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Asian Labour Update - 81 ASIANASIAN LABOURLABOUR UPDATEUPDATE PUBLISHED BY ASIA MONITOR RESOURCE CENTRE, HONG KONG Issue 81 May 2012 - August 2012 In this issue: ‘Slavery’ in New Zealand 4 ModernModern Slavery,Slavery, Waters? By Kate Day EnvironmentalEnvironmental ExploitationExploitation Deconstructing Green Jobs, 9 Foregrounding Decent Work By Joselito M. Natividad Why , hundreds of years after it was legally abolished, does slavery persist? Decontamination Fantasy and 14 Compensation: Bonded labour, or debt bondage, is perhaps the least known form of slavery Getting TEPCO and the today, and yet it is the most commonly used method of enslaving people. Government to Take Responsibility By Sugai Masuro People turn into bonded labour when their labour is demanded as means of repayment for a debt. It characterised by ‘creditor-debtor’ relationship that Gender Column: 20 Two Recent Advances for labourer passes on to their family member. Bonded labours are trapped into Working Women in Australia: working for effectively no pay, often for restless working hours, seven days a Universal Paid Parental Leave week; it’s often involves the whole family member and endures from generation and Recognition of Industry- Wide Pay Discrimination to generation. There is no doubt, the value of their work is always far greater By Michael Walker than the money they borrowed. OSH Column: 24 Recent Situation of The ILO estimates that in the Asia-Pacific region today a minimum 11.7 million are Occupational Health and in forced/bonded labour. However, the occurrence of bonded labour is much Safety in Turkey greater than generally estimated, and it may be increasing in various forms and in By Emre Eren Korkmaz specific contexts. In India, for example, bonded labour has not been purely a Regional Round-up 26 matter of economic, but also reinforced by custom or coercion in many sectors including agricultural, silk, mining, and brick kiln industries. Resource/Review 34 In Nepal, although bonded labour (known as Kamaiya , meaning forced labour and forced prostitution due to debt) has also been banned under the law, but the Continue to page 3 ASIAN LABOUR UPDATE - 81 Contributors & Editorial Board ASIAN LABOUR UPDATE ISSN 1815-9389 Issue Number 81 May –August 2012 © Copyright 2012 Asian Labour Update; all rights reserved • Kate Day works for the Christchurch Anglican Church EDITORIAL TEAM and on the board of Slave Free Seas : http:// Sanjiv Pandita, Apo Leong, Omana George, Wulandari, Sally Choi, Fahmi Panimbang slavefreeseas.org. Email: [email protected] ASIAN LABOUR UPDATE (ALU) is a quarterly news • Joselito M. Natividad Program Coordinator , Asia Pacific bulletin on labour issues in southern and eastern Asia. It Mission for Migrants (APMM), Hong Kong. Email: jna- is prepared and published by the Asia Monitor Resource [email protected] Centre Ltd (AMRC), a non-profit, pro-labour, non- governmental organization based in Hong Kong. • Sugai Masuro , Professor at Faculty of Economics - Ko- Articles and information in ALU may be reproduced in non-profit publications with clear citations, credit to kugakuin University, and activist with People’s Research author/s and ALU. For online reprints, please notify us Institute on Energy and Environment , Japan. of the relevant URL; for printed matter, please send one hard copy to the address below. • Michael Walker , a union official in Sydney, Australia. ALU articles do not necessarily reflect views and Email: [email protected] positions of AMRC. Opinions to the editor are encouraged. Asian labour • EILER (Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and groups and NGOs may ask for complimentary Research, Inc), Philippines. Email: [email protected] subscriptions. The Editor • RIAWM (The Research Institute for Alternative Workers Asia Monitor Resource Centre Movements, South Korea (http://www.pssp.org) Flat 7, 9/F, Block A Fuk Keung Industrial Building • Kong Athit , Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' 66-68 Tong Mi Road Kowloon, Hong Kong Democratic Union (C.CAWDU), Cambodia. Email: konga- Tel: (852) 2332-1346 [email protected] Fax: (852) 2385-5319 Email: [email protected] • Amirul Haque Amin , President of National Garment URL: http://www.amrc.org.hk Workers Federation (NGWF), Bangladesh. Email: [email protected] Photo cover by Emma Bevernage. Indonesian crew and their supporters demonstrate over wages unpaid by both their FCV operator, Taejin • Eren Korkmaz is international officer, Leather Workers Fisheries, and the New Zealand charter party. Union of Turkey, MA Student in Sabancı University, Tur- Christchurch, New Zealand, October 3rd, 2012. key. 2 ASIA MONITOR RESOURCE CENTRE Editorial system has evolved in various forms (such as Haliya in their contracts, even if fleeing abuse. They become western part of the country) where the rehabilitation bonded labour in the ocean. of the kamaiyas has been erratic. In Pakistan, systematic enslavement of many generations of On the other hand, the Korean vessels have also been people has also been alarmingly widespread. Bonded exploiting and polluting the ocean. Despite the labour was legally abolished everywhere, yet many overfishing that has caused environmental disaster, governments fail to enforce their own laws against its they often throw the catches overboard to provide practice. space for higher value ones, which researchers estimated as much as 40 to 50 per cent of the catch. Many of bonded labours have been held for There is a clear need for a structural and serious generations, paying off a supposed ‘loan’ taken out by response to these slavery as well as environmental their grandparents. Ashraf, a bonded labour being exploitation in the fishing supply chain. Making bonded enslaved near Lahore in Pakistan in brick kiln factory labour as modern slavery a history requires authentic has said: " There is no way out. How do I get out from commitment from governments to adhere to their here? I have no way out of this. My grandfather died constitutional ban of its practices, and of course here, my father has grown old here, and I am growing democratic control from the society. old too. We are slaves, we are not free ." ( Slavery: A 21st Century Evil , http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/ The second feature of the ALU examines and uncovers slaverya21stcenturyevil/2011/10/20111010144417942321.h the notion of green economy and green jobs; it is a tml). cover-up tool for neoliberal globalization, a mantra that nothing less than the overhauling of a system that Ashraf also mentioned that he and his fellows labour is driven by the profit motive. Green economy and normally sleep only two hours every day to continue green jobs are excuse for not dealing with the reality working; nobody will be able to escape as guards are that neoliberal globalization has failed. This article watching from every spots. Like many other bonded argues that green jobs programmes have been proved labours, he gave his kidney to his employer for organ that they are not really contributing to decent work. trade/trafficking which agreed as part of his repayment For example, recycle industry which in principle it is to a supposed ‘loan’. But he and his family remain viewed as green, are especially notorious for exploiting enslaved in the ‘camp’. cheap, informal labour to squeeze out high rates of return from what are generally considered to be one of The main feature of current issue of Asian Labour the most hazardous occupations. Update (ALU) discusses the practice of bonded labour in fishing industry. ILO estimates not less than 27 The third feature analyses Fukushima and nuclear million people work in capture fisheries globally, and disaster. It argues that Tokyo Electric Power Company commercial fishing takes place in some of the world’s (TEPCO) and government should take the most difficult to regulate places including Asia. By responsibility to the impacts of the disaster, where taking the story of Indonesian fishing labourers both TEPCO and the government would likely shift the working in Korean vessels that operate in New burden to the consumers by raising its electricity rates Zealand’s sea, the article describes many of bonded and pay the cost from people’ taxes. TEPCO and labours from Indonesia have been severely exploited government should compensate the victims and and enslaved: they have exposed to verbal, physical cautiously decontaminate piles of contaminated soils, and sexual abuse, forced to work 16 hour a day for not only in Fukushima but also in Tokyo and Chiba monthly wages as little as US$ 212 and these wages Prefecture. The article suggests how to make TEPCO have not been paid for two years. The workers put up completely pay compensation, come up with the land certificates which held by their employers to money from bank and stockholders instead of taxes, secure their jobs on the boat. They also paid off dismantle the community of people who profit from recruitment agents’ fees incrementally from their nuclear power, and orient Japan toward a nuclear wages; they can be fined up to US$ 10.000 for leaving phase-out. *** ASIAN LABOUR UPDATE - 81 3 Feature ‘Slavery’ in New Zealand Waters? Kate Day At 4am, 20 th June, 2011, the Indonesian crew of the Oyang spread non-payment or underpayment of wages, appalling 75 fled their vessel into the port of Lyttelton, New Zea- working conditions, shifts of up to 53 hours, and physical land. The 32 crew had worked aboard a Korean factory and sexual abuse of crews working aboard FCVs in New trawler, chartered by a New Zealand company to fish New Zealand waters. Abuse occurred almost solely on Korean Zealand waters. Seeking refuge in a church, the crew ex- vessels. plained they had escaped verbal and physical abuse at the hands of their Korean bosses. For months they had not The report also documented debt bondage. Many Indone- been paid. Furthermore, having put up significant collat- sian crews had been forced to put up house titles, educa- eral to manning agents to secure their jobs, the crew had tion certificates and money to secure their jobs.
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