Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-11-15-Speech-3-325"
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"en.20061115.24.3-325"2
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"Mr President, I too would like to thank the rapporteur for the excellent work she has done on this report. As has been said, I drafted the opinion for the Committee on Employment, where we focused on those people who were effectively trafficked for labour purposes. Indeed, one of the things I welcome in this report is its recognition of the wide variety of reasons for people being trafficked.
My committee particularly welcomes the human rights-based approach of the integrated action plan, and recognises that this requires an emphasis, as the Commissioner said, on the forced labour or services, slavery and slavery-like outcomes of trafficking. We have seen evidence of these slavery-like outcomes only too recently, in the shape of workers who have no choice of when, where or how they work. They have no rights. Their accommodation is tied. They may find themselves beaten, deprived of any medical treatment, deprived of water in high temperatures, and sometimes, as was the case in Morecombe Bay in the UK, they are left to die.
When looking at the causes, the committee also examined the issue of demand and considered that the demand for low-cost, undocumented and docile workers in the European Union contributes to the illegal trade of trafficking in human beings. It believes that the existence of such a workforce may drive down costs but that this is at the expense of human dignity and an undermining of labour standards, health and safety measures and fair pay and of local and/or state income, through a failure to pay taxes and social contributions.
We welcome the view expressed in this report that we should be looking, for example, at the dubious employment agencies that apply both for EU nationals and third country nationals, and which have become a front for these slavery-like outcomes. We believe that there is a need to apply existing labour law and to network the information from labour inspectorates to bring it within the sphere of police intelligence so that we can stop or disrupt trafficking. We also consider training to be an important dimension of that for those inspectorates.
We recognise the importance of good company practice where compliance is genuinely sought all the way down the line, and we also recognise the valuable work of networks, trade unions and reputable companies in helping to prevent trafficking and deal with the victims.
On a personal note, I very much welcome the action the Commissioner has said he intends to take on the issue of temporary residence permits. I deeply regret the action of my own Member State, for example, which views victims, as Mr Coveney said, predominantly as illegal migrants rather than as victims. The police tell us that those who are deported are often retrafficked around and around in a vicious circle, rather than being seen as vulnerable individuals, or indeed as potential sources of information.
I very much welcome what the Commissioner has said, and the report, and look forward to this being followed up with very strong action."@en1
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