ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work: Forced Labour and Child Labour Human Rights Implicated: Right to freedom from forced labour and servitude; Right to freedom from child labour; Right to an adequate standard of living; Right to education Field Assessment Findings  Researchers heard of several cases where workers were brought on to dig fibre   cable trenches due to a debt owed to the group leader. This often arose where workers asked for advance payments during the rainy season in order to make ends meet until the next crop yields. As such, workers were often in positions of debt bondage, reporting that where they expressed a wish to quit or move to another job the creditor threatened to increase interest rates. • This impact was heightened where workers were also required to purchase food, water and other supplies from labour leaders, often at inflated prices and on a credit-based system. Occasional practices of reviewing identification to verify workers’ age were reported, but many more instances of lack of identification cards or documents were described to researchers, indicating a general lack of basic measures to prevent underage workers in fibre cable digging in particular. Fibre cable line workers often had to travel long distances from their homes in order to take up work. They sometimes brought their children with them as they could not afford child care or because it was difficult to reliably arrange due to moving from site to site regularly. As such, children were regularly left with someone connected to the works in the worker camps during the 10 hour shift periods. Employment Status Human Rights Implicated: Right to just and favourable conditions of work; Right to equal payment for equal work Field Assessment Findings  Across the ICT value chain employment contracts were not being used in the  majority of observed cases, with the limited exception of direct, permanent employees of a tower company. 467 • Consequently, wage slips itemising pay and deductions were not being provided. It was reported that manual labourers and construction workers regularly secured jobs through relatives/connections. Wages were already negotiated and contracts were not given, as workers will “take what they are given”. 467 The research team was not permitted to meet the staff of the telecoms operators so this does not necessarily apply to those employers. CHAPTER 4.6: LABOUR 197 4 4.6