“hanging on the rope of”

Question

I'm looking for two single words, a verb and a noun, with similar content, which could be best inserted in these sentences:

In some countries workers are entirely _______ ¹ of/to/on their employers. No wage negotiations, no trade unions. This regularly experienced _______ ² gravely violates human rights.

¹ A verb meaning 'hanging on the rope of', more then just 'depending on'
² Something more than 'exposedness', 'defencelessness', 'exploitation', but not as strong as 'slavery'

For those who, perhaps, know Hungarian, I'd like to find words for 'kiszolgaltatottak' and 'kiszolgaltatottsag' both coming from the same root 'szolga' (servant).

Answer 1

"Hanging on the rope of" is not an English idiom.

In the context of oppressive employers, one might say

In some countries workers are entirely at the mercy of their employers
In some countries workers are entirely owned by their employers

This last description has an obvious connotation of exploitation and slavery, but it's figurative and doesn't actually indicate a real ownership and slavery.

A suitable noun would be oppression.

This regularly-experienced oppression gravely violates human rights.

Answer 2

Andrew Leach's at the mercy of is excellent. If however you require that your two terms be more closely related, and both related to the idea of servitude, I suggest:

In some countries workers are entirely bound by the will of their employers. No wage negotiations, no trade unions. This regularly experienced bondage gravely violates human rights.