Forced Labour

The ILO treats it as work that is involuntary and backed by some penalty or threat. Indicators include retained identity papers, withheld wages, excessive recruitment fees that create debt, restricted movement, threats and abusive living conditions. It affects migrant workers in particular and appears in agriculture, fishing, construction, domestic work and manufacturing, including state-imposed forms. Work lawfully required of a convicted prisoner is generally outside the ILO definition, though some countries ban imports made with prison labour. Several countries ban imports of goods made with forced labour. Companies respond with supplier audits, worker voice channels, the Employer Pays Principle on recruitment fees and mapping of high-risk sourcing regions. Modern slavery is a wider term that includes trafficking and servitude. Customs authorities in some countries can detain shipments tied to it, which turns a labour problem into a stock and revenue problem.

A retailer’s audit of a seafood supplier finds that crew members have had their passports held by an agent and owe large recruitment debts. The retailer requires the supplier to return documents and repay the fees, funds a worker hotline, and pauses new orders until an independent check confirms conditions have changed.