ILO raises 'deep concern' over China's 'discriminatory' labour regulations in Xinjiang

Geneva [Switzerland], February 27 : The International Labour Organization (ILO) in its annual report raised "deep concerns" about China's "discriminatory" labour regulations in Xinjiang.
The 870-page report, authored by a 20-member group of independent foreign experts outlined several "coercive methods" that are suggestive of forced labour, contributing to the growing body of proof of human rights violations in the province, reported The Singapore Post.
The evidence for the ILO report came from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which monitors global compliance with the ILO's Fundamental Workers' Rights.
The ITUC's observations on China's government's extensive and systematic use of forced labour programmes in Xinjiang and elsewhere were summarized by Al Jazeera.
The ITUC estimated that 13 million ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang are targeted based on their ethnicity and religion, with Beijing justifying its policies as "poverty alleviation", "vocational training", "re-education through labour" and "de-extremification."
Forced labour in or around containment or "re-education" centres, which house around 1.8 million Uyghur and other Turkic or Muslim peoples in the region, is a crucial part of China's policy. As per the ITUC, the violations occur in or near jails and enterprises throughout Xinjiang and the rest of China, reported The Singapore Post.
According to the ITUC, life in "re-education centres" or camps is marked by extreme deprivation, a limitation of mobility, and physical and psychological torment. It further said that prison labour was used in cotton harvesting and textile and footwear manufacturing.
The Committee observes that the Uyghur community, as well as other Turkic and Islamic minorities, are separated from conventional educational and vocational training, vocational assistance, and employment services provided to all of the other groups in the region and across the nation.
As a result of this division, China's productive labour market regulations may be devised and constructed in a manner that coerces people into choosing jobs and discriminates against ethnic and religious minorities.
Pictures of the institutions, which feature guard towers and high encircling walls covered with barbed wire, add to the sense of seclusion, reported The Singapore Post.
ITUC claims that outside of Xinjiang, Uyghur labourers live and work under isolation, are forced to take Mandarin courses, and are unable to practise their traditions and beliefs.