ILO Forced Labour Protocol: ratification by EU countries

SUMMARY OF:

• Council Decision (EU) 2015/2037 authorising EU countries to ratify the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention (1930), as regards matters relating to social policy
• Council Decision (EU) 2015/2071 authorising EU countries to ratify the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention (1930), as regards Articles 1 to 4 of the Protocol, relating to judicial cooperation in criminal matters

SUMMARY

WHAT DO THESE DECISIONS DO?

• They authorise EU governments to ratify the Protocol which the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted in 2014 and call for them to do so by the end of 2016. This gives new impetus to ILO’s Forced Labour Convention of 1930 in preventing the use of forced labour, in particular in the context of trafficking in persons, protecting victims and providing access to remedies.

KEY POINTS

• The ILO Forced Labour Protocol covers areas of social policy and judicial cooperation in criminal matters which come under the EU’s competence.
• The EU as such cannot ratify the protocol. Only individual EU countries may do so. The 2 decisions authorise EU governments to ratify the text, ‘acting jointly in the interests of the Union’.
• Decision 2015/2037 covers areas of social policy in the Protocol, such as the employment relationship, working time, temporary agency work, and health and safety at work which are already the object of EU legislation.
• Decision 2015/2071 covers criminal matters in the Protocol, such as the protection of victims of crime. The EU has already legislated in this area with directives on combating trafficking in human beings and protection of victims.
• On the basis of its opt-out for the area of freedom, security and justice, Denmark is not bound by Decision 2015/2071.
• Countries ratifying the Forced Labour Protocol are required to develop a national policy and plan of action and engage in international cooperation for the suppression of forced labour, in consultation with social partners. They must take measures to prevent forced labour, to improve the protection of victims and to provide them access to remedies, including compensation.

BACKGROUND

Forced labour is work performed involuntarily and under coercion and is universally recognised as a crime since the ILO landmark Forced Labour Convention No 29 as adopted in 1930.

However, the ILO estimates that 20.9 million people around the world are still victims of forced labour. The vast majority of them are now in the private economy, in particular in the form of trafficking for labour exploitation. The Forced Labour Protocol and Recommendation, adopted by the ILO in 2014, aim at stepping up the global fight against all forms of forced labour.

FROM WHEN DO THE DECISIONS APPLY?

They apply from 12 November 2015. EU countries should take the necessary steps to deposit their instruments of ratification by 31 December 2016.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see

• International Labour Standards on Forced Labour on the International Labour Organisation’s website

ACTS

Council Decision (EU) 2015/2037 of 10 November 2015 authorising Member States to ratify, in the interests of the European Union, the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, of the International Labour Organisation with regard to matters relating to social policy (OJ L 298, 14.11.2015, pp. 23-24)

Council Decision (EU) 2015/2071 of 10 November 2015 authorising Member States to ratify, in the interests of the European Union, the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, of the International Labour Organisation as regards Articles 1 to 4 of the Protocol with regard to matters relating to judicial cooperation in criminal matters (OJ L 301, 18.11.2015, pp. 47-48)

RELATED ACTS

Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930

last update 17.03.2016