A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour - International Labour ...

A GLOBAL ALLIANCE AGAINST FORCED LABOURMajor destinations for trafficking for forced prostitutionfrom Indonesia and the Philippines includeAustralia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, the Republicof Korea and Taiwan, China.248. Japan is a major destination country fortrafficked victims of sexual exploitation from allover the world. 127 Most have come from South-EastAsia, Latin America and recently also from easternEurope. Though illegal, prostitution is provided in“restricted sex-related business”. Powerful organizedcrime groups control the sex industry, and are alsoat the centre of human trafficking. ILO research hasshed light on the recruitment mechanisms and formsof coercion involved, in which victims have often respondedto seemingly legitimate job offers only to bedeceived about the real nature of their expected activities.Japan has recently embarked on a series of measuresto eradicate such exploitation, including strictenforcement of the rules for entertainment visas, financialassistance for victims to return home, and intensifiedcooperation with origin countries.Economic sectors, recruitment systemsand profits involvedEconomic sectors249. Rigorous work on the demand aspects ofhuman trafficking, including the economic sectorsand the profits involved, is still badly lacking.Labour shortages in particular sectors or areas in thedestination countries are one obvious factor behindthe growth in irregular migration. Other “pull” factorsinclude the existence of an undeclared informaleconomy where such migrants can easily find work.The instability of the jobs on offer can be a furtherexplanation. The trend towards subcontracting, withcomplex and often unregulated chains, is also a relevantfactor. Subcontracting can provide recourse to aflexible and cheap labour force without direct involvementin irregular employment practices. 128250. Most trafficked forced labour affects personsworking at the margins of the formal economy, withirregular employment or migration status. The sectorsmost frequently mentioned are agriculture orhorticulture, construction, garments and textilesunder sweatshop conditions, catering and restaurants,domestic work, entertainment and, of course,the sex industry. The more research is done, however,the more evident it is that coercive recruitment andemployment practices can affect migrant workers inother quite mainstream economic sectors, includingfood processing, health care and contract cleaning,mainly in private but also in public sector employment,such as the provision of health-care services.251. Much agricultural production has alwaysdepended on temporary labour during the harvestseason. Substandard housing and excessive workinghours have been longstanding problems. The bulk ofthe seasonal workforce is now comprised of migrants,some of them of irregular status, others comingunder seasonal work schemes negotiated betweengovernments and employers. Complex contractingand subcontracting chains are also a major feature,for example in the horticultural and food processingindustries. Changing consumer tastes, leading to anincreased demand from retailers for a year-roundsupply of much produce, have certainly had theirimpact on labour market trends. Groups of workerscan be required at short notice to work intensively forvery short periods. And with tremendous competitionover costs, there is a real risk that unscrupulouscompanies at the bottom of the supply chain can useforced labour.252. A feature of agricultural forced labour is that,at the upper end of these contracting chains, majorproduction and retail companies can be affected. Inthe United States, some of the farm labour contractorsaccused of coercive practices have supplied labourfor some of the largest citrus growers in the country.In the United Kingdom, major supermarkets havehad their reputations tainted by alleged links withcoercive gangmasters. This has led to concerns by employergroups to tackle the problem, either throughregulation or through seasonal work schemes to meetthe demand for temporary agricultural labour. Thespecial schemes themselves have been criticized, eitheron the grounds that applicants have to pay foraccess to such schemes, or because workers can be unlawfullyhired out to others by the company to whichthey have been supplied. But the schemes generallyprovide for some monitoring of working conditions,and thus build in a degree of protection against forcedlabour practices.253. The construction industry also displays characteristicsthat contribute to a demand for cheap andflexible labour. The major companies have either becomeinternational conglomerates or reduced theirlabour force through extensive outsourcing. Thus,the industry now tends to be organized aroundsmall and medium-sized companies that subcontractthrough a chain of multiple units. Large projectscan also be carried out by companies registeredoverseas, whose employment practices reflect conditionsin the home country, while labour contractorsplay an increasing role in hiring out short-termworkers to the companies. Construction cannot berelocated, and is notoriously subject to boom-andbusttrends. It also involves arduous and potentiallydangerous work, in which the small operator can127. The IOM estimates the number of foreign sex workers at 150,000. See: Traffi cking in Migrants: Quarterly Bulletin, No. 15, June 1997.128. For a review of these issues in Europe, see: G. Van Liemt: Human traffi cking in Europe: An economic perspective, Special Action Programmeto Combat Forced Labour, DECLARATION Working Paper No. 31 (Geneva, ILO, 2004).52