Mention of the European slave trade is likely to bring to mind images from over two centuries ago, perhaps of shackled Africans huddled together in diabolical conditions in a slave ship hold, dehumanised and exploited by ruthless plantation owners, writes Breda O'Brien.
Yet an international conference in Trinity College next week, The European Slave Trade: Character, Causes, Challenges, is a reminder that slavery and forced labour can be found everywhere in the world today, including Ireland.
We may feel smug about choosing Fairtrade coffee, but the Irish mushrooms we cook may have been picked by people who came to our country in good faith but end up working in dire conditions. In No Way Forward, No Way Back, Identifying the problem of trafficked labour in Ireland, a publication of the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI) and DCU, a migrant support worker describes mushroom pickers working 10 to 17-hour working days.
The women were paid by the punnet rather than the hour. Many of them suffered severe health problems that they suspected were caused by chemicals sprayed on the mushrooms. While some progress has been made in improving conditions in this area, it remains poorly regulated and ripe for exploitative practices. The problem is not confined to mushroom picking, but is found in many places, including in other aspects of agriculture and food production, in catering, construction, childcare, and domestic work.
When people think about modern-day slavery, the focus tends to be on the very real problem of women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation. However, the problem is much broader and more complex. According to Amnesty International, trafficking refers to "transporting people away from the communities they live in by the threat or use of violence, deception or coercion so they can be exploited as forced or enslaved workers".
Most of the people who end up being exploited in Ireland had work permits and came here legally. However, the circumstances that they encounter in Ireland may be drastically different to what they were promised. When deception is involved, it constitutes a form of trafficking, although it may not have appeared to be at the outset.
Typically, employees will be promised what seem like very high wages. The cost of living in Ireland comes as a nasty shock. The employer may charge them for accommodation and food. Hours may be far longer than promised. Workers may have hefty fees to repay to labour agencies, and perhaps an entire family dependent on what they send home. Due to language difficulties or isolation, workers may not be fully aware of their rights. The fear of deportation hangs constantly over their heads.
Some will just go along, too fearful to do otherwise. Others will leave the employer, and move into the nerve-racking undocumented limbo familiar to generations of illegal Irish in the United States.
The case of Nasir, a qualified chef from Pakistan who was offered work in Ireland, is examined in No Going Forward, No Going Back. He worked from 8 am to 2 am, seven days a week. As well as cooking, he also had to wash dishes, clear up, and deliver menus and takeaway meals in the surrounding estates. Instead of the promised €300 or €400 a week he got €150, from which his employer deducted €50 a week to pay for the work permit. Nasir was verbally abused and continually threatened with deportation. Demoralised, exhausted and unsure of his rights, he felt he had no way out.
Even though there have been some worthwhile reforms concerning work permits, there is still a feeling that the system itself lends itself to exploitation. While in theory it is possible to change employers, it is by no means easy.
The so-called Green Card system effectively creates two classes of migrant workers, high-skilled workers who have more rights and security, and low-skilled workers who are treated like disposable labour units.
Naturally, the majority of employers will treat their employees fairly. However, when they happen, abuses can range from physical violence and threats to more subtle manipulation of people's fears. Measures to combat exploitation have tended to focus on securing borders, in other words, preventing traffickers from bringing people into the country. Bridget Anderson, of the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, Oxford, is speaking at the Trinity conference. She says: "If the problem is exploitation, the solution is implementation of labour standards. Border control can be a bit of a red herring."
With a new Minister for Justice in place, there are hopes of a change in focus in the proposed Criminal Law (Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Offences) Bill. The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has pointed out that there is no provision in the Bill for a period of recuperation and reflection for victims of trafficking, or for any supports such as healthcare, free legal aid, accommodation or translation services.
The IHRC also suggests, in line with the thinking of the EU Experts Group on Trafficking, that assistance be given to victims "regardless of their willingness or capacity to testify against their traffickers". Fear of deportation may dissuade some victims from coming forward. The IHRC, along with other groups like Chambers Ireland and MRCI, have suggested legislating for a temporary residence visa, which would allow people to remain in Ireland for, say, a period of six months. This would give victims breathing space.
It is important that training and awareness-raising is provided for all those who come in contact with migrant workers, ideally in consultation with organisations like MRCI and Ruhama, who have daily experience of working with people experiencing difficulties. This would mean that people in situations of forced labour or sexual exploitation would be identified far more quickly.
One in eight workers is now a non-Irish national. The shameful fact is that for at least some of them, Ireland is a place of ill-treatment and conditions akin to slavery. One focus of the conference in Trinity is how we can begin to change that reality.
The European Slave Trade: Character, Causes, Challenges, sponsored by the Irish School of Ecumenics Trust, Ireland En Route, the Institute for International Integration Studies and the Irish Human Rights Commission, is being held in Trinity College, from July 3rd to 5th. For further information, please see www.europeanslavery.com or telephone 01-2601144, ext 132.