indentured labour
Noun (uncountable): A system of labor in which a person is bound by a contract (an indenture) to work for a specific employer for a fixed period of time, often in exchange for passage to a new country, repayment of a debt, or other benefits. The worker, known as an indentured labourer, is not free to leave the employer before the contract expires.
- (Workers contracted to work on plantations for a set term.)
- (A historical labor practice.)
- (Describes the typical experience of such workers.)
"Indentured labour system": The structured practice of using such contracts.
- The indentured labour system replaced slavery in many British colonies. (The contractual system that succeeded slavery.)
"Indentured labourer": A person working under such a contract.
- The indentured labourer could not leave the plantation without permission. (A worker bound by the indenture.)
Indenture (n): a formal legal contract, especially one binding a person to work for another.
- The indenture specified a term of five years of service. (The written contract.)
Indentured (adj): bound by an indenture.
- An indentured servant is a type of indentured labourer. (A person under contract.)
Labour (n): work, especially physical work.
- Manual labour was the primary form of work for indentured labour. (Physical work.)
- Contract labour: work performed under a formal agreement.
- Bonded labour: a system where workers are tied to employers by debt.
- Servitude: a state of being forced to work for another, often without freedom.
"In bondage": in a state of being legally or morally bound to serve someone.
- The indentured labourer was in bondage until the contract ended. (Under obligation to work.)
"Serve one's time": to complete a required period of work or service.
- After serving his time as indentured labour, he became a free man. (Completing the contract term.)