The “modern-day slavery” of human trafficking is rapidly spreading into the labour market, with migrants in the Irish fishing industry still at risk of exploitation, European experts have warned. The list of countries where significant rise of human trafficking into labour market is detected includes Georgia.

While sex trafficking remains the main form of trafficking across the continent, European countries have noted a significant increase in the level of labour exploitation, according to the annual report from the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (Greta).

The group is calling for the implementation of stronger legislation across the EU to protect the rights of victims of labour trafficking combined with an improvement in labour laws. It warns that at present, prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators are very rare.

The Greta report, which is chaired by Irish law professor Siobhán Mullally, singles out the United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Serbia and Georgia as countries where labour trafficking has emerged as the main form of trafficking.

It adds that despite Ireland’s introduction of the Atypical Working Scheme (AWS) in 2016 to protect crew members on Irish fishing boats, a review of the scheme is needed to ensure it contains “sufficient safeguards against trafficking and exploitation of fishermen”.