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Published: 12:28 AM, 03 March 2019

Modern slavery in Bangladesh!

M S Siddiqui

Slavery did not end from the earth with abolition in the 19th century. The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, proclaims: "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude;
slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms".

Now it has changed its forms and style. Present day slaves are women forced into prostitution,
men forced to work in agriculture or construction, children in sweatshops or girls forced to marry
older men. These victims are controlled by their exploiters and no longer have a free choice and
they have to do as they're told.

Slavery is defined by the 1926 Slavery Convention as "the status or condition of a person over
whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised". 'Modern
slavery' is used to define a range of exploitative practices including human trafficking, slavery,
forced labour, child labour, removal of organs and slavery-like practices.

Some of the more conspicuous ones are noticed in business supply chains, harboring,
deceptive recruiting, debt bondage, forced marriage, forced labour, trafficking and servitude,
among others. Modern slavery occurs "when a person is under control of another person, who
applies violence and force to maintain that control, and the goal of that control is exploitation".

The ILO's Forced Labour Convention (No. 29) of 1930 defines forced labor as, "all work or
service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the
said person has not offered himself voluntarily."The characteristics of forced labor are: (1) Non-
payment of minimum wages, (2) Partial or late payment of wages, (3) Unclear idea of wage rate,
(4) No freedom of movement, (5) Poor working conditions, (6) Resistance by employers and
labor authorities to recognize and register trade unions. Migrant workers recruited through
official agents or sent through illegal transfer often turn to human traffickers violating the
immigration laws of recipient countries and smuggle them into the desired country and become
forced labour.

Modern slavery is a broad term used to encompass the offences of slavery, servitude and
forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. Modern slavery is a complex and often
hidden crime that crosses borders, sectors and jurisdictions.

Modern slavery has been internationally recognized as an immediate and existent threat, and
has found a place in Goal 8 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Among the
objects of Goal 8 are to take effective measures to eradicate forced labour, child labour, human
trafficking, precarious working environments for all workers, and various other facets of modern
slavery.

The most common manifestations of modern slavery include sexual violence, the withholding of
passports and other documents, imposition of unjust financial penalties/fines, physical violence,
withholding of wages, being locked up in one's living/work quarters, threats against one's family,
deprivations of food/sleep, threat of legal action, coerced inebriation/intoxication, and so on.

Research by the International Organization for Migration identifies that "Migrants who reported
war, conflict or natural disasters as the main reason for leaving their places of origin are
predicted to be more vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking on the journey than
migrants who left for other reasons."

The entire is place of modern slavery from global value chains and industries -developed and
developing countries; stable states and fragile states; across all the continents5.

It is estimated that 45.8 million people are subject to some form of modern slavery in the world.
Globally about half of victims are in sectors of particular concern to international business: the
construction sector (18 per cent), manufacturing including garments (15 per cent)and agriculture
and fishing (11 per cent) sectors.

Asia and the Pacific regions account for over half of these people in forced labour globally,
according to estimates by the International Labour Organization (ILO). When South Asian
women and girls migrate for work in the domestic sector, many end up in forced labour,
exploited by employers and sometimes also local labour recruiters.
The sectors that exploit labors are hospitality and food-servicing, domestic work, wholesale and
trade, agriculture, forestry, fishing, manufacturing, construction, begging, mining and quarrying,
among others.

There are many incentives for supply chain end-buyers to exploit modern slavery as the
Consumer Goods Forum and ILO estimates that illicit revenues from forced labour stand at
$150 billion a year.

The Global Slavery Index's 2018 report reveals that over $125 billion of fashion garments
created via some form of modern slavery are imported annually to G20 countries. These
countries, which also account for 80 percent of world trade, include the United States, Australia,
Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

According to the Global Slavery Index 2018conducted by the Australia-based Walk Free
Foundation find that Bangladesh has negligence, bribery, lack of accountability and insufficient
government manpower for oversight are blamed for the slave-like treatment of workers in
various industries and households.

Bangladesh was ranked 92nd among 167 nations and 19th among 28 countries in the Asia-
Pacific region. A labour leader said, withholding of pay, longer shifts of up to 12-14 hours and
abusive treatment from management is very common in the factory but government was
reluctant to accept the findings.

As many as 592,000 people could be living in "modern slavery" in Bangladesh, a condition of

servitude broadly defined in a new global study as forced and state-imposed labour, sexual
servitude and forced marriage. The estimated proportion of population living in "modern slavery"
in Bangladesh is 3.67 per 1,000 people.

On April 24, 2013, the worst industrial disaster in Bangladesh's history when the Rana Plaza
building collapsed killing 1,134 workers and leaving hundreds severely injured. The Rana Plaza
tragedy is considered as the reality of labour exploitation and the issues of workplace safety and
labour rights in the garment sector in Bangladesh. In another incidence a deadliest factory fire
killed 112 at the Tazreen Fashions Factory. The lack of workplace safety indicates that labors in
Bangladesh are subject to modern slavery.
Bangladesh is the world's second largest exporter of ready-made garments after China. The
sector has many ethical issues like: Low wages, excessive overtime and workplace harassment
are common. Underlying this, is the inability of the workforce to represent themselves, articulate
their needs and defend their rights.

In February 2012, Bangladesh introduced a new national anti-trafficking law, the Human
Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act 2012. According to Section 3(1) of the Human
Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act 2012, "Human trafficking" means the selling or
buying, recruiting or receiving, deporting or transferring, sending or confining or harboring, either
inside or outside the territory of Bangladesh, of any person for the purpose of sexual exploitation
or oppression, labour exploitation or any other form of exploitation or oppression by means of:
(a) threat or use of force; or (b) deception, or abuse of his or her socio-economic or
environmental or other types of vulnerability; or (c) giving or receiving money or benefit to
procure the consent of a person having control over him or her."

The Overseas Employment and Migrants Act, 2013 passed to promote opportunities for
overseas employment and establish a safe and fair system of labour migration, to ensure rights
and welfare of migrant workers and members of their families.

Bangladesh authority should regulate the ethical recruitment, minimum wage, job contract and
tenure of job, freedom of movement, living condition, excessive overtime, health and safety risk
at work place and other in both home and abroad to control the modern slavery of Bangladesh
citizen.

The writer is a legal economist. Email: mssiddiqui2035@gmail.com