Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour

Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour

News: The Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour report sheds light on the economic dimensions of forced labor, revealing the staggering profits generated by exploiting vulnerable workers.

Key Findings:
Magnitude of profits
 Forced labor generates annual profits of US$ 150 billion globally.
 This amount reflects the wages effectively stolen from workers through coercive practices by perpetrators of forced labor.
 Notably, this estimate is three times more than prior estimates.

Underlying factors
 The study investigates the factors driving forced labor, with illegal profits being a major driver.
 These profits are accrued by exploiting approximately 21 million people worldwide.
 The report provides a breakdown of profits by area of forced labor and region

Call to action
 Understanding the economics behind forced labor is crucial for combating this grave violation of human rights.
 By addressing poverty, vulnerability, and education gaps, we can disrupt the cycle that allows forced labor to thrive.

What are the reasons behind the situation?
 Forced labour and higher profits: This increase is fuelled by both a growth in the number of people forced into labour (a form of modern slavery), as well as higher profits generated from the exploitation of victims.
 Lack of adequate livelihood options become more vulnerable to forced labour as they and may be easily tricked into accepting risky opportunities for survival.
 Limited Government intervention: While there are improved identification measures but legal frameworks, gaps in services available to survivors remained and only limited action has been taken to address systemic risk factors to forced labour.

What are the consequences of such exploitation?
 It perpetuates cycles of poverty and exploitation. 
 It leads to other forms of exploitation such as forced marriage, commercial sexual exploitation, human trafficking, deliberate and systematic withholding of wage, slavery-like practices and the sale and exploitation of children.

What is the need of the hour?
 There is a need for investment in enforcement measures to stem illegal profit flows and hold perpetrators accountable.
 There is need for strengthening legal frameworks, providing training for enforcement officials extending labor inspection into high-risk sectors, and better coordination between labor and criminal law enforcement.
 Enforcement actions must be part of a comprehensive approach that prioritizes addressing root causes and safeguarding victims.