Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, ‎pdf 4.1 MB

with new skills, which will make it easier for them to find employment and
restart their lives. Links established between unions in sending and receiving
countries can facilitate the reintegration of migrant workers, creating a
continuing support structure on which they can draw when they return
home.
5.5.2. Employers’ organizations
Employers’ organizations are equally important players in the efforts to
eliminate forced labour. With support from the International Organisation
of Employers (IOE), business actors have become progressively engaged in
action against forced labour. The 2008 ILO handbook for employers and
business on combating forced labour sets out guiding principles for action,
and also provides practical advice on ways to remedy problems. 17
In the Middle East, employers’ organizations could lobby for the elimination
of forced labour; engage in tripartite dialogue on the issue, providing advice on
legislation and encouraging governments to take measures to tackle the issue of
human trafficking and forced labour; assist member companies in understanding
national issues to enable them to be more involved in addressing that specific
country’s legal and regulatory requirements: encourage members to be more
aware of the policies of their suppliers; and provide a platform for members to
discuss and share issues of interest, challenges and successes. 18
Companies operating in the Middle East are obliged to comply with the specific
national legislation to combat trafficking and national provisions prohibiting
forced labour applying in each country. Legally, employers are responsible for
their own hiring and employment practices. However, businesses are inextricably
linked in supply chains, and those firms that are closer to the consumer are
increasingly demanding that their suppliers respect certain standards. Many
international buyers will now purchase only from businesses that respect and
can provide proof of their observance of specific criteria, including the non-use
of forced labour. 19
Employers’ organizations could help companies to ensure that recruitment
practices are free from debt bondage, excessive recruitment fees and other
forms of deception and coercion. To that end, the ILO can support more indepth
research and case studies on recruitment systems in the Middle East,
examining the factors that contribute to forced labour and human trafficking,
and formulating recommendations on means by which employers can prevent
17
ILO: Combating forced labour: A handbook for employers and business (Geneva, Special
Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour, 2008).
18
IOE: Forced labour: Why it is an issue for employers, Sep. 2010, p. 8.
19
Ibid., p. 4.
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