Paragraph 511
Slavery, the slave trade, and institutions and practices similar to slavery do not exist in Antigua, having been abolished by the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 (3 and 4 Will. 4c 73).
6.Protection From Slavery And Forced Labour
1.No person shall be held in slavery or servitude.
2.No person shall be required to perform forced labour.
3.For the purposes of this section, the expression "forced labour" does not include-
a.any labour required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court;
b.any labour required of any person while he is lawfully detained that, though not required in consequence of the sentence or order of a court, is reasonably necessary in the interests of hygiene or for the maintenance of the place at which he is detained;
c.any labour required of a member of a disciplined force in pursuance of his duties as such or, in the case of a person who has conscientious objections to service as a member of a naval, military or air force, any labour that that person is required by law to perform in place of such service;
d.any labour required during any period of public emergency or, in the event of any other emergency or calamity that threatens the life and well-being of the community, to the extent that the requiring of such labour is reasonably justifiable in the circumstances of any situation arising or existing during that period or as a result of that other emergency or calamity, for the purpose of dealing with that situation.
The Antigua and Barbuda Constitutional Order 1981 (PDF)
2 Interpretation
In this Act—
“exploitation” means all forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, any illegal activity or the removal of human organs;
“forced labour” means labour or services obtained or maintained through threats, the use of force, intimidation or other forms of coercion, or physical restraint;
“servitude” means a condition in which the labour or service of a person is provided or obtained through threats of harm to that person or another person, or through any scheme, plan or pattern intended to cause the person to believe that, if he does not perform the labour or provide the service in question, he or another person would suffer harm;
“slavery” means reducing a person by any means to a state of submitting to the control of another person as if that other person were the owner of the first-mentioned person;
“trafficking in persons” means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receiving of a person by means of the threat or use of force or other means of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of giving or receiving of payment or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation;
13.Offence of trafficking in persons
A person who engages in trafficking in persons commits an offence and, subject to sections 15 and 16, is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding four hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years or to both.
14.Directing, conspiring, inciting etc., the commission of trafficking in person
A person who—
(a) performs an act which is aimed at committing the offence of trafficking in persons;
(b) incites, instigates, commands, directs, aids, advises, recruits, encourages or procures another person to commit the offence of trafficking in persons; or
(c) conspires with another person to commit the offence of trafficking in persons or to aid in the commission thereof;
commits an offence and, subject to sections 15 and 16, is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding four hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years or to both.
17.Debt bondage
A person who intentionally engages in conduct that causes another person to enter into debt bondage commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding four hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years or to both.
18.Using services of trafficked person
(1) A person commits an offence if he intentionally—
(a) benefits, financially or otherwise, from the services of a trafficked person or of a person he knows or ought reasonably to have known to be a trafficked person; or
(b) uses or enables another person to use the services of a trafficked person or of a person he knows or ought reasonably to have known to be a trafficked person.
(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding four hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years or to both.
Trafficking in Persons (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2019
C21.
(1) No person shall employ anyone to perform labour or services at a basic wage less than that which shall be established by the Minister after recommendations made to him by a Minimum Wage Advisory Committee specially appointed by him to investigate the conditions of work, extent of unemployment, the cost of living, and the general conditions of the economy in Antigua and Barbuda.
C29.
(1) The money wages of a workman shall be payable in legal tender, provided, however, that the payment of wages by cheque on a bank in Antigua and Barbuda or by postal order shall be deemed to be payment in legal tender in cases in which payment in such manner is customary or necessary or is consented to by the workman: Provided however that nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the giving of food, a dwelling-place, or other allowances and privileges in addition to money wages as a remuneration for service; except however, that noxious drugs or intoxicating liquor; and (b) said allowances and privileges are fairly evaluated at cost to the employer.
(2) Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the distribution to a workman of gratuities received from customers of the employer as part of remuneration for services:
Provided, however, that the amount distributed in gratuities shall not be considered a part of the minimum basic wage which is required by section C 21 or C 22.
Antigua and Barbuda Labour Code (PDF)
