Elimination of forced labour is our bottom line

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions said "the elimination of forced labour is our bottom line".

Press release | Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China | 14 March 2014
NANCHANG (ILO News)

ILO/ACFTU International Workshop on Labour Standards at Workplace and Forced Labour was organized on 7-8 March 2014 in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province. The workshop aimed at strengthening the capacity of trade union legal work officers in identifying forced labour situations and taking action to prevent and address forced labour. The workshop also supported the ACFTU’s efforts to promote ratification by China of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29) and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105).

Mr Guo Jun, Member of ACFTU Secretariat and Director General of Legal Work Department, stated in his opening remarks that "the elimination of forced labour is our bottom line". He noted that raising legal work officers’ awareness on forced labour is important to strengthen provision of services to trade unions and workers in enterprises.

Tim De Meyer, Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, welcomed ACFTU’s commitment to the elimination of all forms forced labour and encouraged it to remain mindful of vulnerable workers. Domestic workers, workers in rural and remote workplaces (such as fishing boats) or workers with disabilities are particularly prone to coercive practices.

The workshop was attended by high level representatives from Legal Work Offices of provincial trade union federations in 12 provinces throughout China, as well as representatives and experts from the ACFTU, the MOHRSS and academia. The agenda covered Chinese legal framework and practice, sharing of international experiences through presentations, case studies and group work discussion, and local experience sharing by representatives of provincial trade union federations from Hebei, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Shandong and Guangdong.

The workshop was one of the project activities of the Forced Labour Action in the Asian Region (FLARE project).