Examining the role of labor supply chains in the forced labor of migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Lebanon and Jordan
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even with changes to labor supply chain characteristics, the current migration and labor governance regime for migrant domestic work results in extremely high rates of forced labor. If we care about the human rights and dignity of millions of workers, there is an urgent need for evidence-based policy reforms to support MDWs, which could include initial steps focusing on recruitment channels and in-country registration to disrupt the conditions that allow forced labor to persist.
Labor exploitation is an urgent, global issue, with an estimated 28 million people subjected to forced labor – work akin to slavery – annually (International Labour Organization et al., 2022). The following study focuses on migrant domestic workers (MDWs), who face unique risks due to the isolated nature of their work, low pay, and lack of formal employment protections. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Lebanon and Jordan (referred to as ‘the study states’) host significant migrant worker populations, with MDWs alone representing close to 30 percent of the labor force in some countries (International Labour Organization, 2021b). At least 2.41 million women MDWs work in the study states, a likely undercount due to irregular migration (International Labour Organization, 2021c). With little political will to enforce international and national legal frameworks designed to protect them, and a migration system that ties MDWs to employers, researchers have documented how MDWs in the study states experience horrific working conditions, including physical, sexual, financial, and psychological abuse. However, little is known about the role of labor supply chains, including recruiters, job placement intermediaries, fees, debt arrangements, agreement types, in enabling or mitigating MDWs’ exploitation. An understanding of the role of labor supply chain characteristics could reveal important opportunities for policymakers and program implementers to support MDWs prior to their exploitation, or to reduce their risk, severity or duration of forced labor.In the current study, I use two forced labor prevalence survey datasets of Kenyan and Tanzanian MDW returnees to examine the relationship between MDWs’ labor supply chain characteristics and the likelihood, severity and duration of forced labor and human trafficking (M. Dank, Zhang, Vincent, et al., 2024
I found that they had little association with labor outcomes. In supplementary analyses, I also find that working in Oman is associated with particularly poor treatment of MDWs. To my knowledge, in addition to novel contributions to our understanding of the role of labor supply chains, the current study is also the first systematic assessment of the severity level and duration of forced labor exploitation among any population. With such findings, key policy recommendations include strengthening embassy registration and tracking mechanisms, improving MDW access to vetted employer information, and reassessing the enforcement of legal protections for MDWs. Given that the Kenya and Tanzania studies represent the most up-to-date approaches to the way that forced labor researchers collect data on labor supply chain characteristics, I also present recommendations for additional survey testing and development, including recommendations to capture the fuller picture of recruitment and placement supply chain actors, and to resolve issues with the measurement of employment agreements, fees and debts. Future research could further explore the full complexity of labor supply chains, leverage administrative data from destination countries, and maximize the use of existing prevalence datasets to develop more targeted interventions. Ultimately, the findings underscore the structural nature of MDW exploitation
S. X. Zhang et al., 2021). Most of the MDWs in my subset of the Kenya and Tanzania samples – 94 and 74 percent, respectively – were engaged in forced labor in the study states. Informed by interviews with experts on migrant domestic work and forced labor, I find and interpret significant patterns of associations between recruitment pathways and labor outcomes. MDWs recruited through private, unregistered intermediaries faced the highest risk of exploitation, severity and duration of forced labor relative to official recruiters, but informal recruitment via family networks in destination countries was associated with comparatively better conditions than using private, unregistered recruiters. The presence of recruitment fees and debts had little association with labor outcomes, while embassy registration upon arrival emerged as a potential indicator of reduced vulnerability for MDWs. My findings challenge conventional assumptions regarding the protective nature of formal work agreements and visa status
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