Tackling exploitation of migrant workers in agriculture

Aerial view of olive groves and cereal

The rise in global crises, conflicts and climate change has seen escalating risks of forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking. Displacement and socio-economic inequality impacts millions of people worldwide, leaving many vulnerable to exploitation in their search for work. With over 128 million migrants worldwide, these risks occur on a huge scale.

Risks to migrant workers in agriculture

Agriculture relies heavily on seasonal work. Across Europe, this is often performed by migrant workers, some of whom deliberately migrate for work (including through government run schemes), and others who find their way into the sector following migration.

People who migrate for agricultural work, do so with the promise of real wages and opportunities unavailable in the countries they depart from. Migration can come at great cost to those seeking work, with many taking out loans to pay unscrupulous recruiters, who promise debts can be repaid through better income and opportunities abroad. 

In reality, this employment is often insecure, informal, and particularly vulnerable to risks associated with modern slavery and trafficking. Workers can find themselves in debt, under-paid, working in poor conditions and reliant on visa sponsors, limiting their ability to freely find new work. As migrants, they may lack an awareness of the local language and employment rights, and even fear reprisals for speaking out.

European supply chains

For many years, human rights abuse has been identified in European agricultural supply chains – from Italian tomatoes to Spanish fruits and vegetables - these risks are high and evident, particularly to migrant workers. ETI has worked with its members and partners to tackle many of these issues in European supply chains which rely heavily on migrant work; from illegal forms of contracting and or recruitment practices, to the poor working conditions and forms of forced labour these practices often create. This has included the formation and facilitation of the Italy Working Group and engaging with retailers and suppliers in their establishment of the Spanish Ethical Trade Forums. While these initiatives have made progress in raising awareness of human rights risks, there is still a long way to go to resolve these issues.

A new programme

ETI has established a new programme to tackle these issues in fresh produce supply chains within Italy and Spain. Although companies and governments have responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) to respect human rights and remediate harms done, we recognise there are currently no agreed best mechanisms to do so. With funding from the UK Government, our new programme ‘Grievance mechanisms in agriculture’ was established in January 2023, with the help of ETI's trade union, NGO, and company members. It aims to increase access to functional grievance mechanisms for vulnerable workers within the agriculture supply chains of UK businesses in both countries, and raise awareness of risks to migrant workers ahead of migration. 

How will it work?

Over the course of two years, this programme will pilot grievance mechanisms in sites supplying UK businesses in Italy and Spain. The design will be based on a bottom-up approach where workers’ needs inform the programme, with input from other key stakeholders, including local NGOs, trade unions, communities, and employers. Steps will also be taken to better understand how the UK’s public and private sectors can work to address systemic issues affecting workers’ rights in the sector by identifying lessons learned through preliminary research, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the pilot. This will also inform other grievance mechanism initiatives where applicable and appropriate.  

Alongside the pilot, this programme also aims to support and establish a modern slavery prevention network. The network will provide local organisations with a platform to share information and learning with each other and heighten awareness among to-be migrants about the dangers of, and alternatives to, irregular migration and their labour rights once at work.

Our experience has indicated that individual action by companies often leaves out smaller growers and suppliers where risks are higher due to capacity constraints. To combat this, we have formed a work group consisting of 20 members drawn from retailers, suppliers, and NGOs. It will provide oversight, support, and expert advice to the programme and facilitates access to growers and suppliers as well as other key stakeholders and networks.  

Where initiatives are already up and running, we aim to understand how they function and where we can collaborate to reinforce good practice and contribute additional learning. We will collaborate with the Spanish Ethical Trade Forums to ensure that our efforts are coordinated and mutually effective.   

Next steps

Stakeholder mapping and key informant interviews start this summer. We’ll be speaking with key stakeholders to ensure this programme goes a long way in addressing root causes and the needs of workers, communities, NGOs, trade unions and employers in tackling risks of modern slavery and trafficking across this sector.

For more information visit our programme page.

ETI's blog covers issues at the intersection of business and human rights. We feature posts by, for and from our members and allies; we do not accept or offer payment for posts or publish content outside of these criteria. We welcome a range of insights and opinions from our guest bloggers, though don't necessarily agree with everything they say.