Labour Exploitation And Forced Work Offences
Labour exploitation occurs when an individual is compelled to work under conditions that violate fundamental labour rights. These conditions often include:
Coercion, threat or deception
Restriction of movement
Non-payment or underpayment of wages
Excessive working hours
Confiscation of identity documents
Debt bondage, where a worker must work to repay an inflated or fabricated debt
Abuse of vulnerability, such as poverty, immigration status, or lack of education
Legal Foundations
Different jurisdictions recognize forced labour under various laws:
International Law:
ILO Convention No. 29 (Forced Labour Convention, 1930)
ILO Convention No. 105 (Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957)
UN Palermo Protocol (Trafficking in Persons)
European Law:
Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – prohibits slavery, servitude, and forced labour.
UK Law:
Modern Slavery Act 2015 – criminalises forced labour, human trafficking, and exploitation.
Indian Law:
Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits forced labour.
Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.
Forced labour generally involves the use of force or threat, but modern legal systems also recognise psychological coercion, deception, or abuse of power as equally valid forms of compulsion.
🧑⚖️ Major Case Laws Explained in Detail
Below are five important cases, each illustrating different aspects of forced labour, servitude, and exploitation offences.
1. Siliadin v. France (2005, European Court of Human Rights)
Facts
A 15-year-old Togolese girl was brought to France by a family.
She was forced to work long hours without pay:
Cleaning
Childcare
Household chores
Her passport was seized.
She was told she must work until her “debt” for travel expenses was paid.
She was not allowed to leave freely.
Issues
Whether France fulfilled its positive obligation under Article 4 of the ECHR to protect individuals from servitude and forced labour.
Judgment
The ECtHR held that:
The girl was in a state of servitude, which is more serious than forced labour.
France had failed to criminalize modern domestic servitude adequately at that time.
Importance
The case clarified that psychological coercion and abuse of vulnerability constitute forced labour/servitude.
Established states’ positive obligation to protect victims even when offenders are private individuals.
2. Chowdury & Others v. Greece (2017, ECtHR — The “Manolada Strawberry Fields” Case)
Facts
Migrant Bangladeshi workers in Greece were:
Forced to work 12+ hours a day
Paid nothing
Held under armed guard by supervisors
When the workers protested unpaid wages, supervisors shot and injured several of them.
Judgment
The ECtHR held that:
This was a clear case of forced labour and human trafficking.
Greece failed to protect the workers and to effectively investigate the exploitation.
Importance
Recognised economic coercion, debt bondage, threats, and severe working conditions as trafficking for labour exploitation.
Expanded understanding that human trafficking is not only about movement but also about exploitation at destination.
3. Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India (1984, Supreme Court of India)
(A landmark case on bonded labour)
Facts
A public interest organisation reported large-scale bonded labour in stone quarries in Haryana, India.
Workers were:
Forced to work under inhumane conditions
Living and working in hazardous environments
Kept in debt bondage
Paid extremely low wages
Legal Issue
Whether the labourers’ conditions violated:
Article 21 (Right to life and dignity)
Article 23 (Prohibition of forced labour)
Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
Judgment
The Supreme Court held:
Any labour that is performed under economic compulsion at wages below statutory minimum is forced labour.
The state must actively identify and release bonded labourers.
Right against forced labour includes protection from exploitation due to poverty or helplessness.
Importance
One of India’s most influential forced labour judgments.
Broadened the meaning of “force” to include economic bondage and poverty-driven coercion, not only physical force.
4. R. v. Connors & Others (2013, UK — Modern Slavery / Forced Labour Case)
Facts
The Connors family in the UK recruited vulnerable men, including the homeless and those with learning difficulties.
Victims were:
Forced to work in paving and landscaping for little or no pay
Made to live in squalid caravans
Physically beaten
Deprived of ID documents
Judgment
The offenders were convicted under earlier UK trafficking and forced labour laws (before the 2015 Modern Slavery Act).
Court emphasised:
Isolation
Coercion
Abuse of vulnerability
as key elements of forced labour.
Importance
Set a strong precedent for interpreting “forced labour” broadly in the UK.
Highlighted the need for stronger modern slavery legislation, leading to reforms.
5. People v. Kil Soo Lee (U.S. Federal Court, 2003 — Daewoosa Case)
Facts
Kil Soo Lee ran a garment factory in American Samoa.
Workers from Vietnam and China were:
Lured through false job promises
Confined inside the factory compound
Forced to work long hours
Denied food and healthcare
Threatened with deportation and violence
Several workers were severely injured during riots caused by starvation and beatings.
Judgment
Lee was convicted of:
Involuntary servitude
Forced labour
Human trafficking offences
Court emphasized the use of threats, confiscation of documents, and psychological coercion.
Importance
A landmark U.S. case defining modern forced labour outside traditional slavery.
Recognized that threats of legal harm and immigration consequences can amount to coercion.
Summary of Key Legal Principles from These Cases
Forced labour includes:
Physical force or threat
Psychological coercion
Debt bondage
Abuse of immigration vulnerabilities
Economic exploitation so severe that consent becomes meaningless
States must:
Protect victims
Investigate allegations
Criminally punish perpetrators
Provide remedies and support to victims
Victims may be:
Migrants
Children
Domestics workers
Construction/farm workers
People in poverty or social isolation
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