Abstract:The problem of forced labour in the contemporary global economy is attracting increasing attention in global governance debates and policy circles. The effectiveness of governance initiatives depends on underlying understandings of the root causes of the problem. We explore how the root causes of forced labour in global production networks (GPNs) are framed in global governance debates. Focusing on the dominant frameworks mobilized by international institutions, with some attention to cognate national-level and corporate governance strategies, we identify the limitations of dominant interpretations, which derive from their 'residual' character and their associated neglect of the manner in which the roots of forced labour reach deeply into the organization of GPNs, the forms of exploitation which are integral to them, and the connections between exploitation and poverty. We set out an alternative, 'relational' perspective on the roots of forced labour in GPNs, based on the concept of 'adverse incorporation', and consider the implications of the insights generated by this perspective for contemporary governance frameworks.

This article conceptualizes contemporary abolitionism as a commodifying cause characterized by multiple processes of marketization. It demonstrates how concerns about the unethical commodification of labour form the basis of a variety of marketization projects and processes. Three processes of marketization in this arena are identified: making relations of advocacy and activism more market-like; seeking to rehabilitate and/or reform markets in the face of 'supply chain slavery'; and pursuing abolitionism through commodification. Drawing on project data, and supplemented with empirical observations, interventions to address 'slavery', human trafficking and/or forced labour in supply chains are identified and analysed. Marketization is employed as a lens to understand the diverse field of contemporary abolitionism and its relationships to (ideas of) the market. The article highlights how ongoing efforts to reconcile 'slavery' and the market posit ethical markets as the solution to the unethical commodification of labour. These efforts are marked by tensions and contradictions, however, necessitating discursive work to position 'slavery' as emerging from outside the market.The authors are grateful for feedback received from Gavin Bridge; Kerwin Kaye; Jim Murphy; participants at a GPN, Trade and Labour Research Group Seminar at the University of Manchester (particularly Jamie Doucette); participants at a paper session of the Global Conference on Economic Geography in Cologne; participants at a Cardiff University Economic and Political Geography Research Seminar; and the three anonymous reviewers of this journal. We are also grateful to members of the 'Critical Modern Slavery Studies' group on Facebook. The views expressed here are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the official views of the ILO.

In 2021, amid the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Labour Organization (ILO) held its 109th International Labour Conference (ILC) in a virtual mode and experimented a new form of multilateralism using virtual technologies and adaptation across multiple time zones which required new forms of solidarity among nations. Despite the challenges, the ILC adopted a series of resolutions and conclusions on important issues pertaining to the world of work such as social security, inequalities, skills and lifelong learning; and a call to action to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. 1 All these resolutions are inclusive of migrant workers and some of their particularities.The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic took place in an already testing and fragile global scenario with high environmental risks due to climate change, technological transformations, and demographic shifts. In addition, mounting popular unrest became more acute in light of the existing inequalities that were amplified with the pandemic.Taking this complex setting into account, this piece reflects on the notion that 'labour is not a commodity' as a key founding concept enshrined in the ILO's Philadelphia Declaration of 1944. Rethinking and bringing back this notion is important for it represents a means to materialize a 'human-centred approach' to the world of work and beyond, strengthening the global governance of labour while providing hope to restore a fragile world order. A 'human-centred approach' is the centre-piece of the ILO's Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work (ILO, 2019) wherein the ILO reimagines itself to better deal with current challenges. This contribution will consider ILO's relevance in the face of technological, socioeconomic and climatic alteration. It will look at transformative events in the form of 'global crisis situations' and reflect on the embeddedness of ILO policy in general trends of thinking on 'the economic' and 'the social' before focusing on aspects of the Philadelphia Declaration that can inspire a 'post recovery world'.

The Fair Food Program (FFP) provides a mechanism through which agricultural workers' collective voice is expressed, heard and responded to within global value chains. The FFP's model of worker-driven social responsibility presents an alternative to traditional corporate social responsibility. This article identifies the FFP's key components and demonstrates its resilience by identifying the ways in which the issues faced by a new group of migrant workers -recruited through a "guest-worker" scheme -were incorporated and dealt with. This case study highlights the important potential presented by the programme to address labour abuses across transnationalized labour markets while considering early replication possibilities.

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