Labour trafficking

Labour trafficking is a form of human trafficking that can happen in a number of different industries. It involves recruiting, moving, or holding victims to coerce them into doing any kind of work.

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If you think you or someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, get help now.

Who’s at risk?

Anyone can be a target of labour trafficking, however migrant workers, and newcomers to Canada looking for work, can be at higher-risk due to language barriers. People with precarious immigration status (e.g., lack of permanent residence, restrictive work permit, limited or no access to social benefits), or working in remote areas, without access to information about their legal rights can find it even more difficult to find support.

Industries generally connected with labouring trafficking include, but are not limited to, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, hospitality, food processing and restaurants. Labour traffickers can pressure victims to work by force or through threats, including mental and emotional abuse and manipulation.

Possible signs of labour trafficking

Do you or someone you know:

Have a job offer that seems too good to be true?
Have an employer who makes threats of deportation or threaten to report your/their immigration status to police?
Have an employer that withholds personal identification?
Feel their life or those they love could be in danger if they don’t work long hours and/or accept a lower wage?
Have to relocate with few details and no payment up front?
Live and/or work in unhealthy, unsafe conditions?

If you said yes to one or more questions, you or someone you know may be at risk of being trafficked.

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Domestic servitude

While labour trafficking can happen across a wide variety of industries, it can also happen in private homes. One form of labour trafficking is domestic servitude, where people work as housekeepers or childcare providers and are exploited through low-paid manual work over long hours. Domestic workers can be brought in from other countries, legally or illegally, and usually live in their employer’s home with little to no contact with the outside world. Workers often have no visa, work permit or passport. Traffickers often manipulate their victims by threatening to fire them, knowing they have nowhere else to live and are fearful of being forced to leave the country.