Justice delayed is justice denied – The exploitation of foreign workers in Serbia needs ILO action
The Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), with affiliates in Serbia and India, filed a complaint nearly two years ago on severe abuses of Vietnamese and Indian workers in Serbia, including forced labour, confiscated passports, substandard shelter, and lack of access to essentials like clean drinking water.
In March of 2023, the ILO Governing Body determined that the Article 24 representation was receivable. However, the Governing Body has failed to form a tripartite committee to examine the representation and the response of the government. The committee is to report back to the Governing Body with recommendations. This report may lead to further action by the ILO supervisory mechanisms. In other words, the inaction of the GB on naming a committee delays justice for the affected workers in this case, hinders the functioning of the supervisory system, and may invite future abuses.
The ILO system of standards and supervision of those standards has given credibility to the ILO by holding governments to their legal commitments. Its reach goes far beyond that of other international bodies. It has also given hope to workers when governments do not protect their rights such as those in Serbia’s Linglong tyre factory construction site and GP Nikolic construction company.
Defence of workers' rights stalled by procedural delays
Due to the fear of workers in desperate situations and the lack of transparency and effective enforcement of the labour laws in Serbia, severe exploitation of foreign workers already existed for a very long time before the Article 24 representation was filed. Despite reforms to Serbia’s Foreigners Act, these changes have been insufficient to protect foreign workers from abuse, especially at sites linked to companies based in countries with poor labour rights records.
That is why BWI and the other parties to the complaint called for the intervention of the ILO. The fact that the ILO role in addressing these serious violations of fundamental worker rights has stalled further prolongs the failure to address worker grievances. BWI sent a follow-up letter to the ILO in October of 2024 calling for urgent action on the representation. That letter has not yet received a response.
A call for action to support the ILO Supervision of Standards
Other important cases have moved forward while this case seems to be frozen in time. Human rights belong to all human beings. The rights of foreign workers in Serbia deserve the same support as those of other workers deprived of the protection and respect of their rights.
“The ILO supervisory bodies are the lifeblood of the organization. Yet, their credibility is in jeopardy when procedural safeguards obstruct action,” said Ambet Yuson, BWI General Secretary. “The inability of the ILO to convene a tripartite committee undermines its role as a guardian of workers’ rights.”
The ILOs strength is based on tripartism, standards, and its supervisory mechanisms. Its effectiveness depends on its ability to find agreement and move forward based on its standards. The key agreement on this case was its receivability. There is no reason why that decision should not be carried out in a reasonable time. The current case serves as a stark reminder that procedural bottlenecks can endanger the effectiveness of international labour protections if they are not addressed with urgency and resolve.
BWI urges the ILO, including all of its tripartite constituents to act urgently to facilitate sustainable rights protections for vulnerable foreign workers in Serbia who are the victims of a combination of weak national enforcement and global companies that has built a complex, but effective web of exploitation.