ABSTRACT
Modern slavery and human trafficking appear to have grown over recent decades. Unlike earlier forms, modern slavery is not predominantly about forced labour. Sexual exploitation and forced marriage are now more frequent. Human beings are also trafficked for organ donation, forced begging, the sale of children or the recruitment of child soldiers. There is little evidence to suggest that the victims of modern slavery or human trafficking are directly employed in hotels, restaurants and bars in the UK, but these issues are of concern because hospitality units might be indirectly implicated. Hotels can be the venue for sexual exploitation, and slave labour may be used further down the supply chain or in sub-contracted service provisions. This chapter also considers Britain’s involvement in the slave trade and slave owning in the past, because it reveals much about the sources of wealth and the morality of many in today’s ruling elite. Slaver owners and traders were only concerned with profit maximisation and personal wealth acquisition. In their eyes, slaves were not human beings but goods to be traded for cotton, tobacco, sugar and so on. These concerns mirror contemporary business strategies that impose poverty pay, zero hours contracts and other forms of workforce exploitation in the cause of personal gain.
