The private security sector is one of the fastest growing in the world, as security guards are increasingly hired to guard factories, office buildings, extractive worksites, residential facilities, transport hubs, and hotels, in addition to military and other government facilities. Migrant workers are often hired for these positions and, as such, a risk of human trafficking exists.
2021 ITUC Global Rights Index Published | Five Corridors Project Releases Reports on the Fair Recruitment of Migrant Workers | U.S. to Downgrade Malaysia to Lowest Tier in Trafficking Report | Dozens Die in Bangladesh Factory Fire | Ending Human Trafficking in the Twenty-First Century | International Treaty Addresses Violence and Harassment | Report finds high risk of slavery in Canadian Supply Chains
Despite the growing awareness of, and commitments to, ethical recruitment, an analysis of CUMULUS data from early 2019 to the present reveals that less than five percent of employers fully absorb the true cost of cross border recruitment, including all recruitment fees and related costs. Instead, those costs continue to be passed on to foreign migrant workers.
Verité has identified a number of factors that increase workers’ vulnerability to becoming victims of human trafficking, all of which will likely worsen during and after the COVID-19 crisis, including poverty, inequality, political instability, conflict, crime/violence, and tightening of restrictions on immigration.
As we at Verité take stock of COVID-19’s many implications for employers and supply chain actors, we particularly want to emphasize the importance of the high-level principles that companies should promote in their own operations and supply chains.