Is there a need for force?

Posted on 25 November 2011, 9:00

As economies worldwide struggle with national debts and the explosion of unemployment, 12 million people worldwide, according to the International Labour Office (ILO), are said to make their living under forced working conditions. We recently put together a report on forced labour and would like to share some insights.

Reported cases of forced labour and bad working conditions can be found worldwide. For example in 2007, Amnesty International reported the rescue of almost 700 people working under forced labour conditions in the sugar cane industry in Brazil. The ensuing public criticism led to the country’s efforts to improve working conditions. However, despite these positive steps there is still much room for improvement in labour conditions in Brazil.

Hence, it is essential for companies to keep their radars on for forced labour issues in their supply chains. For example, in the food industry multiple certification initiatives exist to help, such as Fairtrade or the Rainforest Alliance.

Fair labour
Trade agreements such as the one recently reported in the New York Times between USA, Colombia, Panama and South Korea could also have a positive impact on forced labour by putting in place mechanisms for improvement for companies in partner countries. While some of the commitments under the agreement are hard to enforce, the increased trade results in job opportunities and higher wages.

Furthermore, it is also encouraging to see people taking matters into their own hands. The successful ongoing Campaign for Fair Food by the US Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a well-known public campaign fighting for fair labour conditions – thereby addressing problems of extreme labour abuse on tomato farms – across several fast food chains in North America.

Given the plight of the economy worldwide and the high rate of unemployment, governments and organisations could, and should, find a way to make the jobs that are available more fair so people are not forced into them. Clearly, they want to work.