© HTWE/Shutterstock
After a brief decline, labour exploitation in the Western Balkans is on the rise again, threatening the already fragile economic and social fabric of the region
A recent report , entitled Forced to Work: Labour Exploitation in the Western Balkans, by the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) explains that the threat of labour exploitation is of growing concern in the region.
The authors of the study, in collaboration with civil society organizations in the Western Balkans, analysed the dynamics of labor exploitation in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
For the purpose of qualitative research, 111 interviews with various members of academia, law enforcement, local government, and international organisations were conducted, including 38 individuals at risk or exposed to labour exploitation. Additionally, the research pulls on data from the US Department of State’s annual trafficking in persons report, and from the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative (MARRI).
Trends and dynamics in the Western Balkans
As the report makes clear, the Western Balkans is a “region of origin, transit and destination for victims of labour exploitation”. The phenomenon can take on many different forms, such as forcing workers to work long hours with little pay, in unsafe conditions. While the construction sector is the most vulnerable, the textile, hospitality, and tourism industries are not far behind.
In 2023, the number of labour exploitation victims, according to the US Department of State’s annual trafficking in persons report, rose in the region after a decline in 2022. Labour exploitation accounted for 46% of all human trafficking in the Balkans between 2018 and 2023.
The data shows that Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina have the highest number of victims: in 2022 the two countries accounted for over 60% of all the recorded labour exploitation victims in the region. However, it should be underlined that the phenomenon is largely underestimated, so the actual number of victims could be 10 to 20 times higher than the official one. According to a study carried out by the MARRI network, in the period 2018-2022 forced begging was the most widespread form of human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation (27% of all cases registered in the region).
Recent cases
The GI-TOC report analyses some concrete cases, explaining how the mechanisms of labor exploitation work in practice. One of the most extreme cases – as we already wrote – is that of the company Linglong International Europe, based in Zrenjanin (norther Serbia), subsidiary of the Chinese Shandong Linglong Tire.
The Vietnamese workers, employed by the company in the construction of a tire factory in Zrenjanin, had to hand over their passports to the employer upon arrival in Serbia, then were forced to work exhausting shifts, with miserable wages, and to live in cramped and unsanitary dormitories, becoming victims of physical and verbal attacks. Cases like this have prompted US authorities to out Serbia on the US Tier 2 Watch List, stating that “the Government of Serbia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking”.
Additional examples highlighted in the report explain how Turkish workers were exploited in Montenegro in 2023, while in 2021 “citizens of Taiwan were forced into online fraud operations in North Macedonia and Montenegro” and “coerced into making fraudulent calls to victims in China, falsely informing them of fictitious fines”. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, complaints were made of the hazardous conditions construction workers found themselves in.
Action Needed
The GI-TOC investigation clearly shows the need to pay greater attention to the persistent phenomenon of labor exploitation in the Western Balkans which, in addition to migrants, also affects local workers, and requires immediate action.
To effectively combat labor exploitation, cooperation must be established between civil society and local and national authorities. Additionally, awareness must be raised, data collection improved and support for victims prioritised.
------------------------
This article was produced as part of “MigraVoice: Migrant Voices Matter in the European Media”, an editorial project supported by the European Union. The positions contained in this article are the expression of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the positions of the European Union.
Defining labour exploitation
The GI-TOC, referring to the interpretation provided by the International Labour Organization, defines labor exploitation as “the abuse of workers for profit, through conditions that deny the effective exercise of fundamental labour rights and/or endanger the life, health, freedom, dignity and safety of workers”. There is a very close relationship between labour exploitation, human trafficking, and forced labour, phenomena that often intertwine and overlap. However, unlike the concepts of human trafficking and forced labour , labor exploitation is not explicitly defined in international law. The GI-TOC report focuses on cases of human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation, in particular on situations in which workers, deprived of their personal documents, are victims of wage theft.
