Forced Labour: Best Practices

70 Nepali workers who went Malaysia before 2 years through Himalayan Job Explore Pvt.Ltd Baneswor, Kathmandu, Nepal had been receiving salary much less than the Agreement. The company Sato Chemifa Berhad, Selangor had been providing RM 450 instead of RM 750 as stated in the contract.

Workers informed the GEFONT Support Group (GSG) Malaysia. The GSG started to take the action and contacted the Local Trade Union of Malaysia MTUC, the Kathmandu Labour Department as well as the Nepali Embassy of Kuala Lumpur. The management of the Company had already decided to close the company and send the Nepali workers back without the agreed salary. The GEFONT Support Group warned the management that if the agreed salaries were not paid, they would start legal proceedings.

Due to the continuous efforts of GEFONT Support Group and the Malaysia trade unions, the company was forced to give salary according to the contract from the day one and assisted the workers to return back to Nepal.

GEFONT website

On January 17, Wayne Hanley, National President of UFCW Canada, and Angel Aguirre Rivero, governor of the State of Guerrero, signed a mutual cooperation and letter of intent to protect the human and labour rights of Mexican temporary agricultural workers in Canada. The cooperation pact will provide assistance, training and outreach to improve the living and working conditions of migrants before, during and after their stay in Canada.

“UFCW Canada is showing once again that ours is a long-term commitment to temporary workers in Canada,” said President Hanley. “We look forward to the new possibilities this agreement will offer to the migrant brothers and sisters who contribute to the Canadian agriculture, economy and society.” In association with the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA), UFCW Canada will assist workers through its network of ten AWA support centers across Canada, with Spanish-speaking staff. Services include assistance with issues such as labour rights, housing conditions, health and safety, workers’ compensation and other work related matters. The AWA also provides a toll-free assistance phone line accessible from anywhere in Canada and Mexico, for workers and their families. The government of Guerrero, through the Secretary of Migrants and Foreign Affairs, will provide information and training to migrant workers to ensure they are aware of their rights.

This is the fourth agreement of its kind signed by the UFCW Canada with a Mexican state government in the last three years. It reflects the commitment of the union towards long term partnerships with multiple actors, including governments, labour federations, academic institutions and civil society organizations.

Every season, more than 17,000 Mexicans work in Canada under the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP); a bilateral treaty between Mexico and Canada. The new agreement aims to address the current shortfalls in the SAWP program by offering a model of institutional coordinated support, accessible to every migrant worker.

Cross posted from UFCW

AI’s research has indicated that some recruitment agencies and brokers are involved in the trafficking of Nepalese migrants for exploitation and forced labour. This violates both ILO Forced Labour Convention No. 29, ratified by Nepal in 2002, and key provisions of Nepal’s Foreign Employment Act, 2007. Documented cases include migrants forced to work long hours without a day rest, accept lower than promised wages, were locked in, had passports confiscated and were physical beaten or denied food when they did not comply with their employer’s demands.

In a short accompanying video, the General Secretary of the Nepalese trade union GEFONT, Umesh Upadhyaya reports on the treatment of Nepalese migrant workers abroad and how they do not receive any assistance from embassies in the country where they end up working.

The ITUC and GEFONT sent these observations documented by Amnesty International on the application of the ILO Forced Labour Convention No. 29 to the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Standards and Recommendations in August 2011.

Read the full report on the Amnesty International website.