Global Trade Union Alliance to Combat Forced Labour and

Trafficking

ITUCHuman and Trade Union Rights Department

Trafficking for forced labour and labour exploitation – Cooperation between NGOs and trade unions, 13-15 October 2009, Bucharest, Romania

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Overview of forced labourThe ILO’s minimum estimate of the number of forced labourers is 12.3 million.

- Children are considered to make up between 40-50 per cent of victims.

- It is a global problem affecting all regions and most countries in the world.

- The minimum number of people in forced labour as a result of trafficking at any one time is 2.45 million (counted in region of destination).

- Some 20% of all forced labourers are trafficked, but there are big regional variations (e.g. in the Middle East and North Africa, trafficking accounts for more than 75% of forced labour.

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Forced labour tends to occur in labour intensive Forced labour tends to occur in labour intensive and/or under-regulated industries, particularly:and/or under-regulated industries, particularly:

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•Agriculture and fishingAgriculture and fishing •Domestic workDomestic work

•Construction, mining, quarrying and brick kilns Construction, mining, quarrying and brick kilns

•Manufacturing, processing and packagingManufacturing, processing and packaging

•Prostitution and sexual exploitationProstitution and sexual exploitation

•Market trading and illegal activities (begging)Market trading and illegal activities (begging)

ILO C29

• 173 states have ratified ILO Convention No.29. Those which have not have all, except China, ratified the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 8 prohibits forced or compulsory labour).

• This reflects a decline in the use of forced labour by the State and a consensus that forced labour is not acceptable.

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• The way in which forced labour is used is constantly changing. After the abolition of slavery, formal ownership was no longer needed as forced labour continued through debt bondage, serfdom, indentured labour, conscription, etc.

• Forced labour continues to manifest itself in new forms. Private agents use a variety of coercive mechanisms to ensure access to a ready supply of cheap or even free labour.

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Regional distribution of trafficked forced labourers

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Profits

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Definition of Forced Labour ILO C29

all work or service which is exacted from any person

- under the menace of any penalty and

- for which the said person has not offered him- or herself voluntarily

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Menace of a penalty and lack of consent

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UN Definition trafficking in persons Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in

Persons, especially women and children which supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime

Article 3 - Use of terms - For the purposes of this Protocol:• (a) “Trafficking in persons” shall mean

• the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons,

• by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person,

•for the purpose of exploitation.

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Smuggling of Migrants• material benefit –usually financial- received for

getting a person into a country illegally

• does not necessarily involve exploitation

• is a consensual relationship between the person to be transported and the person from whom the transportation is being purchased

• involves crossing an international border

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Cooperation between TUs and NGOs

• Monitoring• Social dialogue• Campaigning• Research• Training and education• Cooperation and networking• Outreach and organising

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Monitoring

• Labour conditions– Employers– Employment agencies– Supply chains

• Use and feed ILO, UNHCHR, WTO supervisory mechanisms

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Promotion of ratification, advising on and monitoring of effective implementation of

relevant ILO and other Conventions– Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (N°29)– Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957

(N°105)– Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (N°81) – Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969

(N°129) – Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997

(N°181) – Migration for Employment Convention (Revised),

1949 (N°97) – Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions)

Convention, 1975 (N°143)– Domestic Workers’ Convention, ILC, 2010

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Addressing forced labour and trafficking bipartite and tripartite negotiations

and agreements

• Collective Bargaining Agreements

• International Framework agreements– ICEM/IMF-Umicore

• Codes of conduct

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Identification, documentation and public exposure of forced labour issues and cases

• Research, data gathering– Identify number of victims

• women• Children• Race/caste• Migrant (undocumented)

– Where?• Sector• Formal/informal• Region/country/area

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Awareness raising

• aimed at – trade union members– officials

• ITF World Cup 2006• Targeted public awareness

campaigns

– Deceptive recruitment practices, risk of exploitation

• SBSI, Indonesia– Labour rights

• DEOK, Cyprus• UGT, Spain

– Produce camapigning and advocacy materials

• ICTU, Ireland• Use (trade unions’) mass media

and existing infrastructure for the dissemination of information materials

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Training

• Education campaigns on how to recognise forced labour and humantrafficking and how to assist victims

• Develop training materials for: – Staff

• TUC, UK “Slave and forced labour in the twenty-first century” A Fact File, designed to stimulate and inform debate about the slave trade and forced labour. It is ideal for trade unionists interested in the issues that surround slavery and forced labour, and with activities linked to informative fact sheets can serve as a both an education and campaign tool.

– Membership

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Networking (bilateral, regional, global)

• Share research and data • forced labour section in ITUC web site

– Good practice– activities

• active mailing list– Exchange experiences– Exchange knowledge

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Cooperation• Partnership agreements

• Exchange of staff between sending and receiving countries

– Bilateral • BNS, Romania-ACFTU, China• LBAS, Latvia-LO, Sweden• CNTS, Senegal-CGTM, Mauritania• CTRN, Costa-Rica-CST, Nicaragua• MTUC, Malaysia-ITUC, Indonesia

– Sectoral• TEHY, Union of Health and Care Services, Finland-UNISON, Public

Services Union, UK– Regional/international

• ITUC• GUFs

– UNI – IUF

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Cooperation• Cooperation with labour inspection services, other

relevant national, regional or international authorities or interagency working groups. Participation in inter-agency commissions against forced labour and trafficking– Philippines Overseas Employment Administration has a

tripartite governing board:• Secretary of Labour and Employment• TUC Philippines• Association of Private Recruitment Agencies

• Alliances or coalitions with civil society organisations having recognised expertise and experience in relevant areas

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Outreach and direct support

• Organise!– Informal workers– Unprotected workers (women domestic workers)– Migrant workers

• Recruit foreign staff members• Exchanges staff with unions in sending/receiving countries

– Target high risk sectors (GUFs)• Construction• Textile• Agriculture• Ship breaking and fisheries• …

– GFBTU, Bahrain-BWI, Building and Wood Workers’ Int.

• Address specific situations and needs (targeted action)– The TUC, UK launched a new Polish website to support the increasing number of Polish workers in

the UK. The website http://www.pracawbrytanii.org - run by the TUC in partnership with Citizens Advice and Solidarnosc, Poland - explains the rights workers can expect at work, from the minimum wage and working time to holiday entitlement and sick pay; information about social issues such as housing and health; and guidance about what living and working in the UK is really like.

– Legal assistance• Integrate and represent vulnerable workers

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Internet Resources• ITUC

– http://www.ituc-csi.org/forcedlabour – Mini guide– Newsletter– Video trailer– Best practices

• ILO– http://www.ilo.org/sapfl/lang--en/index.htm

• FTUB-Burma (Thailand)– http://www.ftub.org/

• TUC-UK– http://www.tuc.org.uk/extras/slaveryfactfile.pdf

• ICTU-Ireland– http://www.ictuglobalsolidarity.org/uploads/forced%20labour.pdf

• GEFONT-Nepal– http://www.gefont.org/research/kamaiya/html/preface.htm

• UGT-Spain– http://www.ugt.es/campanas/doccampana.html

• ITF-Global– http://www.itfglobal.org/campaigns/traffickingstate.cfm

• World Forced Labour Map – http://www.ictur.org/Maps.htm

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