Confessions of a Sweatshop Inspector

I remember one particularly bad factory in China. It produced outdoor tables, parasols, and gazebos, and the place was a mess. Work floors were so crowded with production materials that I could barely make my way from one end to the other. In one area, where metals were being chemically treated, workers squatted at the edge of steaming pools as if contemplating a sudden, final swim. The dormitories were filthy: the hallways were strewn with garbageâ€”orange peels, tea leavesâ€”and the only way for anyone to bathe was to fill a bucket with cold water. In a country where workers normally suppress their complaints for fear of getting fired, employees at this factory couldn’t resist telling us the truth. “We work so hard for so little pay,” said one middle-aged woman with undisguised anger. We could only guess how hardâ€”the place kept no time cards. Painted in large characters on the factory walls was a slogan: “If you don’t work hard today, look hard for work tomorrow.” Inspirational, in a way.

Confessions of a Sweatshop Inspector - Washington Monthly, 2008 DOWNLOAD

Updated Modern Slavery Map

News & AnalysisOnline Tools

We have updated our Interactive Map for Business of Anti-Human Trafficking Organisations (www.modernslaverymap.org). The Map currently includes 112 initiatives and organisations who are working on five human-trafficking-related issues (child labour,...Read More

TAGS: Recruitment Construction & Security Services Garments & Textiles Tourism, Hospitality & Recreational Services Financial sector Extractives & Mining Information and Communications Technology Transportation/ Logistics Agriculture, Horticulture & Landscaping Manufacturing Aquaculture & Fishing Forestry/ Reforestation, Wood & Paper Food & Beverage - Processing & Packaging Global

Announcing a New Cooperation Using Tech to Combat Human Trafficking

News & AnalysisEvents

When: June 28, 2018 all-day

The RESPECT founding organizations, Babson College’s Initiative on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, and the International Organization for Migration, proudly announce that we have been chosen as the Research Lead to guide the...

TAGS: Information and Communications Technology Global

First National Study on Trafficking in Persons in Bangladesh

News & AnalysisPublications

Bangladeshi victims of trafficking in persons are identified in many countries across the world, as well as in Bangladesh itself. The country’s geographic location contributes to it not only being a significant origin country of victims regionally...Read More

TAGS: Asia

Addressing vulnerability to trafficking in persons

News & Analysis

Evidence collected in the past decades clearly illustrates that there are a variety of factors that intersect to enhance the risks of being targeted and recruited by traffickers. These range from extreme poverty, marginalization due to social identi...Read More

TAGS: Recruitment Global