Forced Labour and Migration to the UK

Report written by Bridget Anderson and Ben Rogaly (University of Sussex) in collaboration with Trades Union Congress (TUC).

The disaster in which 21 Chinese migrants died picking cockles in the treacherous tides off Morecambe Bay in February 2004 has led to increased public awareness of the abusive employment relations and poor living conditions of many migrants working in the United Kingdom. Press coverage of these issues can adopt a very mixed tone. On the one hand the migrants involved are depicted as ‘victims’ working in Dickensian conditions; the employers and ubiquitous gangmasters as morally reprehensible and, more often than not, foreign. On the other hand migrants are also frequently portrayed as persons benefiting from undeserved opportunities.

However, this short exploratory report offers a new framework with which we might begin to discuss the problem of super-exploitation in the workplace, particularly that which affects migrant workers. The report begins by answering questions such as What are the indicators of forced labour? and Why do people become vulnerable to forced labour? Focussing on four sectors - agriculture, construction, care workers and contract cleaning - the report highlights issues such as health and safety, accommodation and subcontracting. A key finding is that future discussion must begin to separate the control of immigration and the protection of workers rights.

To download the full report published by the TUC click here.

To read the TUC press release click here.