Forced labour

Forced labour, also called unfree labour, is any kind of work where people are made to work against their will. This happens when someone threatens them with very bad things, like not having enough food, being locked up, or being hurt very badly. Sometimes, people are forced to work because of old systems like slavery or being tied to the land they live on.

Unfree labour includes many different situations. It can be slavery, work done as punishment, or being trapped in debt so you have to work to pay it off. It also includes systems where people had to work for free for a certain amount of time each year, or being sent to places where they are made to work under very hard conditions. All of these are forms of forced labour, where people do not have a choice about working.

Definition

Forced labour means any work people are made to do against their will, with the threat of punishment if they refuse. This idea is explained by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

However, there are some exceptions. Forced labour does not include work required for military duties, normal duties for citizens of a country, work as part of a court punishment if watched by public authorities, or work needed during emergencies like wars, natural disasters, or big health problems.

Payment for unfree labour

Convict labourers in Australia in the early 19th century

Sometimes, people who are forced to work may receive payment, but it is usually very little. The payment might only be enough to survive or just a bit more. It could also be in the form of items that are hard to use or trade. In some cases, the payment might simply be canceling a debt that was forced upon them, or the money might belong to someone else.

Forced work is often easier to enforce on people who have moved from far away and look or speak differently from most people in the area. These individuals may not report their situation to the authorities because they are far from home and may not trust local officials.

Modern day unfree labour

After World War II, people started talking more about unfree labour, especially in places where economies were growing but still facing challenges. Some believed that unfree labour stopped economies from growing, but later ideas showed that even in modern farming, unfair work practices could still happen.

Freedom from forced labour by country (V-Dem Institute, 2021)

Today, groups like the International Labour Organization say that millions of people around the world are forced to work against their will. Most of these cases involve private businesses rather than governments. This goes against international rules meant to protect workers’ rights. The money made from such unfair practices is very large, showing how serious this issue is.

Trafficking

Main article: Human trafficking

Trafficking means getting, moving, or hiding people using force, tricks, or pressure. The goal is to make them do things they don’t want to do, like work without choice or being made to do jobs they hate. This is very wrong and hurts many people.

Forms of unfree labour

Slavery

Main article: Slavery

Slavery was common in many ancient societies, including ancient Egypt, Babylon, Persia, ancient Greece, Rome, ancient China, the pre-modern Muslim world, as well as many societies in Africa and the Americas. People were often sold into slavery after being captured in wars.

Chattel Slavery is a very strict form of forced work where people are treated like property that can be bought, sold, or passed to others. One big example of this happened during the time of the transatlantic slave trade between the 16th and 19th centuries. During this time, about 10 million to 12 million Black Africans were taken by force across the Atlantic Ocean to work in places like Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America.

Serfdom

Serfdom is when people are tied to the land they work on, usually in older societies where lords owned the land. Serfs could not leave or change jobs freely, but they were also not sold like property.

Truck system

Main article: Truck system

A truck system is when workers are paid with goods or tokens instead of money, which they must use at special stores owned by their bosses. This system was often unfair and made it hard for workers to escape debt.

Mandatory services due to social status

Corvée

Main articles: Corvée and Socage

In many places throughout history, governments made lower classes work for free for short periods each year. Sometimes, people could pay to avoid this work.

Vetti-chakiri

Main article: Veth (India)

In India before independence, there was a system where poor people and members of certain groups were forced to work for free. This was called by several names including veth, vethi, vetti-chakiri, and begar.

Penal labour

Main article: Penal labour

Labour camps

Depiction of socage on the royal demesne (miniature from the Queen Mary Psalter, c. 1310).British Library, London

Main article: Labour camp

Many people were forced to work under difficult conditions during wartime, especially in the 20th century. Well-known examples include the concentration camp system used by Nazi Germany and the Gulag camps in the Soviet Union.

Prison labour

Convict or prison labour is when people in prison are made to work. This has happened in many places throughout history, including in British colonies such as New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, and Western Australia.

Indentured and bonded labour

Main articles: Indenture and bonded labour

Today, a common form of unfair work is when people agree to work for a set time, but they are only given basic needs like food and shelter, or they work to pay off a debt.

Contemporary illegal forced labour

Main article: Slavery in the 21st century

Now, most unfair labour happens because of illegal control, not because of laws, since slavery is banned everywhere.

Permitted exceptions of unfree labour

Main article: Civil conscription

Some countries require certain people to work for the community in special situations. This can happen during times of difficulty, like when there are not enough workers, or when the country is at war. These jobs help keep important services running, like hospitals and food supplies. Sometimes, these jobs are needed to keep things like fire services working when not enough people want to help.

There are also special rules for certain jobs that must be done. For example, in some places, young people must help with important tasks like working in mines or joining the fire service. These rules are meant to help the whole country, even if people would rather not do these jobs.

International conventions

There are special international rules to protect people from being forced to work against their will. These rules help make sure everyone is treated fairly and safely.

ILO "Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)"
ILO "Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)"
ILO "Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)"
OHCHR "Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)"