Forced labor

Forced Labor

There shall be no use of forced labor, including prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor or other forms of forced labor.

Forced Labor

F.1 General Compliance

F.1.1 Employers, employment agencies, and intermediaries shall comply with all national laws, regulations and procedures concerning the prohibition of forced labor and human trafficking.

F.1.2 If not provided by law, employers must provide protection to workers who allege violations of forced labor.

F.2 Freedom in Employment

F.2.1 All workers shall have the right to enter into and to terminate their employment freely.

F.2.2 Employment terms shall be those to which the worker has voluntarily agreed, in as far as those terms do not fall below:
F.2.2.1 provisions of national laws;
F.2.2.2 freely negotiated and valid collective bargaining agreements; or
F.2.2.3 the FLA Workplace Code.

F.2.3 There can be no employment terms which allow employers, employment agencies, or intermediaries:
F.2.3.1 to hold wages already earned; or
F.2.3.2 use earned back wages as penalties; and
F.2.3.3 in any way punishes workers for terminating employment.

F.3 Debt / Bonded Labor

F.3.1 Employers, employment agencies, or intermediaries shall not bind workers to employment as a condition of fulfilling terms of a debt

F.3.2 Employers, employment agencies, or intermediaries may provide loans directly to workers only if they are a component of a larger loan program (e.g. housing or education loans) available to all workers.

F.3.2.1 Lending and savings programs provided to workers by employers, employment agencies, or intermediaries must comply with all national laws and regulations for such programs.

F.3.3 The continuance of loans may not be dependent on continued employment at the workplace, and no penalties may be assessed on the loan for workers ending employment at the workplace.

F.3.4 Interest may not exceed the cost of administering the loan program and any tax liabilities incurred by the program, and according to legal limits.

F.4 Freedom of Movement

F.4.1 If workplace entrances are locked or guarded to prevent non-employee access to the premises for security reasons, workers shall have free egress at all times.

F.4.2 No terms imposed by the employer or any employment agencies or intermediaries shall confine or restrict employees’ freedom of movement or free transit

F.5 Employer Controlled Residence

Employers shall not require, or influence, workers to live in employer-owned or -controlled residences as a condition of recruitment, continued employment or to receive the same terms of employment and working conditions as other workers in the same position.

F.6 Freedom of Movement in Employer Controlled Residence

The freedom of movement of workers who live in employer-owned or -controlled residences shall not be unreasonably restricted.

F.7 Threat of Penalty

F.7.1 Employers shall not utilize, nor shall they use employment agencies or intermediaries that utilize, practices that restrict any worker’s freedom of movement, ability to terminate their employment, or that create a threat of penalty. Examples of such practices include, but are not limited to:
F.7.1.1 (the threat of) physical or mental coercion;
F.7.1.2 requiring deposits;
F.7.1.3 imposing financial penalties;
F.7.1.4 requiring workers to pay recruitment and/or employment fees;
F.7.1.5 providing precarious employment;
F.7.1.6 using false information to recruit workers

F.8 Forced Overtime

The imposition of overtime where workers are unable to leave the work premises constitutes forced labor.

F.9 Personal Identification and Other Documents

Workers shall retain possession and control of their passports, identity papers, travel documents, work permits, and other personal legal documents.

F.10 Storage for Employee Documents

F.10.1 Employers shall provide at employee request secure storage for employee’s documents such as passports, identity papers, travel documents, and other personal legal documents. Such storage shall be freely accessible to workers at all times.

F.10.2 Employers shall not withhold any such documents or restrict workers’ access to them for any reason, including ensuring that workers shall remain in employment in the workplace.

F.11 Employment Fees

Fees and other costs associated with the employment of workers, including migrant/contingent/contract/temporary workers, shall be the sole responsibility of the employer.

F.12 Free Disposal of Wages

F.12.1 Employers may not limit in any manner the freedom of workers to dispose of their wages.

F.12.2 Workers must be free from any coercion to make use of enterprise or employer-operated stores

Forced Labor

F.1 General Compliance 

Employers shall comply with all national laws, regulations and procedures concerning the prohibition of forced labor and human trafficking in any stage of the agriculture production process.

F.2 Freedom in Employment

All workers shall have the right to enter into and to terminate their employment freely.

F.3 Debt/Bonded Labor

F.3.1 Employers shall not bind workers to employment as a condition of fulfilling terms of a debt to a third party or to the employer.

F.4 Freedom of Movement

F.4.1 If workplace entrances are locked or guarded to prevent non-employee access to the premises for security reasons, workers shall have free egress at all times, subject to work rules.

F.4.2 No employment term or disciplinary practice shall confine or restrict workers’ freedom of movement.

F.5 Employer Controlled Residence

F.5.1 Employers shall not require workers to live in employer-owned or -controlled residences as a condition of recruitment, continued employment or to receive the same terms of employment and working conditions as other workers in the same position.

F.5.2 Employers shall not subject workers to any undue influence to persuade workers to live in such residences.

F.5.3 The freedom of movement of workers and their families who live in employer-owned or -controlled residences shall not be unreasonably restricted, except for valid reasons such as health and safety (e.g., after chemical application).

F.6 Work of Family Members

F.6.1 Spouses and adult children of hired workers are not required to work, unless voluntarily contracted.

F.6.2 Employers shall not make the employment of a worker or an offer of housing conditional on the employment or their spouses.

F.6.3 If more than one member from the same family/household is hired by the employer/producer on the same farm, each one should have separate contract with no linkage to other members.

F.6.4 Farm owners’ spouses and adult children have the right to work elsewhere.

F.7 Freedom of Movement/Workers Ability to Terminate

Employers shall not utilize practices that restrict workers freedom of movement or ability to terminate his or her employment. Examples of such practices include, but are not limited to:
F.7.1 (the threat of) physical or mental coercion;
F.7.2 requiring deposits;
F.7.3 imposing financial penalties;
F.7.4 requiring recruitment fees;
F.7.5 denying and hampering access to, and renewal of, identity papers and/or work permits or any other personal legal (identification) documents;
F.7.6 partially or fully retaining salaries, benefits or any other rights acquired by workers or stipulated by law;
F.7.7 hindering workers to leave work for emergency reasons.

F.8 Forced Overtime

The imposition of overtime where workers are unable to leave the work premises constitutes forced labor.

F.9 Personal Workers Identification and Other Documents

Workers shall retain possession or control of their passports, identity papers, travel documents, and other personal legal documents. Employers may obtain copies of original documents for record -keeping purposes, or as ID substitute.

F.10 Storage for Employee Documents

Employers shall provide at employee request secure storage for employees documents such as passports, identity papers, travel documents, and other personal legal documents. Such storage shall be freely accessible to workers.