Getting at the Roots. Stopping Exploitation of Migrant Workers by Organized Crime
- Document number
- 1076
- Date
- 2002
- Title
- Getting at the Roots. Stopping Exploitation of Migrant Workers by Organized Crime
- Author/publisher
- Patrick A. Taran, Gloria Moreno-Fontes, International Labour Organization (ILO)
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- Research/Study/Analysis,
- Keywords
- Sexual exploitation, Labour exploitation, Domestic labour, Exploitation, Debt bondage, Trafficking forms, Migrant rights,
- Summary
- International symposium the UN convention against transnational organized crime: requirements for effective implementation, Turin, Italy 22-23 February 2002: This contribution presents ILO perspective and experience in combating exploitation of migrant workers by organized crime in its broader labour migration and regulatory context. It outlines labour migration demand and push factors, describes incentives for trafficking arising from absence of regular migration channels, offers specific examples of migrant abuse, and presents proposals for comprehensive migration measures to combat trafficking and reduce underlying pressures. The first section summarizes powerful ‘market pressures’ reflected in demand and push factors driving migration, namely continuing demands in both Western industrialized countries and emerging economies for cheap, low-skilled labour, in such sectors as agriculture, food processing, construction, domestic help, labour-intensive manufacturing, home health care, and other sectors, often involving dirty, dangerous and degrading jobs. The increasing ‘crisis of security’ resulting in many societies as an aspect of globalization is cited in describing increasing pressures for emigration. Related push factors include disappearance of traditional industry, loss of agricultural compeditivity, elimination of jobs and subsidies by structural adjustment, and resulting increased poverty. The second section notes that immigration restrictions in many situations have inhibited regular labour migration to meet measurable labour demands. Given these demands, employers and migrants are willing to pay increasingly higher prices to meet each other in an internationalized labour market. Increased migration control and restrictions contributes to making circumventing restrictions a lucrative field of activity to respond to market pressures, making trafficking and smuggling of migrant labour very profitable. The third section outlines some dimensions and characteristics of trafficking and the resulting abuse of victims, drawn from the extensive ILO research and programmatic activity in several regions worldwide. The concluding part outlines an integrated national legal and labour market policy package necessary to effectively combat trafficking and organized criminal involvement. Components include: elaboration of regular migration channels based on labour market assessment to identify needs for labour migration; a standards based approach to criminalize trafficking and exploitation while ensuring protection of migrants rights; complementary enactment and enforcement of minimum standards for decent work conditions; development of institutional mechanisms and practical measures including public advocacy and awareness raising to cover prevention, protection, rights restoration, recovery and healing services addressing victims of trafficking.
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