Slavery, Servitude and Forced Compulsory Labour

What is Slavery, Servitude and Forced Compulsory Labour?

Modern slavery is defined as the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of children, women or men through the use of force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for purpose of exploitation.

Modern forms of slavery can include debt bondage, where a person is forced to work for free to pay off a debt, child slavery, forced marriage, domestic servitude and forced labour.

Figures suggest there could be 10,000 and 13,000 victims of slavery in the UK. About 3,000 children are thought to be working in cannabis farms and nail bars (BBC news). Many victims are told their families will be hurt if they leave.

Most modern slavery isn’t visible in the public. It takes place in homes and private farms. There have been examples of slavery, servitude and forced compulsory labour. One example is where a family was jailed for forced labour in Cardiff, as a man was forced to work for the a family for more than 20 years doing building work and road laying, whilst living in a garden shed with no heating or running water for part of it. Another example is where a man was jailed for holding his wife in domestic servitude, where the wife was tortured, forced to do all the chores, and was not allowed to leave home.

Modern slavery happens in the community, so it is important to know the signs that could indicate someone is a victim of this crime. The signs aren’t always obvious, but they may include:

• Looking scruffy, malnourished or injured
• Acting anxious, afraid or unable to make eye contact
• Long hours, wearing unsuitable clothing or have the wrong equipment for the job
• Living in overcrowded, poorly maintained housing or always have their windows cleaned
• Behave like they have been instructed by someone else, picked up/dropped off at the same time and place every day or don’t have access to money or identification.

Victims of slavery can be anyone, of any age, ethnicity and nationality. However, it is normally more prevalent among the most vulnerable or within minority or socially excluded groups and individuals.  Poverty is identified as driver for slavery, servitude and forced labour, with people in poverty having to borrow money and then being forced to work off the debt, losing control over their employment conditions and the debt.

“Forced or compulsory labour is all work or service that is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily” (International Labour Organization Forced Labour Convention (no.29), 1930)

Forced compulsory labour, also known as Labour Exploitation, is work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered themselves voluntarily. It is often seen in the UK in sectors characterised by low-skilled, low-paid labour and among flexible, temporary workers.

Forced Labour offences apply irrelevant of immigration status or entitlement to work. Some sectors are more frequently involved in forced labour, agriculture, food processing and packaging, construction, warehouses and logistics, hospitality and cleaning and manufacturing (sweatshops). To reduce the levels of Labour Exploitation, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority run a licence scheme for those involved in the fresh produce supply chain.

Domestic servitude is forced labour where the victim is usually expected to work around a person’s home every day and be on call 24 hours a day. Victims can be spouse/partner, family member or someone unrelated.