FORCED LABOR 強迫勞動

What does it mean?  這意味著什么？

The use of forced labor has existed for centuries, primarily through the use of slave or prison labor in today’s world forced labor occurs through more sophisticated mechanisms that may be more difficult to identify the most common type of forced labor is overtime imposed through threat of punishment, penalty or force More severe examples occur through human trafficking of migrant laborers or the use of bonded labor Workers are usually exploited by contractual agreement with labor brokers who end up garnishing most of the worker’s wages.

What Do You Need To Do? 你需要做些什么？

Companies should ensure that employment is freely chosen this is accomplished by implementing mechanisms in place that:

? ensure overtime is voluntary without the threat of penalty or dismissal

? Workers can freely resign from their employer after the worker has been provided reasonable notice

? labor brokers or others are monitored to ensure they do not entice workers into compulsory arrangements,

  e g having to pay exorbitant upfront recruitment or referral fees

? foreign or migrant workers are treated equally to national workers

BUSINESS BENEFITS OF VOLUNTARY LABOR  自愿勞工的商業利益

The use of voluntary labor has many direct and indirect business benefits to companies. When workers are not forced to work overtime through penalties and threats worker morale increases which leads to improved productivity and worker retention. The stigma of producing products in a ‘sweatshop’ is a very real risk to buyers and therefore companies with a reputation of using forced labor are less attractive business partners.

KEY TERMS 關鍵術語

bonded Labor: Worker who are indebted to labor brokers or companies through recruitment fees, which usually garnish most, if not all of their wages

Labor broker: Person or agency that recruits workers for companies, and typically charges recruitment fees directly to the workers

Forced Overtime: overtime that is imposed under some form of penalty (dismissal, transferring to a lower grade job, no future overtime opportunities, etc ), by threat of force, by physically prohibiting from exiting by closing factory gates, or by restricting access to transportation Workers are only obligated to work the hours agreed to in their work contracts, any work hours above and beyond that agreed schedule, must be performed on a totally voluntary basis

Prison Labor: Work performed by individuals who are incarcerated by either the state or military