1.1.2a. Human Trafficking and Forced Labor

Extreme working environments, irregular and informal recruitment and hiring systems, poorly-regulated fishing and production practices, are some of the factors that increase the vulnerability of seafood workers to situations indicative of forced labor. As you continue through the module, you will find that many of the standards in Component 1.1 of the Monterey Framework will overlap with indicators for Forced Labor.

The risk of workers being trafficked is also high, owing to the nature of the work, and the immigration and employment status of many workers in this sector. 

What is Forced Labor?

“All work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which said person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.”

The ICLS Guidelines Concerning Measurement of Forced Labour, published in 2018, in conjunction with earlier guidance (e.g., Hard to See, Harder to Count) on indicators provided by the ILO, provide specific indicators which can contribute to conditions of involuntary work and threat or menace of penalty, the two primary components of forced labor.

The measurement of forced labor is not limited to the context of an employer‐employee relationship but also to other types of work relationships.

Tap on the bars for more information.

Menace of Penalty

Menace of any penalty refers to a wide range of penalties used to compel someone to work (ILO, 2018; see also Research on Indicators of Forced Labor in the Supply Chain of Tuna in the Philippines).

Coercion

• Debt bondage or manipulation of debt
• Withholding of valuable documents (such as identity documents or residence permits)
• Restrictions on workers’ movement
• Withholding of wages or other promised benefits
• (Threat of) supernatural retaliation
• Denunciation to authorities

Harassment and Abuse

• Threats
• Physical and psychological violence
• Deprivation of food, water, or other necessities
• Sexual violence
• Imprisonment
• Removal of rights and privileges

Fear of loss, harm to self or family

• Abuse of vulnerability
• Physical violence against worker or family or close associates

Involuntariness

Forced Labor is broken into three core Dimensions of Involuntariness:

Unfree recruitment

• Situations in which the worker must perform a job of different nature from that specified during recruitment without a person’s consent
• False promises
• Incomplete information about the job, company, and working/living conditions
• Physical abduction or kidnapping
• Life or work under duress

Excessive volume of work

• Degrading living conditions
• Limitations on freedom of movement
• Abusive requirements for overtime or on‐call work that were not previously agreed with the employer
• Work with very low or no wages
• Degrading living conditions imposed by the employer, recruiter, or other third‐party
• Psychological compulsion, i.e. an order to work, backed up by a credible threat of penalty for non-compliance

Impossibility of leaving the employer

• Leaving entails a penalty or risk to the worker
• Work with no or limited freedom to terminate work contract

Below is a representation of the relationship between involuntariness and menace of penalty, which makes it difficult for the worker to leave even when the work situation becomes unbearable.

It is the interaction of these factors, and it is the presence of both elements that create an environment that puts workers at risk.

Below is guidance on assessing indicators for Forced Labor.

Guidance

• There are no indicators of forced labor violations or evidence of debt bondage in the fishery/farm/facility;

• Workers are permitted to leave the farm, facility, or the vessel when in port; 

• Workers are not required to pay a deposit at the beginning of employment to prevent them from absconding;

• Workers have the legal right to work and proper documentation/visas;

• The fishery/farm/facility only uses legally registered recruiters; 

• The fishery/farm/facility has a mitigation policy in place and decent systems to monitor its own performance;

• The fishery/farm/facility has adopted a relevant policy;

• Workers are paid at least monthly;

• Overtime hours are voluntary and follow legal requirements;

• The fishery/farm/facility has a system in place to monitor its own performance on recruitment and labor practice, and the performance and compliance of labor recruiters;

• Prior to migration, workers have written contracts in a language they understand so that their rights and terms of recruitment and employment are clearly understood;

• Workers do not pay any recruitment fees (document/visa/passport fees excluded).

Additional Information

Freedom of Movement

• No other coercive means are used to restrict migrant workers’ freedom of movement or personal freedom, including confiscation of personal documents, levying of financial penalties or security deposits, or use of deception in wage payment and deductions. (Also applicable to vessel workers.)
• Migrant workers are free to return to their home country during paid leave, without any penalty, or threat of termination. (Also applicable to vessel workers.)
• Vessel-based
  • Workers have the right to repatriation at no cost to themselves when their employment agreement expires; in the event of illness or injury; or in the event of ship-wreck or foundering.
  • Workers are allowed access to port on a regular basis.
• Land-based/Small-scale fishing communities
  • Workers enjoy reasonable freedom of movement within their work and living environments. Any legitimate constraints on off premises movement (for example, for valid personal safety or security concerns) are specified prior to the signing of the employment contract.
  • The presence of security personnel or other security measures in the workplace, in employer- or recruiter-provided housing, or arranged residences are not used as a means to restrict worker freedom of movement.

Policy Requirements

The policies of the organization should explicitly prohibit all forms of forced labor and human trafficking, and should set out specific protections for foreign workers in accordance with applicable legal, customer, and industry good practice ethical recruitment requirements.

At a minimum, the facility should implement a policy that covers the following topics:

• Forced or Involuntary Labor
• Employer Responsibility for Recruitment Fees and Expenses
• Third Party Labor Agents
• Contracts of Employment
• Foreign Workers’ Legal Status
• Prohibition on Identity Document Retention
• Prohibition on Deposits, unless legally required
• Workplace Equality
• Legal Provision of Wages and Benefits
• Working Hours (Voluntary Nature of Overtime and Limitations)
• Freedom of Movement
• Fair Treatment (Harassment, Abuse, and Discipline)
• Grievance Procedures
• Freedom of Association

As recommended in the third Dhaka Principle, “Migrant workers’ rights should be explicitly referred to in employer and migrant recruiter public human rights policy statements, relevant operational policies, and procedures addressing human rights responsibilities.”

No Deposits

• Workers are not asked to pay a deposit in conjunction with their employment unless legally required. If a deposit is legally required, a process is in place to ensure the worker is provided with a receipt and receives the deposit in full when due, no later than one month after employment.

• The company policies strictly prohibit the collection of monetary deposits or security payments.

• The company, or subcontractor acting on its behalf, withholds portions of workers’ pay only where it is legally required.

• In those cases, where workers have opted to participate in voluntary savings schemes facilitated by their employer, such workers have unhindered access to and full control over all savings and monies owed.

Recruitment Fees

• The company has a written policy declaring that workers shall not pay any amount to secure a job with the company or with a supplier or subcontractor.

• The employer covers all recruitment and processing fees, costs, and expenses, including those associated with securing identity cards, medical certificates and examinations, skills testing, and travel from the worker’s home to the location of employment.

• To continue workers’ employment at the facility, the employer should also cover all fees and expenses such as a stamping fee, passport renewal, and local ID renewal, among others.

• Should workers be found to have incurred any costs during their recruitment outside of local travel from their hometown to the site of recruitment, the facility should take action to ensure that workers are fully reimbursed for these costs within a period of thirty days.

Labor Agent Management

• Policies and procedures on conducting due diligence should be in place before engaging with any new labor agents. Alternatively, employers may work with existing local agents to cascade due diligence requirements to their foreign counterparts.

• Due diligence policies should include agents’ ability to comply with internationally recognized requirements on forced labor, especially with regard to fee payments, contract signing, and other indicators of deception and bonded labor during recruitment.

• Due diligence should also incorporate agents’ ability to meet customers’ ethical recruitment and hiring requirements.

Sample questions when assessing the  against the standard

• Can you describe the process of hiring workers? Please provide explanation for hiring different categories of worker, i.e., directly employed, outsourced, etc.

• Are workers charged any recruitment-related fees or costs? 

• Do all workers have the required documentation, passports, and visas to work legally? 

• Do workers sign a written contract or agreements at the beginning of employment detailing their rights and terms of employment (i.e., payment schedule and rate, overtime policy, etc.)?

• Can workers terminate their employment without penalty, in accordance with law?

If you would like an additional open resource, this link will take you to the ILO Indicators of Forced Labour.

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Applying What You Learned

Case Study Assessment

Instructions: Read the case study below and answer the questions that follow.

Cecilio, a fisher, applied for work on a Taiwanese fishing vessel. He was interviewed by Ms. Emma, a Taiwanese national, in a residential unit inside a gated village in the worker’s origin country. Ms. Emma processed job applications for fishing vessels in Taiwan. After the interview, Cecilio was asked to pay USD 1,500 for placement fee, so his papers would be processed. In order to pay for the placement fee and to cover other expenses, Cecilio borrowed USD 1,600 from a loan agency recommended by the recruiter. According to the terms of the loan, Cecilio would be given a year to settle the debt through monthly deductions from his salary.

After Cecilio passed the initial screening and paid the placement fee, his papers were forwarded by Ms. Emma to the recruitment agency which processed Cecilio’s papers and work visa. Cecilio never went to the agency office. He, together with five other fishers, signed the contract and other documents in the same house where they were interviewed. Cecilio also said he did not fully understand the contents of the documents as they were in English and Chinese.

In Taiwan, Cecilio was assigned to work on a distant water fishing (DWF) vessel and spent the entire first year of employment at sea, save for brief stops in various fish ports. Their fishing grounds were typically in the Indian Ocean, but sometimes they reached the coast of Africa and South America. Aside from homesickness and feelings of isolation, Cecilio had difficulty adjusting to the work itself. Their work hours were not fixed, and the crew was expected to work everyday, with no holidays or rest days. Though some days were slow, when there wasn’t much fish to catch, there was always something on the vessel for them to work on. The sleeping situation also needed adjusting to — the sleeping quarters were cramped, and workers took turns sleeping on old mattresses, some of which had bedbugs. The food was limited too, so Cecilio followed the advice of his fellow crew members and bought canned food during the few times they were allowed to leave the vessel.

Throughout the duration of his employment, he and his fellow migrant fishers were only given USD 50 per month. A portion of their wage was withheld for savings which they could get back only at the end of the contract, while the rest was wired back home to pay the lending agency and the remaining amount went to a family member designated to receive their monthly pay. No pay slip was ever provided to them. When they approached their captain for a record of their pay, they were told that the Taiwanese broker processed their wages and was responsible for remitting the money home. When they asked the broker, during a short layover in Kaohsiung, the broker told them all records are with the agency in the origin country, and that they should just focus on work, follow the captain’s orders, or else their wages would not be sent home to their families.