We shouldn’t have to question whether our food is exploitation free. Existing legal standards and UN guidelines should protect migrant workers in agriculture. However, they are still not universally applied and comprehensively enforced.
That is why we demand these 10 essential guarantees for migrant workers:
1. Respect and protect workers’ human rights and fundamental freedoms.
2. Eliminate all forms of forced or compulsory labour and associated ill treatment, abuse, harassment and discrimination.
3. Provide an employment contract in a language they understand, complying with all domestic and international minimum wage legislation.
4. Ensure health and safety at work and access to adequate healthcare and insurance, basic sanitation, safe drinking water, and affordable, nutritious food.
5. Offer accommodation that is adequate, affordable and non-compulsory.
6. Educate workers on their rights, allow them to join or form a union, and help them integrate into local communities.
7. Implement effective complaint mechanisms leading to non-retaliatory investigation, and corrective action, without fear of retribution.
8. Remove exploitative human traffickers from the sector, and protect workers from incurring debt from illegal agency fees.
9. Create national and international protocols for seasonal and longer-term migration to ensure a simpler process for both workers and employers.
10. Make public subsidies conditional on the fulfillment of social, economic and political rights of agricultural workers.
