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Contributions from
the Column
Studies and reports
Poor outlook for transatlantic policy
Forced labour: the underside of globalisation
Military budgets: ploughshares into swords
The legitimacy of international taxation
Food aid: local purchases more cost efficient
06/2005 |
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[ Forced labour ]
“The underside of globalisation”
Around the world, at least 12.3 million people are trapped in forced labour, the International Labour Office (ILO) states in a new study. ILO Director-General Juan Somavia calles forced labour “a social evil which has no place in the modern world”. The report, entitled “A global alliance against forced labour”, says that nearly 10 million people are exploited through forced labour in private businesses. Of these, the study estimates a minimum of 2.4 million to be victims of human trafficking.
The report also provides the first global estimate of the profits generated by the exploitation of trafficked women, children and men – US$ 32 billion each year, or an average of US$ 13,000 from every single trafficked forced labourer. “Forced labour represents the underside of globalisation and denies people their basic rights and dignity,” according to Somavia. “To achieve a fair globalisation and decent work for all, it is imperative to eradicate forced labour.”
The study confirms that forced labour is present in all regions and in all types of economy. Of the overall total, some 9.5 million forced labourers are in Asia, which is the region with the highest number; 1.3 million in Latin America and the Caribbean; 660,000 in sub-Saharan Africa; 260,000 in the Middle East and Northern Africa; 360,000 in industrialised countries; and 210,000 in transition countries.
Forced economic exploitation in such sectors as agriculture, construction, brick-making and informal sweatshop manufacturing is more or less evenly divided between the sexes. However, forced commercial sexual exploitation entraps almost entirely women and girls. In addition, children aged less than 18 years bear a heavy burden, comprising 40 to 50 per cent of all forced labour victims.
Most forced labour today is still exacted in developing countries where older forms of forced labour are sometimes transmuting into newer ones, notably in a range of informal sector activities, the report says. Debt bondage frequently affects minorities – including indigenous peoples – that have long experienced discrimination on the labour market. Many victims are working in remote geographical areas, where labour inspection presents a particular challenge.
The report sheds new light on the emerging forms of forced labour affecting migrant workers, in particular irregular migrants in rich and poor destination countries alike. It also examines the labour market conditions under which forced labour is most likely to occur. This is the case wherever there are inadequate controls over recruitment agencies and subcontracting systems, or weak labour inspection. The appearance of new forms of coercion in today’s globalised economy also raises some difficult policy questions. The report examines the strong pressures to deregulate labour markets as part of the overall drive to reduce labour costs and thereby increase competitiveness.
The report makes the case that forced labour can be abolished, but only if governments and national institutions pursue active polices and vigorous enforcement. “Although the numbers are large, they are not so large as to make abolishing forced labour impossible,” Somavia says. “Thus, the ILO calls for a global alliance against forced labour involving governments, employers’ and workers’ organisations, development agencies and international financial institutions concerned with poverty reduction, and civil society including research and academic institutions. With political will and global commitment over the next decade, we believe forced labour can be relegated to history.” (ILO)
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