The Economist

22 Britain The EconomistAugust 4th 2018

2 ilies and doctors to make the wrong deci-

sion in some cases.

There is reason to think this is true. The

belief that court approval was needed

meant doctors often felt absolved of re-

sponsibility for decisions which led to “in-

ertia” says Ms Kitzinger. MoreoverNHS

trusts that went to court to withdraw

CANHfaced a lengthy complex and expen-

sive process. All of this meant that it was

mostly left to families to push for with-

drawal. The British Medical Association

which represents doctors is now expected

to issue guidelines saying it should not be

up to families to ensure regular assess-

ments of whether treatment is in a pa-

tient’s interests.

The court’s decision is part of a continu-

ing shift away from a legal system based on

the idea of the “sanctity of life” towards

one based on “patients’ autonomy” says

Thomas Davies of Dignity in Dying anoth-

er campaign group. His organisation hopes

that another change is on the way. It is sup-

porting an appeal to the Supreme Court by

Noel Conway a sufferer of motor-neurone

disease who argues that his inability to re-

ceive help from a doctor to die infringes his

human rights. The court is expected to de-

cide whether to hear the appeal by mid-

October. If it does a more radical reconsid-

eration of the rules around death could yet

be to come. 7

P

IOTR was lured from Poland to Britain

by a friend who promised to find him a

good job. When he arrived he found him-

self sharing a cold dirty room with five

others and quickly realised this was a lie.

Instead he was put to work in a recycling

plant by criminals who took away his pass-

port and said he owed them money for

transport food and accommodation. A res-

taurant owner eventually offered Piotr a

way out only to make him wash dishes 60

hours a week for almost nothing. When

Hope for Justice a charity found him he

was weak and malnourished.

The Home Office believes Britain is

home to 10000-13000 “modern slaves”

by which it means people who are forced

to work or who have been trafficked into

the country for exploitation. Others put the

figure much higher: the Walk Free Founda-

tion an anti-slavery group reckons there

could be as many as 136000. The number

of people identified by the National Crime

Agency (NCA) as possible slaves has been

rising fast from 1746 in 2013 to 5145 last

year partly because of a new anti-slavery

law passed in 2015.

Modern slavery used to be associated

with criminal enterprises such as brothels

and cannabis farms whose illegality

leaves workers fearful of reporting abuses.

But the variety of businesses known to be

using slave labour is broadening with un-

paid workers turningup in fields factories

and high streets across the country.

Vietnamese citizens are the nationality

most commonly exploited for labour in

Britain according to the NCA. It says they

comprised nearly a fifth of the people iden-

tified as potential victims of forced labour

between 2015 and 2017. This is largely be-

cause of the widespread use of slave la-

bour in Vietnamese-run nail salons which

have been found exploiting teenagers who

have been smuggled from Vietnam to Brit-

ain in the backs of lorries.

Sometimes such workers are rescued

from cannabis farms or other manicure

bars only to be “re-trafficked” by Vietnam-

ese gangs based in Britain which put them

to work elsewhere. In January for exam-

ple three people were jailed for forcing

trafficked Vietnamese teenagers to work in

nail bars around Britain. Two of their four

victims had been re-trafficked after being

taken into care.

Other nationalities end up in different

industries. Romanians in forced labour of-

ten toil at hand car-washes. That business

has become so common a centre of slavery

that in June the NCA and other agencies

launched Safe Car Wash a smartphone

app which helpsmotorists spot signs of ex-

ploitation. Workers in unsuitable clothing

living on-site and charging less than £6.70

($8.77) per wash are among the giveaways.

On July 30th Unseen a charity released a

similar app which allows people to report

suspected cases of slavery.

Different regions have their own pro-

blem industries. According to a report by

the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Au-

thority which regulates firms that supply

agricultural workers the most exploitative

industry in Wales is shellfish picking and

in the past three years the nationality most

commonly taken advantage of there is Su-

danese. In Northern Ireland the poultry

and egg businesses are said to be the worst

offenders.

A mixture of factors make certain in-

dustries magnets for slavery says Kevin

Hyland the outgoing anti-slavery commis-

sioner. Low-skilled work for which clients

pay in cash makes it easier to keep workers

off the books. And the lack of rules govern-

ing businesses like nail salons and car

washes means less contact with official-

dom. Even in industries thatare more regu-

lated like agriculture and fast food the au-

thorities can be slow to enforce the rules

says Mr Hyland allowing criminals to

“sneak in”. Prosecutions are rare.

That is also because distinguishing be-

tween slavery and merely bad working

conditions sometimes proves difficult. In

February police raided a daffodil farm in

Cornwall over concerns that 200-odd

workers at the site were slaves. But no char-

ges were brought. Indeed on the night of

the raid some of the workers gathered out-

side the local police station to protest; they

later put out a statement indignantly say-

ing that they were not slaves at all and de-

manding a public apology.

Identifying the real victims of slavery

such as Piotr remains the challenge for the

police. As some exploited workers contin-

ue to toil behind closed doors others are

labouring in plain sight in industries

whose customers might never suspect

they were supporting slavery. 7

Slavery

Of manacles and

manicures

Unpaid workers prop up unexpected

parts of the economy

Caught red-handed