The need for new alliances of anti-trafficking organisations, by Katrin McGauran
01 January 2009
Anti-trafficking organisations should create new alliances and formulate demands to protect migrants from the impact of the global recession.
In the wake of the financial crisis, migrant rights groups and international organisations such as the UN [1] and ILO [2] have drawn attention to the increased vulnerability that migrant workers will suffer as a result of the economic downturn. The ILO forecasts that the crisis will result in some 20 million jobs losses - predominantly in low-paid sectors where migrant workers are over-represented. Although there is currently no conclusive evidence to show the precise impact of the crisis on migration patterns, it has been noted that as opportunities for regular labour migration are expected to decrease, there might be an increase in undocumented migration and an increase in informal working relations. Here also, an increase in trafficking in human beings is a possibility; and root causes, such as increased dependency on employers, are certainly created. We might see an increase or change in pattern in internal and cross-border trafficking as various work sectors are affected differently. All these developments call for an adequate and timely response from anti-trafficking organisations and migrant support groups. These should include formulating prevention and social support strategies, creating strategic alliances with labour, migrant and social and economic rights groups, and formulating a set of demands to create social and economic welfare protection for migrants to prevent trafficking.
Mapping the crisis and its effect on migrants
In February this year, at its eighth European Regional Meeting in Lisbon, the ILO announced that "the scale, depth and breadth of the crisis in Europe are much larger than even pessimistic commentators expected […] and the situation has considerably worsened over the last six months." The crisis, therefore, is set to last, and indications show it is also global in reach: whilst Europe is particularly affected by the slowdown in North America, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Arab world are also increasingly hit. The ILO also reports that consequences of the financial crisis on labour markets are already visible across Europe and Central Asia in the form of rising unemployment figures. Specifically, "starting in the financial services and construction sectors in the most affected countries, job cuts are now spreading throughout the manufacturing and service sectors of virtually all the countries in the region."[3]
Several reports [4] have indicated that next to job losses, migrants will be particularly hit by a reduction in wages and a deterioration of working conditions, as companies and employers will try to make savings. In addition, governments might cut social service provisions. Migrants in their turn are now likely to be forced to accept lower wages and bad working conditions just to keep their jobs and support their families. Moreover, the fact that they are not covered by social and economic insurances and that they cannot go without long periods of unemployment makes them vulnerable to exploitation by employers. Already, undocumented migrants are systematically denied health care, education, are deprived of labour protections and occupy the worst housing conditions in Europe. They live in abject poverty and their "precarious administrative status makes them highly susceptible to systematic abuse within both public and private domains".[5] This situation is now likely to worsen, especially for those who cannot return home or lack skills for self-employment or family and social support networks. The crisis therefore compounds one of the main root causes known to increase vulnerability to trafficking, namely, poverty and social exclusion.
The crisis is also expected to lead to a decline in remittance flows to developing countries as migrants lose their jobs, thus increasing poverty and possibly exacerbating North-South development gaps. Furthermore, the return of unemployed migrants to countries of origin, where they are also likely to face high unemployment rates and poverty could affect economic and social stability.
Racism and anti-migrant policy responses
Another dangerous effect of the crisis is also an increase in discrimination, xenophobia and racism, as migrants are perceived as taking the jobs of local workers. This has already started to be seen in the UK, where workers came out on strikes demanding "British jobs for British workers", echoing prime minister Gordon Brown's earlier public statement to that effect.[6] This development has increased fears of migrant and support groups that the crisis will trigger the adoption of more restrictive immigration policies in a misguided attempt to protect the domestic labour market. Indeed, despite ample evidence that immigration is a stimulant for job creation rather than competing with local jobs, a reduction in the number of labour migrants has already been announced in Italy and the UK and is under discussion in Australia, whilst Spain has introduced financial incentives to encourage unemployed migrants to return home.[7]
Sector- and gender-specific sectors
Anti-trafficking organisations and migrant support groups should pay particular attention to the sectors that are or will be disproportionably affected by the crisis, as well as the gendered impact of labour market changes. Evidence from Spain shows that there might be an increase of irregular work in the construction sector, which increases vulnerability and worsens working conditions: whilst some 25,000 fewer workers were employed in the construction sector between January 2007 and January 2008, other data that includes workers who are not affiliated to the social security system show an increase of 71,000 workers in the construction sector during 2007. It is therefore assumed that "employment in the construction sector grew mainly by means of undeclared work, in other words, outside the social security net, which is predominant among immigrant workers."[8]
Women and men will be affected differently by the immigration policy changes mentioned above, depending on whether sectors dominated by one gender fall under state regulation and/or are affected more by the crisis than others. It is noteworthy that figures are being quoted for the construction sector, whilst no figures are available for the female-dominated service sector, which is also said to suffer disproportionately, but is not regulated and therefore not monitored. The effect of the crisis on migrant women is therefore not properly monitored and researched.
Create alliances and formulate demands
With a view to these developments, now is the time for human rights activists - including anti-trafficking NGOs - to focus their work on protecting the most vulnerable members of society. This could be done in several ways:
Firstly, more research on (the impact of the crisis on) migrants' working conditions - with the aim of formulating improved intervention strategies - is needed. Anti-trafficking organisations could use this evidence to inform their prevention and social assistance work in sectors that are or will be disproportionably affected by the crisis, also with a view to the gendered impact of labour market changes.
Secondly, to achieve more impact anti-trafficking organisations should form strategic alliances with anti-poverty networks, migrant (self-)organisations, and labour organisations and coordinate the positions they take in relevant international and national fora. Cooperation should take place on common areas of concern, such as forced labour and exploitation of migrant labour in general. As anti-trafficking NGOs have continually noted the negative impact of restrictive immigration policy and practice on the rights of trafficked persons, they could consider joining migrant groups in their lobby against, to name but one example, utilitarian approaches to migration control that favour only the highly skilled and do not provide labour protection in low-paid sectors. Anti-trafficking groups should act on the knowledge that a general anti-immigration consensus threatens the identification and adequate protection of potential trafficked persons. Anti-trafficking NGOs can also encourage migrant and labour organisation to join their lobby efforts, for example, to support the demand to provide all trafficked persons’ access to support and assistance regardless of their immigration status, and to grant residency status and access to services independent from participation in criminal proceedings. These mechanisms could be extended to cover all victims of forced labour and exploitation. In turn, anti-trafficking NGOs could join others in their demand for labour and discrimination complaint mechanisms for (undocumented) migrant workers, basic income, welfare provisions and active labour market policies supporting low-skilled migrant and native workers, as they might help to protect potential trafficked persons. The recent report submitted by Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking, is hopeful in this respect. She promises to specifically target the demand for “cheap labour” as a root cause for trafficking, and notes that “trafficking feeds on poverty, despair, war [and] crisis”.
Last but not least, a comprehensive response to the crisis requires a new vision for long-term solutions that addresses root causes for trafficking. Dr. Yakin Erturk, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, recently stated that “in the neo-liberal era we have lost our welfare state, which no longer took any interest in providing livelihoods or social security services. My hope is that by calling the state back in, we can reintroduce social policy that will benefit women.” This can be said to hold true not only with regard to women, but to all those suffering poverty, exploitation and social exclusion.
An abridged version of this article appeared in the
La Strada International Newsletter Issue 12, April 2009,
http://www.lastradainternational.org/?main=newsletter
Footnotes
[1] On 2 December 2008, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that the financial crisis could drive more people into slave-like conditions and called on governments, civil society, the private sector and individuals to join the fight against slavery, protect victims and raise awareness of the issue. UN press release:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29148&Cr=exploit&
[2] The ILO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia organised the 8th European Regional Meeting in Lisbon from 9 to 13 February, where government, employers and workers representatives discussed the economic crisis and the policy packages applied by different countries to mitigate its adverse impact. As a background document for this meeting the ILO’s Director General prepared the report “Policy responses to the economic crisis: A decent work approach in Europe and Central Asia”, which includes policy recommendations to governments in the light of the economic crisis. The agenda for the meeting and all relevant documents are available (in English, French, Russian, Spanish and German at:
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/geneva/what/events/lisbon2009/index.htm
[3] See "Policy responses to the economic crisis A decent work approach in Europe and Central Asia", International Labour Office Geneva, Feb 2009,
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/geneva/download/events/lisbon2009/policy_responses_en.pdf.
[4] 'Migration and the Economic Downturn: What to Expect in the European Union', Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption, and Will Somerville, Migration Policy Institute, January 2009,
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/transatlantic/EU_Recession_backgrounder.pdf; 'Immigrants and the Current Economic Crisis', By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Aaron Terrazas, January 2009,
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/lmi_recessionJan09.pdf; 'Meltdown Leaves Migrant Workers Prone to Abuse', Prime Sarmiento, IPS News, 23 January 2009,
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45516; The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Migration, IOM Policy Brief,
http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/policy_and_research/policy_documents/policy_brief_jan2009.pdf; 'Economic downturn impacts most on migrant workers', Jessica Duran, IKEI, October 2008,
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/ewco/2008/09/ES0809079I.htm
[5] 'What challenges and policy responses concerning the social rights of undocumented migrants?', Michele LeVoy, European Anti-Poverty Network News, July-September 2008,
http://www.eapn.eu/content/blogcategory/41/31/
[6] 'Thousands strike over migrant workers: 'British jobs' slogan backfires on Brown in UK-wide action',
http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Thousands-strike-over-migrant-workers.4933228.jp
[7] IOM Policy Brief, January 2009, ibid.
[8] Jessica Duran, ibid.