BSS, Dhaka :
Some 21 million people worldwide are working as modern-day slave and generating around US $150 billion in illegal profits annually, a new report shows.
Released on Tuesday, the ILO report-Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour-said two thirds of the estimated total of US$ 150 billion, or US$ 99 billion, came from commercial sexual exploitation, while another US$ 51 billion resulted from forced economic exploitation, including domestic work, agriculture and other economic activities.
Significantly, the new estimate indicates that more than half of the people in forced labour are women and girls, primarily in commercial sexual exploitation and domestic work, while men and boys were primarily in forced economic exploitation in agriculture, construction, and mining.
The study is based on the approximately 21 million people the ILO classified as exploited as of 2012. If these often unseen employees were a company, their annual profit would be comparable to the yearly revenue of General Motors Co. The ILO defines forced labour as men, women and children working involuntarily by fraud, deception or force. These workers typically face some kind of penalty or threat and they don’t necessarily include workers who earn very low wages.
“The continued existence of forced labour is bad for its victims, for business and for development,” said Guy Ryder, director-general of the ILO, in a statement. “It’s time that we act together, to eradicate this hugely profitable, but fundamentally evil source of shame once and for all.”
The profits from sexual exploitation are six times greater than those from all other labour exploitation, with low operating costs and high prices paid by clients. The sector accounts for around $99-billion in global profits annually, according to the ILO. That’s nearly double the amount generated by forced labour exploitation, which tallies domestic work, agriculture and other industries.
The ILO found that construction, manufacturing, mining and utilities account for $34-billion of the overall profit figure. Agriculture added another $9-billion, and $8-billion came from unpaid or underpaid domestic workers in homes.
Over all, more than half of the victims of slavery are female while children under the age of 18 account for one- quarter, according to the ILO’s estimates.
The Asia-Pacific region derives the greatest profits from forced labour by geography at $51.8-billion, as it includes the greatest number of victims. The developed economies, including the European Union, make the most money on a per-victim basis at an average of $34,800.
The vast majority of forced labourers are “exploited in the private economy, by individuals or enterprises” according to the report. The analysis doesn’t take into account state-imposed forced labour because profits derived from activities such as recruiting child soldiers was too difficult to calculate.
But the ILO report said state-imposed forced labour is becoming less important when matched with the impact of forced labour in business. “Attention must now be focused on understanding what continues to drive forced labour and trafficking in the private sector,” the report said.
The ILO called on governments to strengthen laws and improve enforcement. It also said it would work with global businesses to crack down on forced labour in their supply chains, and it touted the importance trade unions can have in empowering at-risk employees.
The ILO also surveyed in Bangladesh for estimating different forms of forced labour and trafficking, but the report does not have any details about its findings.
