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    • 1. Employment is freely chosen
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Base code clause 1: Employment is freely chosen

1.1 There is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour.

1.2 Workers are not required to lodge "deposits" or their identity papers with their employer and are free to leave their employer after reasonable notice.

ETI resources

  • Base Code Guidance: Modern slavery

Other online resources

  • Anti-Slavery International
  • Free the Slaves

Relevant ILO conventions

Provisional record 9A (2014): Text of the protocol to the forced labour convention, 1930

C29 - Forced Labour Convention, 1930

This Convention requires the suppression of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms. Forced labour is ‘all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.' The ILO Committee of Experts has held that this definition is sufficiently wide to cover debt-bondage.

For the purposes of this Convention, the term ‘forced labour' does not include obligations such as military service or other normal civic obligations. Also excluded is work exacted as a consequence of a criminal conviction.
Also relevant to this Convention: R35 - Forced Labour (Indirect Compulsion) Recommendation, 1930.

C105 - Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957

This Convention prohibits the use of any form of forced or compulsory labour - including work following a criminal conviction - as a means of:

  • political coercion or education, or punishment for the expression of political or ideological views,
  • workforce mobilisation for purposes of economic development,
  • labour discipline,
  • punishment for participation in strikes, or
  • racial, social, national or religious discrimination.

Main menu (sub nav)

  • 1. Employment is freely chosen
  • 2. Freedom of association
  • 3. Working conditions are safe and hygienic
  • 4. Child labour shall not be used
  • 5. Living wages are paid
  • 6. Working hours are not excessive
  • 7. No discrimination is practiced
  • 8. Regular employment is provided
  • 9. No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed

Related content

  • ETI position statement on modern slavery
  • ETI welcomes the OHCHR assessment of human rights concerns in Xinjiang, China
  • ETI Statement: Call to action on human rights abuses in the Uyghur Region in the apparel and textiles sector
  • Uyghur workers in global supply chains: ETI position statement 
  • Myanmar enhanced due diligence sectoral assessment
  • Migrant worker exploitation in UK agriculture: ETI statement

Case studies

The Hammonia Istria at heads of Port Phillip on a quiet sunny morning.

A Lifeline: shipping human rights due diligence for companies

The ITF has established a Seafarers Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) Unit to support companies health checks on their shipping supply chains.

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