Report on Forced Labour by ILO

A recent report on forced labour by the International Labour Organization (ILO) found that forced labour generates illegal profits worth $36 billion per year, which increased by 37% in the past 10 years.

Key Findings of the Study:

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) released the report “Profits and Poverty: The Economics of forced labour”.
• Surveys have been conducted among workers, including Indian workers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
• It found that forced labour generates illegal profits worth $36 billion per year.
• This is an increase of 37% of such illegal profits since 2014, which is fueled by a growth in the number of people forced into labour, and higher profits generated from the exploitation.
• The report also estimates that traffickers and criminals generate close to $10,000 per victim, up from $8,269 (adjusted for inflation) a decade ago.
• Total annual illegal profits from forced labour are highest in Europe and Central Asia ($84 billion).
• This is followed by Asia and Pacific ($62 billion), the Americas ($52 billion), Africa ($20 billion), and the Arab States (US$18 billion).
• The forced commercial sexual exploitation accounts for 73% of the total illegal profits, despite accounting for only 27% of the total number of victims in privately imposed labour.
• This is followed by forced labour industry (US$35 billion), services (US$20.8 billion), agriculture (US$5.0 billion), and domestic work (US$2.6 billion).
• These illegal profits are the wages that rightfully belong in the pockets of workers but instead remain in the hands of their exploiters, as a result of their coercive practices.
• There were 27.6 million people engaged in forced labour in 2021, meaning 3.5 people for every 1,000 people in the world.
• Between 2016 and 2021, the number of people in forced labour increased by 2.7 million.

Key Recommendations of the Report:

• Forced labour perpetuates cycles of poverty and exploitation and strikes at the heart of human dignity.
• The report stresses on urgent need for investment in enforcement measures to stem illegal profit flows and hold perpetrators accountable.
• There is a need to strengthen legal frameworks, training for enforcement officials for labour inspection into high-risk sectors, and coordination between labour and criminal law.
• Enforcement actions must be part of a comprehensive approach that prioritizes addressing root causes and safeguarding victims.
• Fair recruitment processes should be promoted, given that forced labour cases can often be traced back to recruitment abuses.
• There is also the presence of unlawful recruitment fees and costs as a source of illegal profit from forced labour.
• The freedom of workers must be ensured as to associate and bargain collectively is also essential to building resilience to the risks of forced labour.

About International Labour Organization (ILO):

• It is a tripartite United Nations agency founded in 1919 under the League of Nations, as one of the first and oldest specialized agencies of the UN.
• Its mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards.
• It was a part of the Treaty of Versailles– that ended World War I, to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it is based on social justice.
• The ILO has 187 member states including 186 out of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands.
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with around 40 field offices around the world.
• ILO brings together governments, employers and workers to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
• The main aims of the ILO are to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues.

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