EXPLOITATION
BY ANY OTHER NAME
A bonded
labour scheme for overseas workers – the like of which was once employed in
Britain’s plantation colonies
A
long-awaited Government report into the scheme that is designed to make up for
the shortage following Brexit of agricultural labour – resulting in crops being
left unpicked - reveals gross exploitation of migrant workers. This in turn, of
course, feeds into keeping wages down for all workers.
The Seasonal
Workers Pilot (SWP) began in 2019 when 2,481 temporary edible horticultural
workers from outside the EU made the trip to Scotland and England that
year. In just three years the SWP has
been massively expanded to allow up to 40,000 workers, including poultry
workers and haulage drivers, to work in the UK for up to six months in 2022.
Four ‘labour
providers – Concordia, Pro-Force, AG Recruitment and Fruitful Jobs - have lucrative
government contracts to recruit seasonal workers from an unlimited number of
sourcing countries.
Even before
Russia invaded their country, Ukrainians (*), whose living standards have
plummeted after the Government there concluded a deal with the IMF that included
the privatization of many public services and the throwing of thousands out of
work, made up by far the largest group of SWP workers.
Despite all
its resources it was only on Christmas Eve 2021 that the Government finally
published the review by DEFRA/Home Office (DEHO) into the operations of the SWP
in 2019.
The slowness
was in comparison to the pace with which two independent organisations, the
Focus of Labour Exploitation (FLEX) and Fife Migrants Forum, produced in 2021 a
much more comprehensive report into SWP operations in Scotland in 2020. Their
recommendations, including financial support to migrant community organisations
and trade unions, have largely been ignored by the Scottish and UK Governments.
DEHO, the
very bodies that workers rely on to access the SWP, conducted just 124 worker
interviews during 15 farm inspections from 65 farms engaged in the scheme. The
data provided by the review is thus very brief and has drawn criticism from FLEX
saying, ‘leaving many of the key factors which would allow us to evaluate the
level of risk workers are being exposed to under the SWP outside of the
review.’
Even the
results that were obtained were alarming. Half of the identified workers had
not received their employment contracts in their native language, 10% had not
been made aware of all their terms and conditions of their placements before
commencing work and 19% reported that operators failed to adhere to their
contractual arrangements. On their accommodation said it was neither safe,
comfortable or warm and 10% had no bathroom, running water or kitchen. 16%
indicated they were not fully paid for their work.
According to
DEHO, “almost all the aforementioned complaints were addressed … and the
monitoring template for the 2020 Pilot was amended to capture information on
complaints through informal procedures……….. no instances of modern slavery was
identified’ and that scheme operators…. have had their compliance requirements
tightened.”
Yet, FLEX’s research
in 2020 reported, amongst a host of concerns that included deportation threats
by some employers and the impossibility of finding alternative employment; that
45% of Scottish SWP workers reported being paid under the minimum wage of £8.72
an hour. Considering each migrant worker must fund their own travel costs plus
a £244 visa fee, and with costs averaging out at around £900 each then this
places them in dire financial straits especially as many are forced to borrow
this money from black market sources.
It seems
apparent that conditions of labour for migrant workers on SWP are extreme with
workers tied to one specific location. This is in contrast to agricultural
workers who came to Britain under the EU Freedom of Movement and could move
from farm to farm searching for better pay and conditions.
What now
exists is a bonded labour scheme for overseas workers – the like of which was once
employed in Britain’s plantation colonies and which once embodied here will no
doubt be extended to other low paid workers in the UK, as the very wealthy seek
to up their levels of profit and exploitation.
·
See
Ukrainian workers flee ‘modern slavery’ conditions on UK farms – Guardian 19
April 2022
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