Rights activists have raised the alarm about a cycle of debt that results in long days, illness and injury as workers struggle to work off what they owe.
Labour contractors – who act as middlemen between sugarcane workers and farm owners – offer cash advances based on an informal agreement about how much cane the labourers are expected to harvest that season over five to six months.
Rights activists and community advocates have raised the alarm about a cycle of debt that results in long days, illness and injury as workers struggle to work off what they owe.
They say the situation has been exacerbated by climate change as crops fail and jobs dry up for small-scale farmers or casual agriculture workers – with many then migrating to find work but facing dwindling pay and worsening labour conditions.