New EU ban on forced labour products leaves out migrant workers

In a final vote on 19 November 2024, the EU Council passed a new EU Regulation banning products made from forced labour, which largely neglects the realities and needs of migrant workers.

While this new law is often referred to as the ‘Forced Labour Ban regulation’, the ban actually targets products, not forced labour itself. The new regulation bans products that are proven to be made with forced labour (either inside the EU or imported from outside the EU).

Silvia Carta, Advocacy Officer at PICUM, said: “While the intention to fight forced labour is certainly positive, banning products alone is not enough to help workers affected by forced labour and may even put them in situations of heightened vulnerability. This Regulation does little to address their situation, especially for those with precarious residence status and those undocumented.”

The Regulation adopted does not foresee consultation or engagement with workers involved, nor does it foresee remediation or access to better conditions for victims of forced labour who made the products. The risk is that workers experiencing forced labour will simply lose a (however precarious and inadequate) source of income without having the chance to get justice and remedy.

Workers whose residence status is dependent on the employer or undocumented workers would risk immigration enforcement if they engage with the authorities during the investigations around cases of forced labour.

The Regulation does allow all interested parties to file complaints, but without strong confidentiality provisions, protection from retaliation and the prospect to obtain redress, it is difficult to imagine how workers could use it.

The EU anti-trafficking framework is not enough to protect these workers and cannot be used as a stopgap for the shortcomings in this new Regulation. Even when undocumented workers are victims of trafficking or forced labour, they are often treated as offenders due to their immigration status and required to leave the country or are deported as a result of interacting with law enforcement and labour inspectorates. In some cases, they may obtain a temporary residence permit as long as there are criminal proceedings they are able to cooperate with. But access to remedy, including secure residence permits and compensation, remains sorely lacking.

Suzanne Hoff, International Coordinator of La Strada International, said: “While the adoption of the EU Forced Labour Regulation is a positive step forward, the level of proof required to initiate an investigation is high, putting much burden on exploited workers and NGOs to trace all evidence, while there is little obligation to remedy workers in cases of serious misconduct”.  

When implementing this Regulation, EU member states must:

• Clearly separate investigations from immigration enforcement, so that investigative authorities do not report undocumented people to immigration enforcement;
• Foresee systematic consultation with involved workers and their representatives throughout the investigation and banning process, and ensure it is safe for them to do so;
• Decriminalise victims of forced labour and provide those with precarious residence status or undocumented with the opportunity to regularise their status and find new employment, as well as other supports to access remedy and rights such as payment of back wages and compensation.