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VULNERABLE PEOPLE ARE being held and forced to work in conditions of slavery across Ireland, a charity has warned after 24 men were found malnourished and living in filthy surroundings at a site in Bedfordshire in England.
The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland said it regularly comes across cases with parallels to the Bedfordshire rescue, where the men were reportedly forced to work, housed in dog kennels and sheds, and had their heads forcibly shaved. The 24 victims were threatened with violence if they tried to escape – a situation which MRCI spokesperson Delphine O’Keeffe said is being replicated in Ireland.
Ms O’Keeffe told TheJournal.ie: “We’re encountering forced labour cases on an ongoing basis in the centre. So far this year, we have seen at least five. Over the last six years, there have been at least 150 cases.”
According to the MRCI, typical hallmarks of forced labour include people being attacked or threatened with violence, having their identity documents confiscated, and being confined to the workplace at all times. However, Ms O’Keeffe said the situation could be much more subtle than the squalid conditions in Bedfordshire.
We see it in the restaurant sector, we see it in domestic work. They’re two sectors which stand out. And it’s not nationality specific; employers have been Irish as well as foreign nationals.
The MRCI is now calling for the Government to introduce new legislation to aid people being held in forced labour, saying that if there is no direct evidence of human trafficking then current legislation is inadequate. “There is no system in place to tackle it specifically,” Ms O’Keeffe said.
She said that forced labour should be specifically criminalised, and measures introduced to protect workers who come forward to report situations of virtual slavery. “People are not going to come forward if there are no supports for them,” she said.
According to the Irish Examiner, the Department of Justice is considering the criminalisation of forced labour as a specific offence.
Four men were yesterday charged with slavery offences after the raid on a UK Traveller site, and will appear in court again today. A fifth person, a woman who is reportedly in the late stages of pregnancy, is expected to be questioned further after the birth of her child.
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Over here they’re not called slaves though, we refer to them as interns…
Filipino women are enslaved domestically in Ireland. I’ve raised this time and time again but got blank faces.
This needs to stop. These girls are terrified they will be deported. The Gardai are useless because they treat them as the perpetrators and not the victim.
In a small town who gets to listen to? The BMW driving well dressed woman or the poor immigrant who came from the Philippines t who doesn’t have great English. Shameful carry on.
These people are supporting people back home. They depend on their money and they will usually do anything for their families.
Ye think? “Vulnerable people are being held and forced to work in conditions of slavery across Ireland”, if Enda, Eamon and Co have their way in the next budget everyone in Ireland will be vulnerable and if they’re lucky enough to be working what they’ll be taking home will be like forcing them to work in conditions of economic slavery. I don’t mean to belittle what happened to these men but whats facing our entire island is no picnic either.
Hardship, vulnerablitity and poverty (which are certainly coming down the tracks in the next few budgets) are not the same as actually slavery Brian… some of these men were imprisoned for 15 years!
Headline isn’t really clear by the way…
I did make it clear that I wasn’t trying to make light of what happened to these men, but I’ve spoken to many people who would describe themselves as in “economic slavery”, with no way out and simply see no light at the end of the tunnell, when they hear politicians say another tough budget I can’t describe what it does to them. The point I was making is that there can be different kinds of slavery, literal slavery like these men experienced and economic slavery like tens of thousands are currently experiencing. At the end of the day, is there is there much difference to the person going through it?
Interesting perspective, so it seems settled Irish middle class business people engage in this sort of vile practice also.
What kind of arsehole voted that comment down?
Forced labour isn’t a criminal offence here? What?
This is no surprise, sure we even have a government website set up here to ease and justify the process for slavery – http://www.jobbridge.ie/
Like I said before, vote Labour, wash elephants, pick cotton.
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