Anti-Slavery International

🚨 Italy: Migrant farmworkers worked seven days a week for up to 12 hours a day. Abusers face charges related to modern slavery and labour exploitation. In a recent operation, Italian police rescued 33 Indian farmworkers from modern slavery in the province of Verona. These workers had been exploited by gang-masters, who deceived them to migrate to Italy under the false promises of a better future. The workers had to pay 17,000 euros each to secure their entry and seasonal work permits, incurring significant debt. Once in Italy, they were forced to work 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week. They were paid only 4 euros per hour, and their wages were entirely withheld to repay their debts. The abusers face charges related to modern slavery and labour exploitation.  ⚠️Severe exploitation of foreign workers in the agriculture sector in no news. It’s not an issue that concerns Italy alone either. From Chile, the UK to Thailand, human rights abuses at the cost of those who make it possible for us to enjoy our daily food are still too common.  The temporary nature of the work, informality in the recruitment system, and isolation, are some of the enablers for situations like the one of these rescued farmworkers to take place.  This case highlights the urgent need for stronger safeguards to prevent exploitation in the seasonal worker system. 📢🌍Governments across the world need to pass and enforce stronger laws to prevent labour exploitation in the agriculture sector, including ensuring effective labour inspections and prohibiting the charging of illegal recruitment fees. Governments must also enforce laws on business which mandate businesses to take stronger actions to respect the rights of workers in their operations. 🔗https://lnkd.in/epQRwDSe

Today marks the 10th World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, a key moment in the fight against human trafficking. On this day, we reflect on the sad reality that globally, one in three victims of human trafficking is a child, with the majority being young girls. According to the UNODC's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, children are twice as likely as adults to face violence during trafficking, as well as other violations of their rights. The rise of online platforms has further exacerbated the risks, exposing children to forced labour, forced marriage, sexual abuse, and other forms of exploitation. The causes of child trafficking are complex and multifaceted, but whether they involve issues of poverty, displacement, discrimination or other drivers, they can be tackled with better policies and good governance. This is why we need to hold governments and businesses to full account, at national and international levels. We urge authorities, the public, private sector, and NGOs to join to #EndHumanTrafficking. Join thousands of others in our movement. Together, we resist for every young child forced to marry, for every individual exploited within supply chains, and for every person enduring labour against their will: https://lnkd.in/e9vZZFd8

We're #hiring and have an exciting opportunity for a consultant to join the world's longest-running human rights campaign! We are in search of a political campaign strategist who will be a key player in our collaborative efforts across Anti-Slavery International. Together, we will develop a comprehensive, integrated strategy that covers all areas of our UK work. This strategy should maximise Anti-Slavery International’s policy and advocacy impact. Deadline for applications: August 9th. Recruitment pack 👇

The 2024 #Olympics wouldn't have existed without #MigrantWorkers. These workers, often undocumented, played a crucial role in the construction of the different Olympics sites, such as the athletes' village. Once again, they took up dangerous jobs, in unfair conditions. The European Union prides itself as a champion of fundamental rights - it’s time we see this in practice. Undocumented workers are likely to be employed on poor terms and conditions and will not receive the pay and benefits that lawful employees expect to receive in France. Undocumented workers working in the run-up to this year's Olympics have described being “pushed to do dangerous jobs for long hours without safety glasses, harnesses or other gear”. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gtkC_nRD Inspection records also show that some projects for the Olympics have failed to meet basic safety standards. When undocumented workers are injured on the job, they will likely not show up in government statistics, according to workers and officials. 📢Everyone deserves decent working conditions and work in safety. Migrant workers are essential and are the backbone of key sectors of global economies, yet they often end up in exploitation and situations of modern slavery. Across Europe and worldwide, there is a strong need to improve legislation to ensure the protection of all migrant workers.

We are committed to advocating for the rights and welfare of #MigrantWorkers. This is why we are deeply concerned about the recent situation of Indonesian workers who came to the UK to pick fruit but were dismissed within weeks. These individuals, who sacrificed so much—including selling family land and possessions—now face significant debts and uncertainty back home. Being dismissed does not mean losing work, it also means losing accommodation, potentially becoming homeless and being deported. It is leaving workers at risk of destitution, harm and exploitation.  These stories are just a few of hundreds of similar experiences migrant workers have faced in the UK in recent years. The allegations of illegal fees being paid in Indonesia raise questions about the risk of forced labour and exploitation in the seasonal worker scheme, which allows workers from foreign countries a six-month visa to work on farms but makes them bear all the financial risk. 🗣️📢We are calling for an immediate end to the use of restricted visas, increased regulation of visa sponsors, protection for migrant workers and whistleblowers. We need to reintroduce secure reporting so migrants can report abuse to the authorities without fear of detention or removal. https://lnkd.in/gzu9k3d9

Ilham Tohti, a respected Uyghur scholar, and father of our ally Jewher Ilham, a leading Uyghur activist herself, has been unjustly imprisoned for the past ten years for his peaceful advocacy. He was sentenced to life in prison on unfounded charges of “separatism”, despite his efforts to promote understanding and dialogue between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. These charges arose from his writings and teachings, which highlighted the systemic discrimination faced by Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This imprisonment is especially egregious given Tohti’s peaceful and moderate stance, signalling a suppression of even the most non-violent advocacy for human rights. Tohti was given a life sentence after a trial that lacked both fairness and transparency, blatantly violating his rights. Reports indicate that Tohti has endured torture and mistreatment during his imprisonment. This case illustrates the Chinese government’s broader systematic oppression and persecution of Uyghurs, Turkic and other Muslim-majority peoples. 📢 We encourage you to sign Amnesty International's petition demanding the Chinese authorities guarantee his immediate and unconditional release. https://lnkd.in/gBWTdqbf #UyghurForcedLabour #Uyghurs

We are saddened to see that Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey's Private Members Bill, the Commercial Organisations and Public Authorities Duty Bill (#COPAD) was not selected during the ballot in the new session of Parliament. This means that the Bill will not be reintroduced in the House of Lords. The UK urgently needs stronger laws to end exploitative practices and environmental destruction in company supply chains. This groundbreaking Bill, which had been introduced in the House of Lords in the last parliamentary term, would address the shortfalls of existing legislation by compelling companies to take meaningful steps to address modern slavery in their operations and would hold them accountable for their failure to prevent harm. We extend our gratitude to the over 55 MPs and Peers across different parties who have pledged their support for a law mandating businesses respect human rights. Their collective effort, along with that of our allies, including major UK businesses and thousands of our supporters, has been instrumental in advancing this new law. We were pleased to see the support COPAD received and hope to see it continue while we find other routes for our advocacy. We will continue to advocate for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence, recognising the incredible impact such legislation can have on the millions of people in our global supply chains. Comprehensive legislation prioritising people and the planet over corporate profit is essential to end corporate abuses of human rights and environmental destruction in global supply chains.

We’re #hiring a Philanthropy Manager - Major Gifts and Foundation. We're seeking a Philanthropy Manager to lead and develop our trusts and major donor fundraising programme. The postholder will work across the organisation, including with trustees, to develop relationships and funding applications to foundations. If you think this role fits you, we would love to hear from you. We will interview candidates on a rolling basis ahead of the deadline and will close recruitment once we find the right candidate to fill the position. Have a look at the job pack 👇 and submit your application to jobs@antislavery.org.

What does the King’s Speech mean for the fight against slavery?  What’s in the speech: ✅The Employment Rights Bill, which pledges to end exploitative labour practices and create a single enforcement body, could have a huge impact on the prevention of modern slavery in the UK. The government must work with civil society, trade unions and workers to make sure a new enforcement body is effective and that these measures to end exploitation protect migrant workers. ✅Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. While we are glad that the Government is committed to improving the asylum system, we continue to raise our concerns that increased enforcement and securitisation will not help the victims of modern slavery without a compassionate and human rights-based approach and without safe and secure routes for people to enter the UK. ✅Crime and Policing Bill We are glad to see measures will be laid out to prevent the criminal exploitation of young people. The Government must ensure that the most vulnerable are protected from harm; people are not criminalised for actions they committed as part of their exploitation and that prevention considers the full range of social and economic factors that leave young people vulnerable to recruitment  What is missing from the speech? The King’s speech notably excludes measures to drive corporate accountability for human rights abuses within their supply chains. These are essential for workers and consumers in the UK and worldwide, specifically: 🚫Business must be compelled to protect workers in their supply chains.  We need new laws requiring companies to conduct human rights and environmental checks in their supply chains, holding them accountable for harm.    🚫Laws to keep products made with forced labour out of the UK.  To drive better business practices, we need import bans on products made with forced labour, a measure supported by 82% of recent UK poll responders. We will be campaigning to make sure that human rights are fundamental in the design of any new national industrial strategy.

🚫📢 5 ways you can help stop modern slavery. Ending slavery isn’t an easy task, but we can all be part of the movement that refuses to accept slavery in any form. Here are five simple ways to join the movement as an anti-slavery champion ⬇️