Although the slave trade was abolished over 200 years ago, many millions of people continue to live in slavery today, as forced labourers. Forced labour takes many forms, including debt bondage and trafficking in people, but it always involves individuals being compelled to work against their will under the threat of some form of punishment.
Forced labour can be found on every continent of the world and affects both developed and developing countries. In 2005, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that the minimum number of people who are living in forced labour is 12.3 million.
One of the primary goals of the ILO is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom and human dignity. Forced labour makes this impossible as it involves the violation of a person’s basic human and labour rights. Forced labour is the very antithesis of decent work and this is why the ILO identified the elimination of forced and compulsory labour as one of the fundamental principles and rights at work that all ILO members have to respect.
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- ITUC Guide - Forced labour (2010)
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