Severe Labour Exploitation Workers moving within or into the European Union The ‘SELEX’ project

2 EU policy context Social policies Migration policies Free movement of workers Criminal justice and victims’ rights Severe labour exploitation of workers

3 Slavery Servitude Forced or compulsory labour Severe exploitation in an employment relationship Other forms of labour exploitation Matters of civil/labour law Forms of labour exploitation - a continuum Violations of criminal law Criminal offences under the Employer Sanctions Directive: Exploiting the work of a third-country national in an irregular situation Under particularly exploitative working conditions If the worker is a victim of trafficking If the worker is a minor Criminal offences under the Employer Sanctions Directive: Exploiting the work of a third-country national in an irregular situation Under particularly exploitative working conditions If the worker is a victim of trafficking If the worker is a minor The FRA report deals with all criminal forms of labour exploitation of workers

4 Slavery Servitude Forced or compulsory labour Severe exploitation in an employment relationship Other forms of labour exploitation Fundamental rights at stake Also a violation of Article 5 of the Charter: Prohibition of slavery and forced labour Fundamental rights aspects: Violation of Article 31 of the Charter: Right to fair and just working conditions

5 Objectives of the SELEX-project To support EU institutions and Member States in countering severe labour exploitation by:  identifying factors that put workers at risk of severe labour exploitation;  analysing the institutional setting in place and the means of countering serious risks of labour exploitation in terms of –prevention –monitoring and –granting victims access to justice

6 Methodology Expert interviews, professional groups N Monitoring (labour inspectors etc.)102 Police services82 Support services139 Judges and prosecutors69 Lawyers (who represented workers)63 Recruitment35 Workers’ organisations56 Employers’ organisations45 Coordinators at policy level25 Total616 Desk research  All Member States Fieldwork research  21 Member States  616 expert interviews  217 case studies  24 focus group discussions

7 Findings Risk Factors Prevention Monitoring Access to justice

8 Labour exploitation Risk factors relating to legal and institutional framework Risk factors relating to workers personally Risk factors relating to workplaces Risk factors created by employers Risk factors

9 Economic sector Isolation Precarious employment situations Risk factors relating to the workplace Risk factors

10 Risk factors Economic sectors most prone to labour exploitation Agriculture Construction Hotel/catering Domestic work Manufacture

11  Few specific prevention activities aimed at tackling labour exploitation  Some promising practices: systems of standard setting, accreditation or branding of products trade unions and support services reaching out to workers Prevention Findings – prevention

12  Lack of clear legal mandate/powers enabling inspections at all workplaces  Victims seen in relation to irregular situation; not as crime victims  Limited resources  Lack of targeted monitoring  Ineffective cooperation with the police in a number of cases Monitoring Findings – monitoring

13  Piecemeal criminal law protection  Lack of targeted victim support services  Lack of investigations or proactive interventions  Weak avenues to back-pay and compensation  Victims reluctant and not encouraged to report Access to justice Findings – victims’ access to justice

14 More effective monitoring of situation of workers More effective cooperation between organisations Ensure that workers know their rights Improve legislation - implementation What would improve the situation? Experts’ views

fra.europa.eu We need to create a climate of zero tolerance of severe labour exploitation!

16 Download the comparative report: labour-exploitation-workers-moving-within-or- european-union Download individual country reports: data/2015/country-reports-comparative-report- severe-labour-exploitation-workers-moving