Trade Unions, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking

This article examines the dilemmas facing trade unions seeking to engage on questions of forced labour and human trafficking. The International Labour Organization and elements of the international trade union movement have succeeded in getting forced labour on the policy agenda globally and within...

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Main Author: Michele Ford
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women 2015-09-01
Series:Anti-Trafficking Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/134
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author Michele Ford
author_facet Michele Ford
author_sort Michele Ford
collection DOAJ
description This article examines the dilemmas facing trade unions seeking to engage on questions of forced labour and human trafficking. The International Labour Organization and elements of the international trade union movement have succeeded in getting forced labour on the policy agenda globally and within many national settings. However, trade unions have limited capacity to effect real change in relation to these issues because of limitations on their influence, determined largely by membership density and the limited number of sectors in which they are present, but also internal assessments of what constitutes ‘core business’. As a consequence, while trade unions may advocate for legislative or policy change, partner with non-governmental organisations to deal with particular cases, or even engage directly with vulnerable populations, the integration of those populations into the day to day concerns of trade unions necessarily remains elusive—particularly in the global south, where forced labour is most prevalent.
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spelling doaj.art-629aae7beb3c42ae9e48dd73355a360c2023-04-27T16:09:24ZengGlobal Alliance Against Traffic in WomenAnti-Trafficking Review2286-75112287-01132015-09-01510.14197/atr.20121552106Trade Unions, Forced Labour and Human TraffickingMichele Ford0University of SydneyThis article examines the dilemmas facing trade unions seeking to engage on questions of forced labour and human trafficking. The International Labour Organization and elements of the international trade union movement have succeeded in getting forced labour on the policy agenda globally and within many national settings. However, trade unions have limited capacity to effect real change in relation to these issues because of limitations on their influence, determined largely by membership density and the limited number of sectors in which they are present, but also internal assessments of what constitutes ‘core business’. As a consequence, while trade unions may advocate for legislative or policy change, partner with non-governmental organisations to deal with particular cases, or even engage directly with vulnerable populations, the integration of those populations into the day to day concerns of trade unions necessarily remains elusive—particularly in the global south, where forced labour is most prevalent.https://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/134international labour standardsinternational trade union movementhuman trafficking
spellingShingle Michele Ford
Trade Unions, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
Anti-Trafficking Review
international labour standards
international trade union movement
human trafficking
title Trade Unions, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
title_full Trade Unions, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
title_fullStr Trade Unions, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
title_full_unstemmed Trade Unions, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
title_short Trade Unions, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking
title_sort trade unions forced labour and human trafficking
topic international labour standards
international trade union movement
human trafficking
url https://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/134
work_keys_str_mv AT micheleford tradeunionsforcedlabourandhumantrafficking