Forced labour in the UK

Why are migrants so vulnerable?

Forced labour is not restricted to poorer countries. In the UK many of those exploited illegally in abusive employment situations are migrants, in particular failed asylum seekers. This article looks at why migrant workers are so vulnerable to exploitation, and how our immigration policy contributes to this. It is relevant to the study of population, which is a core AS topic

Louise Waite

We think of forced labour occurring in places like India, Pakistan and Brazil rather than in Western countries. Yet there have been some recent high-profile cases of forced labour in the UK. These include:

■ the Morecambe Bay tragedy in 2004 when 19 Chinese migrants drowned while cocklepicking under ‘gang-master’ control