Severe labour exploitation 'endemic' throughout the EU

Severe labor exploitation of both EU and non-EU nationals is extensive throughout Europe, a new report claims, highlighting that perpetrators are rarely prosecuted or forced to compensate their victims despite the fact that the right to fair and just working conditions is enshrined in EU law.

The study, carried out by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, (FRA) is the first of its kind to comprehensively explore all criminal forms of labour exploitation in the EU, from slavery and servitude to less serious forms of exploitation.

The findings show that criminal labour exploitation is extensive in a number of industries, particularly agriculture, construction, hotel and catering, domestic work - such as cleaners', au pairs, nannies and carers, and manufacturing.

The exploited workers across the continent who do get paid, often receive very low wages – sometimes of €1 per hour or less, the study shows – and work 12 hours a day up to seven days a week. They are often housed in uncomfortable conditions and are not allowed to go on holiday or take sick leave.

The reports found that criminal exploiters can operate with widespread impunity as victims are too afraid or unable to report the abuse against them, for fear of losing their job, or suffering abuse.

Research was carried out in 21 EU countries, while research into the legal and institutional framework of severe labour exploitation was conducted in all 28 member states, with hundreds of expert interviews with professional groups and officials carried out by the FRA.

The study makes use of over 200 case studies of abuse, highlighting Lithuanians working on British farms who were found living in sheds with little access to hygiene facilities, or Bulgarians in France who were paid for just five of the 22 weeks they worked harvesting fruits and vegetables during a gruelling 15 hour day.

Another case involved eight men and four women from Vietnam who were reportedly exploited in a sewing factory in Poland between 2011 to 2012. The victims signed blank contracts or documents in Polish, a language that they did not understand, and the Polish employer confiscated their passports and mobile phones. They were kept in isolation, provided with poor‑quality food and had to work six days a week, 12–13 hours per day. When one worker complained, he was severely beaten.

The study says that the problem remains invisible to the public. "In most cases, consumers are not aware that the oranges, wine, meat or potatoes they purchase in a supermarket, the shirt or shoes they buy in a shop, or the services they receive when in a hotel or restaurant may be produced by workers who have been or are being exploited," the report reads.

The report also warns that prejudice against workers moving within or into the EU "may lead to tolerance of their exploitation by the public". The study found that respondents in Spain, for example, viewed society as being complicit in failing to act against severe labour exploitation due to a realisation that the economy benefits from the exploitation of migrants.

"The exploitation of workers who have been forced by their economic and social circumstances to agree to substandard working conditions is unacceptable," said FRA interim Director Constantinos Manolopoulos. "We are talking here about an endemic problem that we must take urgent action to end. EU Member States need to make a greater effort to promote a climate of zero tolerance for severe forms of labour exploitation and take steps to monitor the situation more effectively and sanction perpetrators."