible to pay back loans, thereby perpetuating the cycle of debt bondage. Verité has found evidence of workers being brought in on these more lenient H-2B visas and then illegally trafficked into work in agriculture. In some cases workers on H- 2B visas are actually "sold" to agricultural employers – a system reminiscent of chattel slavery. Undocumented workers are also vulnerable to forced labor in US agriculture. These workers, the vast majority of whom are from Latin America, are typically smuggled or trafficked over the border with Mexico by coyotes, who are in some cases also their labor brokers or employers. Because of their undocumented status, these workers are by nature vulnerable to abusive labor practices and forced labor. In some egregious cases, coyotes hold workers hostage either until their families pay additional money or until they provide a certain amount of labor. This report offers findings from research on the US agricultural sector as a whole, as well as four in-depth case studies. The four cases were selected to capture the primary broker mechanisms present in US agriculture; while at the same time providing diversity of geographic location, type of good produced, visa status, and origin of workers. These case studies include: a) The case of Moises and Maria Rodriguez, in which undocumented Mexican workers in traditional agriculture experienced labor abuses from a small labor broker tied to a coyote that brought them into the United States. The workers were laboring on an organic fruit and vegetable farm in northern Colorado. This case illustrates the forced-labor implications of ties between labor brokers and coyotes and of labor brokers acting as moneylenders for workers who need to borrow money to pay smuggling fees. In this case, the undocumented workers who came to the farm via the labor broker were in conditions of de facto nslavement; whereas the undocumented workers who were directly employed by the grower labored under relatively good conditions. b) The Imperial Nurseries case, in which workers from Guatemala were brought in on H-2B visas by a labor broker (Pro Tree Forestry Services) to work for one of the largest plant nurseries (Imperial) in the Northeast. This case demonstrates that there can be good and bad brokers; and illustrates some of the "tipping points" for when brokering creates forced labor. It shows the ways in which the H-2B program itself creates vulnerability to forced labor and incentivizes the trafficking of workers on H-2B visas into sectors outside of that guest-worker program (such as traditional agriculture). This case also demonstrates the ways in which H-2B workers, especially those that work under labor contractors, are more vulnerable to forced labor than undocumented workers, especially those that work directly for the employer. c) The Global Horizons case, in which H-2A workers from Thailand were trafficked to states across the United States to work in traditional agriculture. This case study shows the ways in which exploitive labor brokerage can become institutionalized in a large, formal, international firm operating in the first world, affecting over a thousand workers in this case. This case entailed extremely high levels of debt, with possible links between the international brokerage firm and moneylenders/recruiters in Thailand. Some workers lost their ancestral property due to their inability to pay back loans. Workers were treated very similarly in many states and in different types of agriculture, with the key factor contributing to their forced labor being the involvement of the Global Horizons brokerage firm, not only in their recruitment, but also in the management of their labor. d) The case of cattle/sheep herding guestworkers in the western United States, in which the employers, not the labor broker, directly subjected workers to forced labor. This case study shows the ways in which exploitive regulations created the vulnerability to forced labor of these workers, which was exploited by unscrupulous employers. The special provisions for H-2A sheepherders, which were written in coordination with the Western Range Association (WRA)4 , also create vulnerability by allowing workers to be on call 24 hours per day and to be brought in for up to three years at a time. In this case, workers’ extreme social and geographical isolation made their escape almost impossible and the employers used threats of deportation and violence to keep workers enslaved. The WRA creates vulnerability through the use of one exploitive recruiter in Peru and one in Chile, the alleged blacklisting of workers who complained, or the dismissal of these workers and their family members, resulting in their inability to pay back debt. Based on fieldwork and a literature review, Verité posits the following insights regarding labor brokers and the H- 2 guestworker system in the United States: • The greatest opportunity for forced labor occurs when the labor broker is also the money lender or manages the workers in the United States. • In many cases, undocumented workers in fact enjoy greater freedom of movement and better pay than legal H-2 visa holders, since undocumented workers can, in most cases, walk away from an abusive employer. • Some labor brokers in the United States, such as the Western Range Association, are unusually powerful, which leads to inconsistent US regulations that strongly favor employers and lead to labor abuses, for example, in forestry and cattle and sheepherding. • Using isolation as a parameter for forced labor requires a broader interpretation than is currently used. Workers can be isolated not only physically, but also by language, through threats, and also through psychological games played by labor brokers to keep workers in line. • The threat of deportation cannot be underestimated as a coercive tool for guestworkers, since most have incurred extensive debt to moneylenders in their home countries with no way to repay it unless they remain working in the United States. • To date, sending country and US governments have not shared available information regarding exploitative labor brokers abroad, which could greatly facilitate a more honest and equitable approach to migrant worker issues. • The number of labor inspectors in the United States is inadequate, leading to a lack of oversight, particularly for the H-2B program. • The separate agendas of US immigration and labor officials have tended to penalize farmworkers to the benefit of exploitative farm labor contractors. This can be seen in the inability of labor officials to enforce laws regarding H-2 workers and the emphasis on penalizing illegal workers, which has resulted in an erosion of trust in US law enforcement among the migrant worker community and a greater vulnerability for forced labor. • The involvement of drug traffickers in the human smuggling business has made border crossing much more dangerous and expensive for undocumented workers, with greater risk of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. • Employers demonstrate a low level of awareness of signs of forced labor among H-2 visa holders who work for a labor broker on their farms. Deeply felt family obligations (including the need to continue to send remittances to relatives in the country of origin) and lack of access to the federal social safety net often force immigrant workers to go to extraordinary lengths to remain employed, or to find new employment quickly. This pushes workers into dangerous working conditions. Section 1 of this report highlights the geography of production in the United States for agricultural products, forestry, and sheep, and examines major stakeholders' understanding of the problem. Section 2 provides an overview of the types of US migrant workers by legal status, type of visa, type of product, and country of origin; and the seasonality of work flows. In Section 3, the broker's role in the supply chain is highlighted, along with common broker practices. Section 4 provides an overview of the legal and regulatory environment for seasonal workers, and Section 5 shows the paths of entrapment and forced labor in recruitment, hiring, and transportation. Section 6 discusses on the job mechanisms of coercion and subjugation, while Section 7 provides four case studies which highlight specific labor broker profiles. Case studies, based on original Verité research, then highlight different types of broker-, employer-, and worker arrangements to pinpoint vulnerabilities to forced labor in the recruitment, hiring and employment system. Details: Amherst, MA: Verite, 2010. 145p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 21, 2016 at: https://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/HELP%20WANTED_A%20Verite%CC%81%20Report_Migrant%20Workers%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: https://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/HELP%20WANTED_A%20Verite%CC%81%20Report_Migrant%20Workers%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf Shelf Number: 140236 Keywords: Debt BondageForced Labor Immigrant Labor Immigrants Undocumented Immigrants Undocumented Laborers |
Author: Danwatch Title: Bitter Coffee: Slavery-like Working Conditions and Deadly Pesticides on Brazilian Coffee Plantations Summary: Brazil’s coffee industry has serious problems with working conditions that are analogous to slavery, life- threatening pesticides and scarce protective equipment. Danwatch has confronted the world’s largest coffee companies with the facts of these violations. Jacobs Douwe Egberts admits that it is possible that coffee from plantations with poor labour conditions ended up in their products, and coffee giant Nestlé acknowledges having purchased coffee from two plantations where authorities freed workers from conditions analogous to slavery in 2015. Debt bondage, child labour, deadly pesticides, a lack of protective equipment, and workers without contracts. Danwatch has been on assignment in Brazil and can prove that coffee workers in the world’s largest coffee-growing nation work under conditions that contravene both Brazilian law and international conventions. Danwatch has confronted some of the world’s largest coffee companies with the facts surrounding these illegal working conditions. Two coffee giants admit that coffee from plantations where working conditions resembled slavery according to the Brazilian authorities may have ended up in their supply chains. Details: Copenhagen, Denmark: Danwatch, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2017 at: https://www.danwatch.dk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Danwatch-Bitter-Coffee-MARCH-2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Brazil URL: https://www.danwatch.dk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Danwatch-Bitter-Coffee-MARCH-2016.pdf Shelf Number: 147292 Keywords: Child LaborCoffee IndustryDebt BondageModern Slavery |
Author: Australia. Parliament. Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Title: Modern slavery and global supply chains. Interim report Summary: With reference to the United Kingdom's Modern Slavery Act 2015 and to relevant findings from the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's report, Trading Lives: Modern Day Human Trafficking, the Committee shall examine whether Australia should adopt a comparable Modern Slavery Act. The Committee shall have particular regard to: 1 The nature and extent of modern slavery (including slavery, forced labour and wage exploitation, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, human trafficking, forced marriage and other slavery-like exploitation) both in Australia and globally; 2 The prevalence of modern slavery in the domestic and global supply chains of companies, businesses and organisations operating in Australia; 3 Identifying international best practice employed by governments, companies, businesses and organisations to prevent modern slavery in domestic and global supply chains, with a view to strengthening Australian legislation; 4 The implications for Australia's visa regime, and conformity with the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children regarding federal compensation for victims of modern slavery; 5 Provisions in the United Kingdom's legislation which have proven effective in addressing modern slavery, and whether similar or improved measures should be introduced in Australia; 6 Whether a Modern Slavery Act should be introduced in Australia; and 7 Any other related matters. Details: Canberra: The Committee, 2017. 81p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2017 at: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024092/toc_pdf/Modernslaveryandglobalsupplychains.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024092/toc_pdf/Modernslaveryandglobalsupplychains.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf Shelf Number: 147004 Keywords: Debt BondageDomestic WorkersForced LaborForced MarriageHuman TraffickingModern SlaverySupply ChaingsWage Exploitation |
Author: Australia. Parliament. Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Title: Hidden in Plain Sight: An inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia Summary: Slavery is one of the most appalling crimes in human history. Regrettably, the term 'modern slavery' reminds us that slavery and slavery-like practices are still prevalent around the world today, including here in Australia. Modern slavery is often 'hidden in plain sight'. These heinous crimes are present across a range of industries in Australia and in the global supply chains of businesses and organisations operating here. Latest estimates suggest that over 40 million people around the world, and 4 300 in Australia, are victims of some form of modern slavery, which includes human trafficking, slavery, debt bondage, forced labour and other slavery-like practices. In November 2016, the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade (Committee) sought the referral of this inquiry to investigate measures to better combat modern slavery in Australia and around the world. The Committee was very pleased when the Australian Government, through the Attorney-General, approved and provided a referral for this inquiry in February 2017. The inquiry particularly focussed on assessing the effectiveness of the United Kingdom's Modern Slavery Act 2015 (UK Act) and whether similar or improved measures could be introduced in Australia. During the inquiry, the Committee received 225 submissions and held 10 public hearings. The Committee heard from a range of dedicated individuals, businesses and organisations with an interest in eradicating modern slavery, including from within global supply chains. The Committee applauds the work being undertaken by these groups to tackle these terrible crimes. The Committee heard strong support for key elements of the UK Act, including from businesses. There was particular support for the establishment of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and the introduction of global supply chain reporting requirements. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government introduce similar measures here, with a range of improvements as outlined in this report. Specifically, the Committee recommends the establishment of an Australian Modern Slavery Act, including an Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to lead and coordinate Australia's response to combatting modern slavery. Evidence suggests that the UK Commissioner has made an important contribution to raising awareness of modern slavery, better coordinating UK law enforcement agencies and advocating for improved supports for victims. Details: Canberra: The Committee, 2017. 393p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 3, 2018 at: http://www.gla.gov.uk/media/3377/hiddeninplainsight-australian-modern-slavery-doc.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: http://www.gla.gov.uk/media/3377/hiddeninplainsight-australian-modern-slavery-doc.pdf Shelf Number: 150453 Keywords: Child TraffickingDebt BondageForced LaborHuman TraffickingModern SlaverySupply Chains |
Author: 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 |
Author: Polaris Project Title: On-Ramps, Intersections, and Exit Routes: A Roadmap for Systems and Industries to Prevent and Disrupt Human Trafficking Summary: Harold D'Souza hardly seemed like an obvious candidate for a five-figure bank loan. He had only just arrived from India, with a wife, two young boys, and a job offer that turned out to be fraudulent. Yet somehow, with just a few signatures on a few dotted lines, Harold walked out the door of a bank with what would have been a small fortune had he been allowed to access it. Of course, he wasn't. Every dime of that money went to the man who actually arranged for the loan - the trafficker. This was the same man who brought Harold to the United States with the promise of a high-paying professional job and instead forced him to work in a restaurant and live in a virtual prison of debt and desperation. Exactly how the trafficker managed to secure a loan of tens of thousands of dollars in the name of a newly arrived migrant worker with no verifiable source of income remains a mystery to Harold. Clearly though, it was not dumb luck. The trafficker knew exactly how to work within and around a highly regulated and legitimate industry - banking - to maximize the profit he made on Harold and his family. It was all part of his business plan. The man whose lies and manipulations robbed Harold of his freedom was not unique to his field. A successful trafficker, like any successful entrepreneur, begins with a business plan built on a platform of established business models and best practices. Over time, that plan is chiseled to perfection as the trafficker learns new skills and tests out innovative new ways to monetize the exploitation of human beings. As with any enterprise, the business plan of a human trafficking venture is not built in a vacuum but rather exists within an ecosystem or matrix, depending on and intersecting with a range of legitimate industries and systems - cultural, governmental, environmental. Examples are abundant. Traffickers use banks to store their earnings and buses to move their victims around; hotel rooms are integral to the operations of some sex traffickers, social media is a vital recruitment trawling ground for others. This report takes a magnifying glass to such private-sector intersections. The details matter. The more that is known about the business plans of human trafficking, the more possible it becomes to prevent and disrupt the crime and help survivors find freedom. The insights here are gleaned from those in a position to understand the nuances of each business intersection point - the survivors who lived the experience. They are not definitive scientific conclusions but rather valuable baseline narratives that can spark further exploration and collaboration from other sectors. Each set of insights is followed by detailed recommendations for turning them into action, industry by industry. Like the insights and information that precede them, these recommendations are also not intended to be definitive. They are a beginning; an invitation. What we have learned is only as valuable as the partners who join us in making the recommendations a reality - and by offering more of their own. This report builds upon Polaris's 2017 report, The Typology of Modern Slavery, which analyzed data, gleaned from nearly 10 years of operating the National Human Trafficking Hotline, to show that human trafficking in the United States consists of 25 distinct business models. For each, the Typology report illuminated the basic operational plan - the demographics of both victims and traffickers, and how victims are recruited and controlled. Details: Washington, DC: Polaris Project, 2018. 176p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed july 27, 2018 at: https://polarisproject.org/sites/default/files/A%20Roadmap%20for%20Systems%20and%20Industries%20to%20Prevent%20and%20Disrupt%20Human%20Trafficking.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://polarisproject.org/sites/default/files/A%20Roadmap%20for%20Systems%20and%20Industries%20to%20Prevent%20and%20Disrupt%20Human%20Trafficking.pdf Shelf Number: 150930 Keywords: Debt BondageHuman TraffickingModern SlaverySocial Media |