Modern Slavery & Forced Labor

Modern slavery encompasses forced labor, debt bondage, human trafficking, and slavery-like practices affecting an estimated 50 million people globally as of 2024, generating $236 billion in illegal profits annually according to ILO estimates.¹ Modern slavery persists in global supply chains across sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, construction, domestic work, and services, with forced labor particularly prevalent in electronics, apparel, seafood, and agricultural commodity supply chains. Corporate responsibility for addressing modern slavery has intensified through mandatory disclosure legislation, investor engagement, and consumer activism, with companies facing legal, reputational, and operational risks from supply chain forced labor.

Forms and Indicators

Modern slavery takes multiple forms with specific indicators enabling identification.² Forced labor involves work performed involuntarily under threat of penalty, with indicators including withholding of wages, retention of identity documents, restriction of movement, excessive overtime, debt bondage, and physical or psychological coercion. Debt bondage traps workers through loans or recruitment fees creating obligations workers cannot repay, with employers deducting costs from wages perpetuating debt. Human trafficking involves recruitment, transportation, or harboring through force, fraud, or coercion for exploitation. Child labor in slavery-like conditions includes worst forms as defined by ILO Convention 182.

Sectoral Risks

Forced labor risks vary by sector with specific vulnerabilities.³ Agriculture faces high risks in cocoa, coffee, palm oil, seafood, and seasonal crop harvesting, with migrant workers and informal employment creating vulnerabilities. Manufacturing risks are elevated in apparel, electronics, and low-skilled assembly work, particularly in export processing zones. Construction faces risks from subcontracting, migrant labor, and project-based employment. Domestic work has high vulnerability given isolated work settings and exclusion from labor law protections in many jurisdictions. Services including hospitality, food service, and cleaning face risks from informal employment and migrant labor.

Corporate Due Diligence

Companies are expected to conduct due diligence identifying and addressing forced labor risks.⁴ Risk assessment involves mapping supply chains, identifying high-risk tiers and geographies, and assessing forced labor indicators. Prevention includes responsible recruitment practices prohibiting worker-paid fees, direct employment relationships, transparent wage payment, and supplier capacity building. Detection involves worker interviews, grievance mechanisms, unannounced audits, and civil society collaboration. Remediation requires immediate worker protection, harm remediation including wage repayment, and corrective action plans. Reporting mandates public disclosure of due diligence efforts and findings.

Regulatory Frameworks

Multiple jurisdictions have enacted modern slavery legislation.⁵ UK Modern Slavery Act (2015) requires companies above revenue thresholds to publish annual statements. Australia Modern Slavery Act (2018) requires entities above revenue thresholds to publish statements. California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (2010) requires disclosure of anti-slavery efforts. Proposed EU measures include due diligence directive and forced labor product ban. U.S. proposals include Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act establishing broader requirements.

Challenges

Addressing modern slavery faces challenges including detection difficulties given hidden nature, audit limitations, remediation dilemmas, resource constraints, and questions about effectiveness. Research finds that disclosure-only legislation produces variable quality statements with limited evidence of driving supply chain improvements. Systemic causes including poverty, discrimination, and weak governance require approaches beyond corporate due diligence.

Further Reading

ILO resources at ilo.org/forcedlabour. Walk Free Foundation at globalslaveryindex.org.

References