Gangmasters still free to exploit workers in UK, says Oxfam report

Many workers employed through gangmasters are still earning pathetic wages, or working in conditions which put their lives at risk, a report by Oxfam reveals today.

The report, Turning the Tide, comes five years after the death of 23 Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay, when the government pledged to reform and regulate the gangmasters system.

The report finds that while the Gangmasters Licensing act, and the regulatory authority it established, have protected some workers and rooted out rogue operators, lack of enforcement resources means that unlicensed gangmasters still flourish, and many workers remain terrified of reporting abuses for fear of losing their jobs and homes and the threat of violence and deportation.

Cases exposed in the report include an entire family from Poland who came to Britain with loans from a gangmaster for airfares and accommodation; after deductions from their earnings towards repaying the loans, they were left with £1 to live on for a week.

The report warns that the gangmasters are moving from the traditional agricultural and building site sectors into hotel and care home work.

In care homes some migrants are working up to 100 hours a week, and debt bondage, with workers paying up to £2,000 to the gangmasters for arranging a job, is common.

In the construction industry the report finds that systematic violations of health and safety procedures are widespread, with threats to sack any worker who complains.

In the hospitality sector, workers paid by the room rather than the hour are set impossible targets so that they actually earn a fraction of the statutory minimum wage – and then face deductions such as “carpet cleaning”, allegedly needed because their work is not up to standard.

Kay Wareing, Oxfam’s director of UK poverty, said: “Gangmasters are now moving into poorly controlled sectors and we are seeing that abuse is rife on building sites, in hotels and care homes. The government urgently needs to extend rules to curb gangmasters’ abuse where workers have little or no protection.” – Guardian