Forced labour research project commences work

A national research project looking at the extent of forced labour in the UK will begin work next month in drawing in accounts from workers who have been trapped in abusive employment conditions.

Supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the project follows up an earlier report trade in workers trafficked for the purpose of forced labour, worth $32 billion annually worldwide, the earlier report noted that there was little reliable evidence on the extent of this modern form of slavery in the UK.  The current research project is an attempt to address this issue.

Coordinated by Dr Sam Scott, of Bristol University, the research will be concentrated in three areas: Bristol, Lincolnshire and Dundee (including Angus and Fife). Teams of community researchers, speaking Romanian, Cantonese, Polish, Bulgarian, Latvian and Russian will be active in each of these areas.  They are looking for the opportunity to talk to 60 people who have had experience of exploitation and forced labour.

The range of issues they expect to cover includes:

• Threats at work or the experience of some kind of violence - psychological or physical.
• Being prevented from leaving, or right to leave otherwise limited by an employer.
• The payment of money for certain services (housing, travel, clothing, job finding etc) leaving the worker in debt.
• Deductions from wages without the worker's agreement.
• Passports or other identity documents removed and not returned.
• Threats by employers of reporting workers to the immigration or police authorities.

If you have been experience of any of these predicaments the research team would like to hear from you.  The information provide will be treated in the strictest confidence and will be anonymised i.e. no individual, company, place names, or other identifying features will be used. A payment of £35 will be made to people taking part in the research to cover travel expenses and their time. Interviews will last approximately one hour. 

For more information contact or to arrange an interview, contact Dr Sam Scott on 0117 954 6767 (or email Sam.Scott@bris.ac.uk).