THE Global Slavery Index released by the Walk Free Foundation last month put the number of people working in slavery-like conditions in Pakistan at 2,134,900, ie over two million. Pakistan’s ranking at number three among 167 countries reviewed for slave labour reflects poorly on the country — nationally as well as internationally.

The index, which is the third in the series, analyses the actions taken by countries to address the challenge. It shows that forced and bonded labour is a phenomenon witnessed mostly in the South Asian region. Both India and Pakistan rank high among the countries where there is modern slavery.

The Walk Free Foundation uses a broader definition to identify people trapped in slavery-like conditions — people working in exploitative conditions, women lured with the promise of better jobs and then trapped in prostitution, migrant workers allowed only restricted movement, those in forced labour and debt bondage and children facing exploitation. All these fit into the category of contemporary slavery.

Though instruments, such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions 29 and 105, in their definition of modern forms of slavery focus on labour exploitation, the definition and measurement of forced and bonded labour remains a debatable topic.

The latest figures quoted in the global index have once again underscored the need for a consensus definition as well as a global measurement tool. One must ask, though, if the statistics quoted in the report are an accurate reflection of the situation on the ground and whether or not a correct definition has been applied. The report estimates that there are 45.8 million people in slavery-like conditions in the world today.

Besides constitutional provisions which outlaw slavery, Pakistan enacted the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992, which defined and banned labour bondage in Pakistan. The law which declared advances called peshgis illegal defined the nature of bonded labour in Pakistan as debt bondage. The impracticality of this law was reflected in its applicability — not a single culprit was punished for 18 years after which it ceased to exist as federal law when the 18th Amendment came about in 2010.

Consensus must evolve on what constitutes slavery in the modern age.

The debate on the definition of bonded labour varies. In Pakistan, many still imagine those in bonded labour to be in chains or tied up with a rope and confined. On the other end, many intellectuals and economists challenge the bonded labour definition linked to advances or loans. Their argument is that many white-collar workers in urban areas also take advances and are in debt but that they are not identified as bonded labourers; why, they ask, does this definition apply only to rural workers?

Technically, they may be correct. However, what they forget are the working conditions and exploitative wage regime in sectors where there is labour bondage. Labour in the rural economy, particularly agriculture and the brick kiln industry, is working in highly exploitative conditions. It cannot be compared to the work environment of the urban economy’s formal sector.

There are chances that with the revised focus on bonded labour after the release of the latest version of the slavery index, the ILO and other global organisations may make fresh attempts to come up with an agreed and revised definition of contemporary forms of slavery. In the case of Pakistan, it is important to understand that a large number of people in bondage are not necessarily in chains. These are working people who take loans for mere survival and are unable to pay them off because of the meagre wages they earn. This debt multiplies and puts them deeper into bondage. It becomes a family cycle and generations upon generations are trapped.

In 2001, the federal government announced a national policy and plan of action for the abolition of bonded labour. The 14-point action plan with an allocation of Rs100 million promised a national survey to ascertain the number of people in labour bondage in the country by January 2002.

Twenty-four years down the road, no such survey has been conducted. In the absence of authentic figures released by the government or any international technical agency such as the ILO, the numbers remain rough estimates.

The frequently quoted figure of 1.8 million bonded labourers in agriculture alone was an estimate first quoted in 2001. We do not know whether the number had decreased or increased since these estimates were made 25 years ago.

The latest figures are quoted in Pakistan’s GSP-Plus review report of January 2016 which uses the same figure of 1.8 million for agriculture but a new figure of one million bonded labourers in brick kilns. The figures quoted by the slavery index are some thousands higher than Pakistan’s own estimates.

If Pakistan is concerned about addressing the serious issue of hundreds of thousands of its own people living in slavery-like conditions, and wants to rank among those countries that are taking action then it would have to move very quickly.

There is no harm in setting up an expert group to come up with a revised definition that is in conformity with international norms and that also takes into account the changing economic scenario and the increased marginalisation and vulnerability of workers. This can be followed by a national survey conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

Once there is consensus on definition, measurement and figures, a well thought-out national action plan can work as a guiding document with a five-year plan. There is no harm in looking at old documents. The national policy and plan of action are a relevant guideline.

Given the sad reality of the ever-increasing vulnerability of working people, particularly in the agricultural sector and the informal economy, and growing international concern, Pakistan has no choice but to act to end labour bondage. The sooner it does so, the better it will be for it.

The writer is a human rights activist and associated with Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2016