Trafficking is taking place right here in the UK

Many people moving abroad looking for work are finding themselves trafficked into forced and exploitative labour, including in the United Kingdom.

We are calling on the UK Government to help end the trafficking and exploitation of migrant workers.

Background information on Trafficking in the UK

There are an estimated 120 million migrant workers and family members in the world today according to the International Labour Organization. This number is growing as more migrants are forced to look for work abroad as a means of survival, but also because lower birth rates and longer life expectancies in developed countries means there is an increased demand for migrant workers. The International Organization for Migration estimates that the 15 European Union states will need 68 million more foreign workers by 2050 just to stabalise their existing workforce.

FACT: Migrants in the UK contributed some £2.5 billion more in taxes than they used in benefits in 1999-2000 (Home Office). It is estimated that the UK will need up to 1.2 million migrant workers, many unskilled, in the next few years, just to replace workers entering retirement.

However, governments are reluctant to acknowledge their dependency on migrant workers and many are actually making their immigration policies more restrictive. This reduces the opportunities for regular migration and makes migrants more vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking.

Traffickers use a range of methods to control migrant workers including coercion, deception, debt bondage and confiscation of passports in order to force them to accept exploitative conditions in industries like agriculture, construction, catering or domestic work.

Both migrants with and without the right to work are at risk of labour and human rights violations, including in the UK.

FACT: An average of 49 per cent of migrant domestic workers registered with support organisation Kalayaan, had their passports taken by their employers.

Examples

Some gangmasters in Sussex charge migrant workers up to £2,000 for bringing them into the UK and arranging agricultural work for them illicitly. This is paid back, often at inflated interest, out of the workers' wages, along with deductions for rent, transport charges and other items. This leaves the workers with little choice but to continue to work to pay off their debt, in harsh conditions including long hours and even physical violence (Transport and General Workers Union, 2000).

The public service union, UNISON, supports nurses from countries like the Philippines, South Africa and India, who work in private care homes in the UK. UNISON documented cases where these workers were charged up to £2,000 by agencies in countries of origin just to be put forward for work in the UK. Others were told that they must work for at least two years or pay a 'fine' of up to £7,000. They often have to work long hours, receive less pay than was promised, and are housed in appalling conditions (TUC report, 2003).

Leela's story

Leela (not her real name) arrived in the UK from India with her employer to work as a domestic in their home in west London. She was forced to work from 6.30am to 11.30pm without any time off apart from one hour each Sunday to attend church. Leela's employers locked her into the house when they went out to prevent her from leaving.

Leela was forced to sleep on the floor in the kitchen and subjected to constant verbal abuse. Her employers also took her passport and told her that if she left her job she would be deported back to India.

Leela was told that she would receive £150 per week while working in the UK. In reality her employers only agreed to pay her £75 per month which they claimed that they were sending to an account in India. However, Leela was not sure if any money was paid into that account.

Leela managed to escape after six months and went to Kalayaan, an organisation set up to assist migrant domestic workers.

FACT: The UK has not signed the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (1990) and there is no law against trafficking people for forced labour in the UK.