“Caught in a cycle”: India’s sugarcane workers suffer debt bondage as climate change bites
SANKET JAIN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how climate shocks in Maharashtra ruin crops for many farmers leading some to migrate to sugarcane fields to seek work where some say they are trapped due to low pay, poor conditions…
Boy’s death spurs calls for bonded labour crackdown in central India
Mumbai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation The death of an eight-year-old boy whose parents worked as bonded labourers has triggered demands for authorities to crack down on thousands of other suspected cases in nearby villages in central India. Debt bondage is India’s most common form of slavery despite being outlawed four decades ago, and millions of bonded […]
Brazil’s anti-slavery rescuers resume raids after coronavirus halt
Rio de Janerio, BrazilThomson Reuters Foundation Brazilian anti-slavery rescuers have carried out their first raid after a two-month freeze due to the coronavirus outbreak, saying coffee farms will be their main priority when harvesting kicks off next month. As Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll surges, labour inspectors wore surgical masks or face shields and adhered to […]
Traffickers could profit when UK eases lockdown, anti-slavery chief warns
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Britain must be vigilant against human traffickers when it eases the coronavirus lockdown, the country’s anti-slavery chief said, warning of potential exploitation in industries such as hospitality that will be in a rush to recruit new workers. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to present this week a possible way out […]
Malaysia’s first “ethical” job agency targets modern slavery
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation A Malaysian recruitment agency set to launch a pioneering “ethical” hiring model has called for an industry overhaul to tackle debt bondage among migrant workers and end modern slavery in the South-East Asian nation. Led by a team of three women, Kuala Lumpur-based Pinkcollar has billed itself as the first […]
THAILAND: NEW RULES, NEW DEBTS – SLAVERY FEARS FOR MIGRANT WORKERS
MATT BLOMBERG and NANCHANOK WONGSAMUTH, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how Thailand is tackling labour rights for migrant workers – despite resistance from some…
Indian state expands work scheme to tackle exploitation
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation An Indian state with some of the country’s highest levels of migration driven by poverty is doubling the amount of paid work it gives some of its poorest citizens, in a bid to curb debt bondage, a common form of slavery. Authorities in the eastern state of Odisha said hundreds of […]
New taskforces to tackle “missing wombs” scandal in rural India
Mumbai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Special taskforces have been established in India to help stop women from being duped by doctors into having unnecessary hysterectomies that cause debt bondage and enslave families, the country’s health ministry said. A Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation in three Indian states, published in May, found that families were taking big loans for […]
SLAVERY: FREEDOM, MONEY, BABIES – IN INDIA, RESCUED WOMEN COUNT THEIR LOSSES
ANURADHA NAGARAJ and ROLI SRIVASTAVA, of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, report from India…
INDIA: ENSLAVED FOR DECADES, INDIGENOUS PEOPLE FREED BY LAND TITLES
ANURADHA NAGARAJ, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…