"India trade deal ‘would open UK to goods produced by child labour and modern slavery’", 23 October 2023

Unions representing tens of millions of workers in India are calling on Britain to suspend talks on a trade deal with the country, warning it would open UK markets to goods produced by child labour and modern slavery.

A deal with the south Asian giant is one of the most coveted goals of Britain’s post-Brexit trade policy, after hopes of a similar agreement with the US came to nothing. But Indian unions have claimed working conditions within the country could deteriorate further as a result of any deal, with Britain’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) raising concerns over the “widespread” use of forced labour.

India’s 2011 census puts the number of child labourers in the country at 10.1 million, with 5.6 million boys and 4.5 million girls.

“Low pay and exploitative conditions are widespread in India, with forced and child labour found in a number of industries including textiles, silk, brick manufacturing, shipbreaking, embroidery, hospitality and tobacco,” the unions said in a joint statement with the TUC.

“Instead of paving a new path of development, it may further deteriorate the condition of workers in India,” Shoya Yoshida, of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), added. “Respecting trade union and human rights should be a prerequisite in signing trade agreements.”

Unions representing 47m workers in the country are now urging the UK to suspend negotiations with Narendra Modi’s government until it respects basic international labour standards...