“India’s Forced Labor Crisis: Highest Rate in the World and Worsening Conditions”

India has the highest rate of forced labor in the world. According to the Global Slavery Index 2023 released by the Walk Free Foundation, 11 million people are forced laborers in the country. The Global Slavery Index measures the extent of modern slavery in 160 countries. It is the policies adopted by the government that lead India to the forefront of modern slavery. A joint platform of 10 central trade unions has warned that the situation will worsen if the four labor codes introduced by the Modi government are implemented. Currently, the country ranks below Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in terms of freedom of employment. The International Labor Organization (ILO), Walk Free and the International Organization for Migration (IMO) have been conducting a global census of modern slavery since 2016. India (11 million), China (5.8), North Korea (2.7), Pakistan (2.3), Russia (1.9), Indonesia (1.8), Nigeria (1.6), Turkey (1.3), Bangladesh (1.2), America (1.1) Millions) of workers suffering from modern slavery. Notably, six of these are G20 countries—India, China, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey, and the United States.
Although India ranks first in the number of people who experience modern slavery, North Korea leads in terms of percentage. There, 104.6 people out of a thousand suffer from labor slavery. Eritrea 90.3, Mauritania 32, Saudi Arabia 21.3, Turkey 15.6, Tajikistan 14, United Arab Emirates. It is 13.4, Russia 13, Afghanistan 13 and Kuwait 13. The prevalence of modern slavery in India is eight per thousand.

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After Japan, Northwestern Europe has the least modern slavery. Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland and Finland. Even in these countries, despite high levels of economic development, gender equality, social welfare, political stability and strong criminal justice systems, thousands are forced to work or marry. Every day in 2021, 50 million people live in conditions of modern slavery. Of these, approximately 28 million are involved in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriage. Of the more than 12 million victims of modern slavery, more than half (54 percent) are children, women and girls. Migrant workers are three times more likely to be in forced labor than non-migrant workers. Modern slavery occurs in all countries regardless of economic status. More than half (52 percent) of forced labor and a quarter of forced marriages are found in upper-middle-income or high-income countries. The report also indicates that the situation is worse than in 2016.

The situation has worsened in the context of escalating conflict, environmental degradation, global democratic collapse, the return of women’s rights, and the economic and social impacts of the Covid pandemic and responses to it. These complex crises have created significant barriers to employment and education. The rise of extreme poverty and forced and unsafe migration increase the risk of modern slavery. Asia and the Pacific account for 56 percent of the world’s population, including India and China, the most populous countries. Therefore, 15 million of the forced laborers are in this sector. Indebtedness among migrants, the plight of contract workers in South Asia, and government-imposed forced labor in China and North Korea are all part of this. The extent of forced marriage is second only to the Arab countries in Asia and the Pacific. In Pakistan and India, economic insecurity forces workers into precarious jobs or loans from employers. Employers exploit forced labor to repay debts. While almost all countries have criminalized corruption, reports say 19 countries, including India, do not have official intervention in cases of labor servitude. In India, officials are also accused of taking bribes instead of law enforcement.
(Source: IPA)