Isues Associated with Modern Slavery in the UK - Coursework Example

Issues Associated with Modern Slavery in the UK Contents ……………………………………………...………………………………………….3 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………......3 Main Findings……………………………………………………………………………………..4 Implications on UK Commerce and Society…………………………………………...…………7 Conclusions and Recommendations ……………………………………………………………...9 Appendix A ...................................................................................................................................11 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………………….13 Issues Associated with Modern Slavery in the UK Abstract Even in the modern era, many people all over the world are considered property by the industries they are employed by. These people are forced into labor while they are stripped from their basic human rights. Modernized human slavery includes human trafficking, bonded slavery and child labor among other examples. The institutions controlling human slavery are so strong that despite the efforts of many government bodies and NGOs they are still at large. Though such actions make the organizations enjoy low costs and high profitability because of lower than normal wages they pay to these enslaved people, still this abomination can cause a strain on the social structure of any country. People loose their self respect and the society suffers the strain of low morality. We, as human beings, owe our society to participate in the government efforts so that we can get rid of this atrocity. Introduction Slavery can be defined as a situation where people are considered property by their employers and are therefore forced into labor and deprived from their basic human rights. In today’s world modern slavery exits in many forms which includes human trafficking, child labor and bonded slavery to name a few (See figure 1 in Appendix A). In the past two years it is estimated that roughly around 1,500 cases of slavery and human trafficking have been reported to the British police. The article ‘Modern Slavery in the United Kingdom’ highlights that there are three elements ‘of the exploitative relationship which constitute slavery’. These are severe economic exploitation, the lack of a basic human rights framework and the control of one person over another by the prospect or reality of violence. Of the 12.3 million people enslaved in the world today, roughly 360,000 are approximated to be present in well industrialized countries, while the remaining 250,000 – 270,000 are expected to be locked in forced labor in less industrialized areas. As slavery is an illegal act executed by organized mafia, employing clandestine methods, its exact numbers will always vary from estimated studies (Craig 2007; Craig et al 2007; Engerman et al 2001). This report focuses on slavery in the UK, which includes all forms of bonded & forced labor. The approach adopted is one of a qualitative analysis across various industries within the UK, with statistics included where appropriate. Main Findings The most common form of modern day slavery is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual or forced labor. However, human trafficking is not always easy to identify as a case of modern day slavery as it may be disguised as any of a variety of other offenses. In 2007, the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre (CEOP) conducted a study in the UK which resulted in the exposure of 330 suspected & confirmed cases of trafficked children in the country. Of these 183 went missing from social services care. This study concluded that there is a dire lack of awareness of trafficking among those involved with child & teen labor (Yorkshire Post 2007). Many councils & governmental bodies in the European Union have so far been ineffective in eliminating this phenomenon completely mainly because of the disagreement on whether to treat this issue as an immigration problem or a human rights issue. UK based trafficking gangs are split up in specific segments where some deal with Polish workers while others with trafficking Mauritians, children & sex slaves. These workers are generally lured into the UK with promises of highly paid blue-collar work, while in reality these workers find themselves working 12 hour shifts for a quarter of the wage they are initially promised. They are then housed in a derelict property at night, unable to leave the premises. These housing locations are usually situated among low tier suburban housing schemes & residential flats, some of which are dedicated to be used as brothels (Northern Echo 2007; BBC News 2008). Estimates suggest around 7,500 - 8,000 trafficked women live in the UK today, most of which are of Lithuanian, Chinese or African descent. The largest supply of trafficked children arrives from African parents who are lured by the traffickers promises of "a better life" for their children. As per a Telegraph report published in Jan 2008; "An undercover reporter was offered several children for sale by their parents in Nigeria: two boys aged three and five for £5,000 or £2,500 for one and a 10-month-old baby for £2,000. Teenage girls - including some still pregnant - were willing to sell their babies for less than £1,000." (Harrison 2008). The children are brought in on fake passports and usually end up being put to work the next day of arrival into the country (Worthing Herald 2009). In today’s macroeconomic world many people and organizations claim that social change is the largest contributing factor to slavery, existing in the UK today. As many multinational and national companies continue their unlawful practices and attitude towards migrants working in low pay jobs, slavery continues to increase and has become more widespread than ever before. Companies offer these migrants wages below the standard minimum wage, long working hours, shorter holidays and dire working conditions. As a large number of these migrants have very little knowledge of their human rights they spend many years working as slaves in sectors known as the ‘three Ds’ (difficult-dangerous-dirty). Many of these migrants have usually graduated and are academically well qualified in their home countries, which come to the UK in search of a better quality of life. Many of these migrants are from eastern Europe ,that enter the UK as part of the EU enlargement conditions who are attracted by gang master’s into ‘debt-traps’ which these migrants in the future find impossible to payback (Craig 2007; Blackburn 1997). These unfortunate people usually work in economic sectors such as contract cleaning or au pairs, construction and agriculture, factory work and restaurants which are generally considered very menial jobs. These migrants usually never get the opportunity to work in a proper well qualified job due to the lack of opportunity given to them by the well established companies in the UK. In other cases usually the employer confiscates documents belonging to these migrants and forces them to work in harsh conditions in return for their visas and other valuable documents such as work permits. An example of this can be seen in a report published by ‘The independent’ back in 2006 where the organization Anti- Slavery came across two Vietnamese men that had entered the UK legally and had to pay 18,000 pounds for their jobs. These men were promised 4.95 pounds per hour, however, when they were forced to work without any pay they attempted to protest and go on strike against their employer (See figure 2 in appendix A). Unfortunately they could not succeed as immediately their families at home in Vietnam began receiving death threats (Slavery in the UK, The Independent 2006). Over these years many gangs involved in the business of human trafficking have been brought to justice by the authorities. In 2010 a gang involved in human trafficking was subject to six years in jail after being convicted. The measures taken by the authorities have been aggravated over the years by the increase in the number of crimes committed (7th Space 2010). In 2008 a joint operation by 55 police forces was carried out only to recover 167 victims from these human traffickers. (BBC News 2008). Similarly such operations are still being carried out in the UK and recently 5 suspects were arrested in Bedfordshire. These suspects are believed to be forcing 24 slaves into anything that they wanted (Shubert 2011; Morgan 2009). Even though many laws have been established by the government, such as Sexual Offences Act 2003, Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 , in order to prevent modern day slavery and human trafficking in the UK many agencies still argue that the government’s efforts to prevent slavery is minimal. The government’s primary focus is based on the cost on social services that results from immigrant inflow instead of it being focused on the living and employment conditions offered to these workers (Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group 2010). Implications on UK Commerce and Society Economic implications of modern day slavery are as follows; the system of merit based employment collapses as employers favor lower wage rates that they pay to enslaved labor instead of hiring better qualified candidates for the particular job. This holds particularly true for blue collar jobs such as mechanics, cooks and domestic staff. This phenomenon directly increases unemployment for citizens of the state and leads to social unrest and a constant brain drain as the local youth opt to leave the country to seek better opportunities elsewhere (Craig 2007). As this slave trade drives the cost of production downwards, brands find themselves locked in a price war where each producer tries to lower costs and gain a larger market share. This increases the pressure on producers who employ ethical employment practices and pay wages as per the justified rate to their qualified staff. Another socio/geographical implication of uncontrolled immigrant inflow into a country is the sporadic development of shanty towns and informal colonies occupied by these migrants that develop over time. These residential clusters quickly turn into unplanned urban growths that eventually require the government’s attention and intervention. Some individual organizations have come forward to take up a role in this ongoing war. An example of Scarpa can be taken which opened its doors for the runaways so that they can lead a life which would not involve trafficking (McMillan 2007). Many other organizations such as UNICEF are also actively playing a role in curbing this problem. Similarly the NSPCC has also taken several steps to eliminate the problem of child trafficking. In 2007 it opened its first advice line which would help people to report directly to it under such circumstances (Croucher 2006; ECPAT 2001). Some organizations have even come up with marketing campaigns so as to end the problem of modern slavery in the United Kingdom (Mcdonagh 2002). Socially the effects of human enslaving are so deep that they can move the basics of any social establishment. Women who enter a country thinking they are on vacations are betrayed by people they trust as friends once they are on foreign soils. The fear induced by these enforcers is so deep that it shakes the moral and mental strengths of the victims that they are even scared to ask for help (UK National News, 2008; Hill, 2007). The sex slaves lose their self respect and faith in the society which casts them as the pariah rather than the victims. The society does not even realize that they might be forced to do these indecent jobs and that their families may have been threatened (Lawfuel, 2008; Hill, 2007). The children brought into UK under false hopes, view their handlers as their saviors, their faith is shook when they are revealed to the reality. The tasks that they are put through do not only ruin their innocence but their futures too. They are stripped from the prospect of living normal respectful lives (Musiyiwa, 2006). Such conditions can lead to lower migrants that will not only affect the economy of the country but the social structure as well. People will lose faith in the establishment and does not matter how many opportunities the country provide, the people will not risk their futures by falling into the uncertainty of the safety of their futures. The society will be deemed to suffer from these actions and lose its morality as a whole. Conclusion and Recommendations In conclusion not until us as human beings take action accordingly, slaves in today’s world will continue to face the theft of their lives by companies, the absolute destruction of their dignity and the huge profits that others make as a result of their hard work and sweat. However there are several steps that we, as legal citizens, and companies can take to ensure that modern day slavery is curbed to a minimum in our society. Firstly, corporations can ensure that goods and services produced by their company is not done through slave labor and that each worker is paid at least the minimum wage set by the government in the UK. To reduce child labor companies can refuse to recruit any child under a certain age or maybe the easiest way to stop child labor may be to simply ban it throughout their supply chain. Companies must further ensure that adequately safe & effective ergonomics / working conditions are ensured in their workshops & factories (Kelly 2008). We as consumers can buy ‘fair trade’ labeled products and refuse to buy products made by companies enforcing any type of slavery. As a result of consumer demand, corporations may decide to change their ways and become more socially responsible. We can join and support NGOs that are dedicated towards abolishing slavery. Furthermore, we can participate with these NGOs in their campaigns in order to increase pressure on companies to change their ways. As citizens we can spread the word and make more people aware of the harsh reality that slavery exists even in today’s modern society. Many people are unaware that the products they buy are not ‘fair-trade’ but in fact made by children forced into labor. By making more people aware of slavery we can encourage them to support companies and business that make the effort to produce their goods in a socially ethical way. APPENDIX A — DIAGRAMS Figure 1 – The Relationship between smuggling and trafficking Issues Associated with Modern Slavery in the UKSource: Contemporary slavery in the UK Figure 2 – Factors contributing to forced labor and labor exploitation and how they interact Source: Contemporary slavery in the UK Bibliography CRAIG, G. (2007). Contemporary slavery in the UK. York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation. http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/2016-contemporary-slavery-UK.pdf. Modern Slavery in the United Kingdom, Gary Craig, Aline Gaus, Mick Wilkinson, Klara Skrivankova and Aidan McQuade, 26 February 2007, 30 December 2011 (http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/modern-slavery-united-kingdom ) ENGERMAN, S. L., DRESCHER, S., & PAQUETTE, R. L. (2001). Slavery. Oxford, Oxford University Press. BLACKBURN, R. (1997). The making of New World slavery: from the Baroque to the Modern, 1492-1800. London, Verso U. K Police Rescues 24 ‘slavery victims’, arrested 5 Suspects, Atika Shubert, September 12 2011, assessed on 1st January 2012 (http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-12/world/uk.slavery.arrests_1_slavery-british-police-british-investigators?_s=PM:WORLD) Slavery in the U.K, 27th December 2006, assessed on 1st January 2012 (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/slavery-in-the-uk-429939.html) Smith. K (2008),The Child Slaves, The Herald Scotland, 16 February , (http://www.heraldscotland.com/the-child-slaves-1.828431) ANTI-TRAFFICKING MONITORING GROUP. (2010).Wrong kind of victim?: one year on : an analysis of UK measures to protect trafficked persons. London, Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group. Sold into Slavery, 2007, The Northern Echo < http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/1765911.sold_into_slavery/ > Scores Rescued from Trafficking, 2008, BBC News < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7485339.stm> UK: Human Trafficking Gang Sentenced To Six Years , 2010 ,7th Space NSPCC Opens First UK Advice line to help Combat Child Trafficking, 2001, ECPAT International, < http://www.ecpat.net/ei/Resource_newsclippings.asp?id=7> Worthing care home couple’s trial for Human Trafficking, 2009, Worthing Herald, Kelly. M (2008), ‘Fighting the evil new slave trade’, Sunday Sun , March 2, < http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/tm_headline=fighting-the-evil-new-slave-trade&method=full&objectid=20546696&siteid=50081-name_page.html> Harrison. D (2008), ‘Children for sale: UK’s new slave trade’ ,The Telegraph, January 27th < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1576727/Children-for-sale-UKs-new-slave-trade.html> Croucher. M (2006), ‘Hundreds of slaves trafficked into UK’ , The Epoch Times, June 6 < http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-6-6/42400.html> McMillan. P (2007), ‘Helping children turn life around’, Chronicle Live, December 10 < http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/evening-chronicle-news/2007/12/10/helping-children-turn-life-around-72703-20229475/> A barbaric trade in human misery right on our doorstep, 2007, Yorkshire Post Top of Form MCDONAGH, P. (2002). Communicative campaigns to effect anti-slavery and fair trade: The cases of Rugmark and Cafédirect. European Journal of Marketing. 36, 642-666. Man jailed for ‘horrific’ trafficking offences, 4RFV, UK National News, 30 June 2008 The Mets Human Trafficking Team (HTT) has had its first human trafficking sentencing, LAWFUEL, Legal Newswire, 16 February 2008, Hill, P. (2007), Tales of sex and sadness from inside Britains oldest profession, The Observer, 23 December, Musiyiwa, A. (2006), Child Trafficking in the U.K, OhmyNews, July 25, Bottom of Form Top of Form MORGAN, G. (2009). Is the UK a safe haven for modern slavery? The New Law Journal. 159, 1538-1539. Bottom of Form References "An undercover reporter was offered several children for sale by their parents in Nigeria: two boys aged three and five for £5,000, or £2,500 for one, and a 10-month-old baby for £2,000. Teenage girls - including some still pregnant - were willing to sell their babies for less than £1,000." (Harrison 2008) Read More