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Trafficking & Forced Labour
While awareness of exploitation and abuses of migrant workers in Ireland has been growing, awareness of human trafficking to Ireland has only recently begun to be acknowledged. International organisations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and migrant rights organisations have been arguing that a problem affecting the rest of Europe was unlikely to have passed Ireland by. However, there are no official statistics on trafficking in Ireland and a lack of research in this area has meant that available information is largely anecdotal. In addition, Ireland follows the general perception that where trafficking occurs it is usually women who are trafficked for sexual exploitation. To date there has been little recognition of the phenomenon of trafficking for forced labour and debt bondage.

MRCI has conducted initial research which has attempted to identify and assess the situation with regard to trafficking for forced labour in sectors other than for sexual exploitation. The repor is entitled: No Way Forward, No Going Back: Identifying the problem of trafficking for forced labour in Ireland (2007) and can be ordered by contacting MRCI. Click here for a pdf of the report.

The project was funded as part of an initiative with Anti Slavery International. It is important to note that this small-scale research project does not claim to be definitive and much work remains to be done to address the problem. Nevertheless, from the research a profile of trafficked victims and their experiences in Ireland is emerging. The problem of trafficking for forced labour and debt bondage was shown to exist in certain sectors such as the restaurant industry, agriculture, domestic work and construction industry.

The analysis highlights the complexities of the experiences of migrant workers trafficked for forced labour in industries other than the sex industry. While the definition adopted in the United Nations Palermo Protocol Trafficking in Persons (2000) makes trafficking in persons an international criminal offence, there are still difficulties in defining trafficking, and conflicting interpretations of what does and does not constitute trafficking still exist. The findings show that physical abuse, confinement, coercion, deception and exploitation can and do occur to people trafficked for forced labour. However, it was also found that in many cases of trafficking coercion is subtle, involving late payment of wages, confiscation of papers, constant threat of not renewing work permits or threats of denunciation to the authorities followed by deportation. Furthermore, the findings show that trafficked people frequently enter the state legally and many of the victims do not identify themselves as trafficked.

The majority of migrants interviewed expressed dismay at what they saw as the State's unwillingness to protect them. In the absence of formalised procedures victims can be viewed by State agencies as undocumented workers, and are in danger of being deported to their country of origin. The problem is therefore not just one of punishing the traffickers; it is also a matter of protecting and assisting the victims, something states are not obligated to do. Protection involves the provision of accommodation, access to health services, access to social assistance, and legal advice. It is vital that the human rights elements of the Palermo protocol are implemented by the Irish State if the problem of trafficking is to be addressed and the needs of trafficked victims are to be met.

Click here for MRCI's submission to the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking.

Click here for information on the Irish Government's Anti Human Trafficking initiatives

The International Labour Organization undertakes impressive work in the area of trafficking for forced labour and has developed useful and informative documents to assist in understanding this phenomenon. For more information click here.