A North Korean worker has filed a complaint against a Dutch shipbuilding company, alleging the company of knowingly benefitting from forced labor. The worker claims to have been forced to work in unsafe, inhumane conditions for 12 hours a day at a shipyard that the shipbuilding company contracted with. Additionally, the worker claims that most of his wages were taken by the North Korean government. Interestingly, Dutch law explicitly forbids companies from benefitting financially from exploitation- even when that exploitation is indirect. This landmark case highlights weaknesses in the EU’s protections against slave labor and further discourages companies from utilizing slave labor.
See "North Korean worker seeks Dutch shipbuilder’s prosecution over labor abuses, alleging ‘slave-like conditions’", The Japan Times, November 9, 2018