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View all search resultsModern slavery: Beyond the myth of chains and shackles
Modern slavery is about an absence of choice: situations where workers lack the real freedom to stop working because of threats, coercion, deception or debt.
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An activist takes part in a hunger strike outside the Senayan Legislative Complex in Central Jakarta on Aug. 14, 2023, as part of a protest demanding lawmakers pass the long-awaited domestic workers protection bill. (AFP/Adek Berry)
W
hen most Indonesians hear the term “modern slavery,” they think of perbudakan in its historical sense, people in chains, legally owned by others, with no freedom at all.
In reality, modern slavery goes far beyond this. It is about an absence of choice: situations where workers lack the real freedom to stop working because of threats, coercion, deception or debt.
In recent years, its scope has been increasingly expanded to include abusive labor practices and the worst forms of child labor.
The growing importance of the issue was highlighted recently by a widely reported case involving technology company Dyson in the United Kingdom where, following allegations by Nepali and Bangladeshi migrant workers of forced labor and abusive labor practices at a Malaysian supplier, the UK courts allowed the workers to bring civil damages claims directly against Dyson Group in the UK.
As more countries adopt laws to combat modern slavery, Indonesian companies face growing scrutiny.
Labor practices that might once have passed as “business as usual” can now trigger legal and reputational consequences abroad, including lost contracts, blocked exports, market exclusion and even civil or criminal liability.
The UK was an early mover with its Modern Slavery Act of 2015. The law requires large companies that do business in the UK, including foreign companies, to publish an annual statement explaining how they address modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains. A company does not need to be based in the UK to be caught by the law.
