Unseen Workers: Conditions of Foreign Workers in Serbia

“I am a poor man, don’t let me get trapped,” a foreign worker in a tire factory in Serbia, told a staff at China Labor Watch (CLW). “Will I get in trouble for speaking to you?” These sentiments are not uncommon amongst foreign workers that CLW has reached out to in Serbia.

From July to October 2024, we conducted in-person and online interviews with migrant workers at two Chinese-owned companies – the Zijin Copper Mine and Linglong Tire Factory in Serbia. Workers detailed conditions that adhere to six indicators of forced labor per the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) definition: long working hours and allegations of no paid overtime, retention of identity documents, abuse of vulnerability, limited movement, restriction to freedom of movement, and isolation, high agency fees and susceptibility to debt bondage, and wage withholding.

This report focuses on the working conditions experienced by foreign workers from 5 countries – China, India, Nepal, Zambia, and Indonesia in two Chinese-owned companies. The report: (1) begins with a background on Chinese investments in Serbia to contextualize the increased demand for foreign workers, (2) details their working conditions juxtaposed to the ILO indicators of forced labor, (3) explores the economic, social, and political factors that perpetuate these conditions, and (4) closes with recommendations for governments, businesses, and civil society members.