Abstract

The presence of extremely exploitative labour conditions in the supply chains of key commodities is now widely recognized. Yet there is relatively little agreement over what causes severe labour exploitation, commonly referred to as ‘forced’ or ‘unfree labour’, in global production and how to address it. This work explores these debates by examining the patterns, prevalence, and drivers of severe labour exploitation in global production. The debate is framed through an analysis of key frameworks and concepts, focusing on the divide between proponents of the ‘modern slavery’ paradigm and their critics who prefer the conceptual framing of ‘unfree labour’. The structural drivers of labour exploitation and key factors making individual workers vulnerable to this labour exploitation are examined, followed by an evaluation of the effectiveness of current public and private initiatives to address unfree and forced labour in global production.