Rise in Forced Labour Profits

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Report Profits and Poverty: the economics of forced labour was released on 19th March 2024. It indicates forced labour profits have risen by 37% since 2014. It estimates that forced labour in the private economy now generates US$236 billion in illegal profits each year. Coercive measures are used to take this money from the income of workers thus leaving them in poverty and vulnerable to further exploitation. Forced labour is a violation of human rights. The report also notes the number of people in forced labour on any given day in 2021 was around 27.6 million which translates to 3.5 per 1,000 people in the world.

ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo states:

“Forced labour perpetuates cycles of poverty and exploitation and strikes at the heart of human dignity. We now know that the situation has only got worse. The international community must urgently come together to take action to end this injustice.”

A copy of Profits and Poverty: the economics of forced labour can be downloaded here.