#unitedkingdom Archives - Andy Hall

Independent 3rd June 2025: Farms and supermarkets could pay to bring foreign farm workers to UK, government-commissioned report says

Andy Hall — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 08:37:20 +0000

Independent 3rd June 2025: Farms and supermarkets could pay to bring foreign farm workers to UK, government-commissioned report says

Exclusive: It would cost employers £850-1,500 to bring each worker to the UK, study into seasonal worker visa finds.

Original Source: The Independent – Emiliano Mellino and Holly Bancroft – 3rd June 2025

British farms and supermarkets could tackle the exploitation of fruit and vegetable pickers by paying their travel and visa costs, according to a government-commissioned report. The report, undertaken for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), follows growing allegations of mistreatment of migrant workers on the seasonal worker visa, including a legal challenge brought by an Indonesian fruit picker against the UK government for human rights breaches.

Tens of thousands of workers come to the UK every year on a six-month visa from as far as Chile and the Philippines, and some accrue thousands of pounds of debt before they arrive, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.

The potential policy runs counter to tough new immigration rules announced by Sir Keir Starmerl that make it harder for workers and students to come to Britain. But it would bring the UK closer in line with other countries, such as the United States, where employers are required to bear the costs of workers’ recruitment and travel.

70 per cent of workers on the seasonal worker scheme had accrued debt to come to the UK, according to a Defra-commissioned study(Getty)

Currently, a handful of operators are licensed by the Home Office to recruit farm labourers and can issue a certificate of sponsorship that can be used to secure a seasonal worker visa from the Home Office. But the workers are left to pay for it and for the cost of travel to the UK.

The study commissioned by Defra into the ‘Employer Pays Principle’, seen by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Independent,proposes four alternative options to government, which would see recruiters, farms, retailers and consumers bear the costs instead.

In response to this story, a Defra spokesperson said the government “has no plans to impose the Employer Pays Principle for seasonal workers”, but The Independent understands the government will review the study and consider learnings alongside industry partners.

In the first proposed model, recruiters would have to cover the costs upfront and would then charge farms higher fees for the service. In the second option, recruiters would still cover the costs but they could then apply to a government or industry fund to be reimbursed. In the third, the worker would cover their costs, but then be reimbursed on arrival to the UK, and in the fourth, the costs covered by the recruiters would be passed on in full down the supply chain, via farms and supermarkets, to consumers.

The study, written by consultancy Alma Economics, estimates a range of £850-1,500 that would be paid for by employers for each worker on the seasonal workers’ scheme.

It also estimates fruit and vegetable growers will face the highest financial cost from options one and three. The first model could result in 70 out of 827 farms experiencing losses, compared to 43 in the second proposal, 57 for option three, and zero for the final scheme.

Consumers would pay between one and three pence per week more for fruit and vegetables picked under the scheme, the research estimates. Making the employer pay for the recruitment would cost £43.1 million in total and eliminate debt for 18,200 workers.

The research cites a report which said 70 per cent of workers on the scheme had accrued debt to come to the UK.

One seasonal farm worker, Elize*, has been travelling from South Africa to work on British farms for several years. She has often had to borrow nearly £2,000 from acquaintances to cover her travel and visa costs, at times being charged interest rates of around 20 per cent.

Migrant fruit pickers often accrue debt before they come to the UK to work, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. (National Crime Agency)

She says not having to pay travel and visa costs would help get out of a cycle of having to choose between taking on high-interest loans, or barely eating throughout the year in order to save enough to afford flights to the UK.

The report, which consulted supermarkets, farmers and recruiters, said that stakeholders supported making operators cover the costs and then pass them down the supply chain.

While the study said farmers were reliant on the seasonal worker scheme because they believed “UK workers often lack the skills and motivation” needed to pick fruits and vegetables, they largely opposed overseas workers having their recruitment costs covered.

Many worried it would threaten “worker commitment”, since the current system provides “strong incentives to work hard” to clear debts.

However, most retailers were in favour of introducing the employer pays principle as were some scheme operators, the report said.

Meanwhile, worker representative bodies and human rights organisations welcomed the proposals but thought wider reforms were needed to ensure it improved worker welfare.

Eleanor Lyons, the government’s independent anti-slavery commissioner, called on the government to act and highlighted these workers’ increased vulnerability.

“This has an incredibly detrimental impact on the victims who can be forced to work excessive hours, trapped in debt bondage, and in incredibly challenging conditions,” she said “The government needs to act now to provide more protection for seasonal workers, the risks to them are clear and there must be more safeguards.”

A National Farmers Union spokesperson said: “The NFU is aware that Defra is conducting a study modelling the economic impacts of the Employer Pays Principle. This is part of a larger agriculture sector-wide ongoing discussion on enhancements to seasonal worker welfare in the UK. Seasonal workers are of the upmost importance to the production of UK food, fruit and vegetables in particular.

7th Dec 2024: Gaurdian – Agency that brought heavily indebted Indonesian farmworkers into UK seasonal workers scheme loses licence

7th Dec 2024: Guardian – Agency that brought heavily indebted Indonesian farmworkers into UK seasonal workers scheme loses licence

A British recruitment agency that brought Indonesian farmworkers to the UK owing debts of thousands of pounds to foreign brokers has had its licence revoked by the labour exploitation watchdog. AG Recruitment was once the largest supplier of international labour to British agriculture, bringing more than 1,450 Indonesians to pick fruit to supply British supermarkets in 2022.

Original Source: Guardian by Emily Dugan – 7th December 2024

Exclusive: AG Recruitment found not to have acted ‘in a fit and proper manner’ by labour exploitation watchdog

After revelations in the Guardian that farmworkers supplied by AG had taken on debts of up to £5,000 after paying unlicensed third parties in Indonesia, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) announced an investigation. AG said it had known nothing about charging by third parties and had warned farmworkers not to pay for jobs.

‘If you want to abuse your farmworkers, that’s fine’: UK modern slavery watchdog’s funding cut

More than two years after the GLAA investigation was announced, its findings have still not been published. It said on Tuesday that it had stripped AG of its licence for failing to “act in a fit and proper manner”.

AG said the investigation had cleared it of wrongdoing and that the licence was revoked because of a previous decision by the Home Office.

Last year, the Home Office took away AG’s licence to operate as a seasonal worker sponsor over allegations that farmworkers recruited by them had overstayed their visas.

Douglas Amesz, AG’s managing director, said of the GLAA investigation: “They found nothing. It took a very long time, and it was very detailed. There was no wrongdoing.”

Amesz admitted that farmworkers he recruited had paid fees to third parties but said that he had done his best to prevent this. “Third parties get involved – unscrupulous people doing the wrong thing. That’s what happened. I had no knowledge of it.”

He added: “I can’t influence what I can’t see and what I can’t touch and that’s what happened in Indonesia. It’s happening now, still.”

Commenting on agricultural recruitment overseas, he said: “Indonesian farmworkers, boy, oh boy, talk about corrupt. You know, eastern Europe’s corrupt. They’re all so corrupt. All the countries that we recruit from, there’s a high level of corruption and they just get better at it.”

When asked whether the farmworkers he recruited who had paid fees to unlicensed brokers should be compensated, he said “on the one hand, I don’t”, because he told them in person “that they should never pay fees, that they should report it, that it’s against the law in the UK and no one should ever pay for a job … I told them all not to do it but they went and did it anyway.”

When asked if it was true that no farmworkers had yet received compensation for fees paid to unlicensed brokers for jobs, Amesz said he could not comment.

Andy Hall, a migrant rights specialist, said: “Despite this important licence revocation, which resulted from the Guardian’s groundbreaking investigation and media coverage, none of the vulnerable migrant victims have received any remediation.”

Hall added: “Worse than that, as we saw with the UK food sector’s ill-informed recruitment from Indonesia again this year, the retailers, farms, scheme operators and more importantly the government have yet to learn any lessons from this scandal.”

The company is understood to have been added to the GLAA’s revocation register on Friday but lost its licence on 13 November. Amesz said he had initially appealed against the decision to revoke AG’s GLAA licence but had withdrawn the appeal on deciding to leave the recruitment industry altogether.

Amesz said it had faced an “unjust process” and that he and his wife had “been through hell and back”. He added: “AG is not being dissolved as a business, but we don’t operate any longer.”

A spokesperson for the GLAA said: “When an allegation is received, the GLAA will conduct a thorough investigation and this includes working with other government departments and enforcement agencies … AG Recruitment and Management’s licence was revoked after our investigation found there to be a breach of 1.1 of our licensing standards, which states: ‘The licence holder, Principal Authority and any person named or specified in the licence must at all times act in a fit and proper manner.’”

A breach of its licensing standards can include contravening any “requirements and standards of other regulatory authorities,” including UK Visas and Immigration.

The spokesperson added: “Following our decision to revoke, this decision was appealed, and later withdrawn by the licence holder. The GLAA strives to ensure that we operate a robust licensing scheme, and we will investigate any allegations reported to us regarding a breach in our standards.”

Additional Reading:

15th November 2024: TBIJ – Seasonal workers find no hope in employment tribunals

13th Nov 2024: Diplomat – Indonesian Workers Say They Faced Modern Slavery in the UK. Who Is Responsible?

29th Oct 2024 SCMP: He left Indonesia, seeking a better life in the UK. All he found was debt and despair

Grocer NEWS 16th October 2024: Agri HR Ends Indonesian UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Recruitment Amidst Exploitation and Legality Concerns

8th Sept 2024: The Guardian – Number of seasonal workers seeking help after being sacked by UK farms doubles in the past year

8th Sept 2024: The Guardian – ‘Targets are unrealistic’: sacked fruit picker tells of treatment on Kent farm

6th Sept 2024: Aljazeera – Indonesian fruit-pickers say seasonal work in UK left them drowning in debt

ITV EXCLUSIVE 5th Sept 2024: Seasonal workers on British farms being given ‘unhealthy and dangerous’ accommodation

24th August 2024 TBIJ: ‘We sacrificed everything we had’: seasonal workers in UK left without jobs after Home Office decision

6th August 2024: Fruitnet – Indonesian picker allegations highlight risk of exploitation for seasonal workers

31st July 2024: BBC Indonesia –‘I’m at my wits end’ – The fate of Indonesia’s aspiring seasonal fruit pickers who have yet to be sent to the UK (translated from Bahasa)

21st July 2024: Guardian Exclusive Investigation – Indonesians who paid thousands to work on UK farm sacked within weeks

16th July 2024: Financial Times – UK food sector should cover migrant workers’ upfront costs, advisers say

Independent 2nd June 2024: Vulnerable workers coming to UK in post-Brexit deal at risk of bullying and sexual harassment, report finds

Independent 29th May 2024: UK ministers pressed ahead with seasonal worker visa scheme for migrants despite UN experts’ warning of forced labour and human trafficking risks

Bureau of Investigative Journalism 29th May 2024: Government expanded visa scheme weeks after UN raised alarm over people trafficking

BHRRC 23rd May 2024: UK – Leading supermarkets asked to meet costs of implementing the Employer Pays Principle across supply chains by civil society group (see 9th May 2024 below); incl. company responses

Bloomberg 22nd May 2024: Fruit Picker Who Said Her Hands Bled From Work Sues UK Employer

Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce Update 17th May 2024: SWS Taskforce update on Employer Pays Principle study

GROCER 10th May 2024: SOURCING Workers’ groups call on supermarkets to pay seasonal labour fees – The groups said there are risks farmers will be unable to comply to new rules

Guardian 9th May 2024: UK Government says employers may be required to pay travel and visa costs for people getting seasonal worker visas

9th May 2024: Landworker’s Alliance and Allies call for UK supermarkets to pay recruitment related fees and costs for migrant workers

April 30th 2024: BBC World –England again employs seasonal fruit pickers from Indonesia (translation)

The Grocer 30th Apr 2024: Growers brace for up to £90m in additional seasonal worker costs in UK in move towards internationally compliant zero cost responsible recruitment model for vulnerable migrant workers

3rd April 2024: Financial Times (London) UK employment – Britain’s seasonal worker scheme leaves many migrants in debt, research finds

3rd April 2024: Independent – Migrant fruit pickers saddled with debts of up to £5,500 to come to UK through government scheme

26th January 2024: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Modern Slavery Issues: Indonesian seasonal fruit pickers landed in debt bondage challenges Home Office

26th Jan 2024: ATLEU – UK government fails to protect workers from trafficking and exploitation

26th Jan 2024: ATLEU – Challenge to government’s Seasonal Worker Scheme

25th Jan 2024 Home Office: UK government survey on experiences of seasonal workers scheme confirms the exceptionally high levels of issues (confusion, fees etc) faced by Indonesian and Nepali workers in 2021/2022

24th Jan 2024: ATLEU – Seasonal worker recognised as a potential victim of trafficking

20th Jan 2024 Independent: Migrant fruit picker may have been modern slavery victim under Home Office scheme, government finds

12th January 2024: UK government ‘breaching international law’ with seasonal worker scheme, says UN envoy

2nd Dec 2023 Independent: Nepali Migrant fruit picker who ‘struggled to buy food after being underpaid by British farm’ sues employers

6th Nov 2023: UK government complicit in exploitation of farm workers – Bureau of Investigative Journalism

FLEX 26th Oct 2023 – Seasonal Workers’ Rights; Who’s Responsible?

25th Oct 2023: DEFRA Former Secretary – Seasonal Worker Scheme should be taken away from Home Office to prevent continued abuses.

20th Sept 2023: Worker interest groups’ statement on leaving the UK ‘Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce’.

27th July 2023 Maplecroft: UK’s Seasonal Worker Scheme Raising Human Rights Concerns in the Food Sector.

21st July 2023: Vulnerable UK migrant workers at risk as audits of farm recruiters stall

23rd June 2023 – ‘They’re afraid’: Seasonal farm workers in the UK face poor conditions and visa hurdles.

17th March 2023 BHRRC Blog Series: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Endangers Vulnerable Foreign Workers. (My Op Ed)

16th March 2023: Labour agencies to face supermarket scrutiny over foreign worker exploitation claims in UK seasonal worker scheme.

11th March 2023: ‘UK Seasonal Workers Scheme Taskforce’ to fund audits to prevent worker exploitation.

23rd February 2023: Farm workers on UK seasonal visas to be guaranteed 32 hours a week

8th Sept 2024: The Guardian – Number of seasonal workers seeking help after being sacked by UK farms doubles in the past year

Andy Hall — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 23:13:39 +0000

8th Sept 2024: The Guardian Number of seasonal workers seeking help after being sacked by UK farms doubles in the past year

The number of farm seasonal workers seeking help with dismissal after travelling to work in British fields and orchards has soared over the past year, according to research.

Government warned ‘unobtainable targets’ Being Used to dismiss migrant fruit pickers at short notice.

Original Source: The Guardian by Emily Digan- 8th September 2024

The trend is thought to be in part because of pressure to meet picking targets, the challenges faced by farmers trying to stay profitable and an unintended consequence of new laws guaranteeing minimum hours.

The Worker Support Centre (WSC), which is based in Scotland but supports seasonal workers across the UK, said the number of people coming to them in June and July this year for help with dismissal issues was more than double that of the same period last year.

The problem may be the tip of the iceberg as workers who have just arrived in the country are very likely to be unsure how to seek help.

The WSC said it had been approached by 47 people for advice about dismissal between June and July, compared with 22 last year – and that 60 workers had raised concerns about high productivity targets with the organisation so far this year.

Caroline Robinson, the director of the organisation, said: “At the Worker Support Centre we regularly hear about workers being given very high picking targets and threatened with dismissal for not reaching them, as early as their second week into the job.

“Most workers incur debts to travel to the UK on the seasonal worker visa, a visa on which it is not possible to just leave the farm and find alternative work. The risks when workers lose their job are often so high that some will endure extremely difficult working conditions.”

In July the Guardian revealed that Indonesian fruit pickers who had paid thousands of pounds to come to work in Britain were sacked within weeks for not working fast enough. For those who spend large sums coming to the UK, dismissals before the end of a six-month visa raise the risk of returning in debt.

Many of those supporting workers believe a rise in dismissals is an unintended consequence of rules introduced this year requiring farms to guarantee at least 32 hours of work to those on seasonal visas. They say the change has made it less attractive for farms to keep workers who are slower, because they no longer have the option of using them for fewer hours.

Robinson said the government needed to act to make sure the visa did more to protect workers. “The practice of using dismissal threats and picking rates as a means of getting workers to compete with each other to reach what some say are unobtainable targets, within a visa system where people have very few choices but to submit, comes dangerously close to the definition of forced labour and is something to which this new government should rapidly turns its attention.”

In its mid-year report, the WSC said it was experiencing its hardest season of work yet, “with more daily contacts for assistance than at any other point in the history of our service”. The organisation also recorded that 12 workers described being sacked after raising complaints.

Adis Sehic, of the Work Rights Centre, a charity supporting migrants in precarious employment, said he believed a rise in dismissals was linked to the introduction of minimum hours. “There’s an incentive for [farmers] to make sure that everyone that is working on their farm is actually working and is also as productive as they can be. Unfortunately, there’s no regulation, at least in England, on productivity rates for seasonal workers. That’s set by farms and clearly changes daily, depending on what the weather’s like and conditions at the farm.

“So what we think is happening is that seasonal workers are arriving, they’re getting the training, they’re getting these targets, but after a couple of weeks, they’re getting dismissed because there’s no regulation on productivity.”

Alison Capper, the chair of British Apples and Pears, which represents UK growers of the fruit, pointed out the sample size of the research was relatively small and that there would always be some dismissals on farms.

Capper, who also runs an apple and hops farm and relies on seasonal workers using the visa, said: “I’m not surprised that there will be a small number of dismissals and issues around pay going on in the peak [of the soft fruit season].”

Capper said because the work was difficult and required high degrees of physical stamina and dexterity “there will always be a number of people to whom the work just isn’t suited”.

She said she did not believe the 32-hour minimum was a factor in dismissals, but that the pressure to be productive meant that it was impossible to “carry” significantly weaker pickers.

“There is a very strong need for farms to be able to deliver good productivity levels because of the pressure being born on pricing by their customers … it’s been very difficult during quite a significant period of inflation for growers to get an increase in the value of their produce from supermarkets. What that means is that the cost per kilo to pick is always under pressure.”

Capper said it was in growers’ interests to make their workplaces decent so that pickers returned each year but that those who were significantly too slow could not be kept on. “You will always have a small number of people who are picking below the average productivity level. If it’s just below, you live with it. But if it’s significantly below, you can’t afford to and actually, it’s not fair to the other workers either.

“No grower can afford to have workers picking crop at significantly below average productivity levels.”

A government spokesperson said: “The welfare of all visa holders is of paramount importance and decisive action will be taken if we believe abusive practices are occurring or the conditions of the seasonal workers route are not being met.”

“We have established clear requirements for organisations holding a sponsorship licence, emphasising those who benefit directly from migration are responsible for ensuring the immigration system is not abused.”

Guardian 8th Aug 2024: ‘Targets are unrealistic’: sacked fruit picker tells of treatment on Kent farm

Original Source: The Guardian by Emily Dugan – 8th August 2024

Kazakhstani man says he regrets coming to UK for seasonal work, but employer refutes account of his experience

It had been a sweltering morning picking cherries beneath plastic polytunnels in July when Ilyas finally lost his temper at the farm where he was working in Kent.

“We could hardly breathe in there,” he said. “It was very difficult to work because the weather was very hot.”

It was his first day harvesting the fruit, having spent several weeks thinning apple trees, and he says he was told he had not picked enough and was being sent back to the caravan early.

Not long after returning to the caravan, Ilyas’s contract was terminated and he was returned to Kazakhstan last month. He is one of a growing number of farm workers who have sought help with dismissal from the Worker Support Centre this season after travelling to work in British fields.

In a video recorded at the farm, Ilyas can be seen confronting a supervisor. He says “you treat us like animals” and that he had not signed up to “these unrealistic targets”.

Ilyas said the target was to pick about 15 boxes of black cherries a day and that each box contained between 6-7kg of cherries. He said that if about 10 cherries or more were bad within that then the whole box could be rejected.

In the video, recorded on 29 July, a supervisor tells him to stop filming and they argue. The supervisor tells him his work is finished for the day and when Ilyas asks why, the supervisor says “because you’ve not met targets today”.

The farm’s HR manager told the Guardian she believed Ilyas was removed from the fields to “diffuse the situation” due to his aggressive behaviour and that sending him home was “a last resort”.

Ilyas, 32, had been working on British farms since March after coming to the UK on a seasonal worker visa. As an educated IT worker, he was willing to try something different since he had the potential to earn more than double his Kazakhstani salary of about £830 a month.

Now he says he regrets the experience. “The targets are unrealistic and probably the aim of the managers was to squeeze everything possible in the shortest period of time.”

The farm, Mansfields in Kent, is one of the biggest in the country. It grows more than 25,000 tonnes of fruit each year over 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of farmland in several different sites.

Lee Port, the chief executive of Mansfields, said: “We use targets as much as possible as we need people to understand expectations from the moment they start working with us. On the first day of picking we communicate through training that the focus is on quality and that we would expect a first-time picker to pick around 50-60% of the target set.”

Port said the average across 250 staff was for three trays of cherries to be picked an hour and that Ilyas worked for 4.75 hours and picked an average of 0.8 an hour. He said experienced pickers were set the target of 3.5 trays an hour and that other new pickers in Ilyas’s team achieved an average of 1.5 trays an hour.

Port said Ilyas was picking “nearly half the expectation of a new picker and, when his performance had been raised as a concern and supervisors had tried to help with additional training earlier in the day, he started acting aggressively which continued throughout the morning”.

Port also said he had witness statements attesting to Ilyas “acting aggressively and demonstrating poor conduct”. He was issued a final warning as a result. He added: “If Ilyas hadn’t been aggressive he would not have been sent home.”

Port said of the polytunnels: “The working conditions are monitored daily, with risk assessments carried out by our health and safety departments. The cherry orchards are under plastic, but the fields are well-vented and staff start early to ensure optimum picking conditions for pickers and the fruit.”

Ilyas said he now has a job in Kazakhstan and has no intention of working on British farms again.

Port said workers were less productive as a result of the increased living wage. “One of the problems that we are seeing across industry is people happy with just hitting the minimum targets. When picking fruit in the orchards the staff have the opportunity to earn significantly more money on bonus, based on performance and quality of picking. With the living wage increasing as it has the staff are now happy with earnings and don’t seem to be as motivated.”

One of the reasons that Ilyas said he was not able to make as much money as he hoped was because of the amount he spent before coming to Britain. In addition to the cost of flights and visas, he said he had paid about $1,000 (£760) to a third party in Kazakhstan.

Ilyas said the company promised to find him work in the UK and that after about nine months of waiting it told him about Pro-Force, which recruited him and deployed him on several farms.

Pro-Force recruits at events in Kazakhstan and does not use third parties. But the company acknowledged that it regularly comes across scammers charging people to tell them about these events or, for example, to send them links to the Pro-Force website. It said when that happened it investigated and reported them to the Kazakh authorities.

Pro-Force said there was no log of Ilyas reporting that he made payments to a third party but it was investigating the company after the Guardian flagged it to them.

Pro-Force said: “Pro-Force places worker welfare front and centre of its operations and commits to such in its strategic objectives. The company has forged a reputation for doing so amongst peers and key industry stakeholders, in part due to the fact that it pioneers worker welfare initiatives such as the minimum 32 hours rule it introduced in 2019, and the UK’s first pilot employer pays principle scheme to take place in 2025.”

Asked about Ilyas’s case, Pro-Force said: “Though we are unable to comment on specifics, there were documented conduct and performance concerns with Ilyas – despite this, he was provided with two transfers prior to his final placement. An impasse was reached at his final placement where there had been concerns regarding his conduct and performance, and Ilyas left with only a matter of weeks remaining on his visa. Pro-Force is disappointed to hear of Ilyas’s dissatisfaction, and is committed to investigating his allegations should he provide us with the relevant information.”

Additional Reading:

6th Sept 2024: Aljazeera – Indonesian fruit-pickers say seasonal work in UK left them drowning in debt

ITV EXCLUSIVE 5th Sept 2024: Seasonal workers on British farms being given ‘unhealthy and dangerous’ accommodation

24th August 2024 TBIJ: ‘We sacrificed everything we had’: seasonal workers in UK left without jobs after Home Office decision

6th August 2024: Fruitnet – Indonesian picker allegations highlight risk of exploitation for seasonal workers

31st July 2024: BBC Indonesia –‘I’m at my wits end’ – The fate of Indonesia’s aspiring seasonal fruit pickers who have yet to be sent to the UK (translated from Bahasa)

21st July 2024: Guardian Exclusive Investigation – Indonesians who paid thousands to work on UK farm sacked within weeks

16th July 2024: Financial Times -UK food sector should cover migrant workers’ upfront costs, advisers say

Independent 2nd June 2024: Vulnerable workers coming to UK in post-Brexit deal at risk of bullying and sexual harassment, report finds

Independent 29th May 2024: UK ministers pressed ahead with seasonal worker visa scheme for migrants despite UN experts’ warning of forced labour and human trafficking risks

Bureau of Investigative Journalism 29th May 2024: Government expanded visa scheme weeks after UN raised alarm over people trafficking

Bloomberg 22nd May 2024: Fruit Picker Who Said Her Hands Bled From Work Sues UK Employer

Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce Update 17th May 2024: SWS Taskforce update on Employer Pays Principle study

GROCER 10th May 2024: SOURCING Workers’ groups call on supermarkets to pay seasonal labour fees – The groups said there are risks farmers will be unable to comply to new rules

Guardian 9th May 2024: UK Government says employers may be required to pay travel and visa costs for people getting seasonal worker visas

9th May 2024: Landworker’s Alliance and Allies call for UK supermarkets to pay recruitment related fees and costs for migrant workers

April 30th 2024: BBC World –England again employs seasonal fruit pickers from Indonesia (translation)

3rd April 2024: Financial Times (London) UK employment – Britain’s seasonal worker scheme leaves many migrants in debt, research finds

3rd April 2024: Independent – Migrant fruit pickers saddled with debts of up to £5,500 to come to UK through government scheme

26th January 2024: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Modern Slavery Issues: Indonesian seasonal fruit pickers landed in debt bondage challenges Home Office

26th Jan 2024: ATLEU – UK government fails to protect workers from trafficking and exploitation

26th Jan 2024: ATLEU – Challenge to government’s Seasonal Worker Scheme

24th Jan 2024: ATLEU – Seasonal worker recognised as a potential victim of trafficking

20th Jan 2024 Independent: Migrant fruit picker may have been modern slavery victim under Home Office scheme, government finds

12th January 2024: UK government ‘breaching international law’ with seasonal worker scheme, says UN envoy

2nd Dec 2023 Independent: Nepali Migrant fruit picker who ‘struggled to buy food after being underpaid by British farm’ sues employers

6th Nov 2023: UK government complicit in exploitation of farm workers – Bureau of Investigative Journalism

FLEX 26th Oct 2023 – Seasonal Workers’ Rights; Who’s Responsible?

25th Oct 2023: DEFRA Former Secretary – Seasonal Worker Scheme should be taken away from Home Office to prevent continued abuses.

20th Sept 2023: Worker interest groups’ statement on leaving the UK ‘Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce’.

27th July 2023 Maplecroft: UK’s Seasonal Worker Scheme Raising Human Rights Concerns in the Food Sector.

21st July 2023: Vulnerable UK migrant workers at risk as audits of farm recruiters stall

23rd June 2023 – ‘They’re afraid’: Seasonal farm workers in the UK face poor conditions and visa hurdles.

17th March 2023 BHRRC Blog Series: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Endangers Vulnerable Foreign Workers. (My Op Ed)

16th March 2023: Labour agencies to face supermarket scrutiny over foreign worker exploitation claims in UK seasonal worker scheme.

11th March 2023: ‘UK Seasonal Workers Scheme Taskforce’ to fund audits to prevent worker exploitation.

23rd February 2023: Farm workers on UK seasonal visas to be guaranteed 32 hours a week

6th Sept 2024: Aljazeera – Indonesian fruit-pickers say seasonal work in UK left them drowning in debt

Andy Hall — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 03:16:11 +0000

6th Sept 2024: Aljazeera – Indonesian fruit-pickers say seasonal work in UK left them drowning in debt

Original Source: Aljazeera by Aisyah Llewellyn – 6th September 2024

Indonesian fruit-pickers say they were fired within weeks of arriving at UK farm after failing to meet impossible targets during their seasonal work in the UK.

Medan, Indonesia – Indonesian fruit-pickers who paid thousands of dollars to travel to the United Kingdom to pick fruit say they face the prospect of returning home heavily in debt after being sacked for not meeting unrealistic targets.

Migrant worker Abdul said he departed for the UK in May with nine other Indonesians under the country’s seasonal worker scheme, which grants foreign workers six-month visas to work on British farms.

Hired by UK recruiter Agri-HR, Abdul was sent to Haygrove, a farm in Hereford, about 215km (135 miles) southwest of London.

“A friend of mine who had already been to the UK told me about the opportunity. He said I could make $65 per day picking fruit,” Abdul, who asked to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera.

Abdul, who made about $130 per month in his previous job as an ice cream seller in Central Java province, said he racked up about $4,000 in debt borrowing money from family and friends to pay fees to two Indonesian third-party organisations – a recruitment agency called PT Mardel Anugerah International and a workers’ hub called Forkom – as well as out-of-pocket expenses to travel to the UK.

Abdul said workers at Haygrove were expected to pick 20kg of cherries and strawberries per hour, which he found to be an impossible task due to the lack of fruit – a problem that only got worse as harvest season went on.

“We [the Indonesian workers] were always put at the edge of the plantations where there was little fruit. Several times, we were given trees that were not in good condition and we picked all the fruit there was, but we couldn’t do any more than that,” he said.

ITV EXCLUSIVE 5th Sept 2024: Seasonal workers on British farms being given ‘unhealthy and dangerous’ accommodation

Abdul said he and four other Indonesian fruit-pickers received three written warnings before they were sacked within five to six weeks of arriving at the farm.

He also alleged that other workers who had not met targets had not been let go.

“When they let us go, Haygrove just said, ‘Sorry, we didn’t want this either’, and gave us an official letter to say we had been sacked and our ticket back to Indonesia leaving the next day,” he said.

In a statement provided to Al Jazeera, Haygrove said the workers had been let go for poor performance and that it is “committed to fair employment practices and the well-being of all our workers”.

“On June 24, 2024, five Indonesian workers were dismissed following a thorough and fair disciplinary process due to consistently poor performance. These dismissals were conducted in accordance with our structured performance management procedures, which include multiple stages of feedback, training, and support,” the farm said.

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), the UK’s main agency for investigating labour exploitation, earlier this year opened an investigation into the case.

According to GLAA licensing rules, “a licensing holder must not charge a fee to a worker for any work-finding services”. However, other costs such as travel and medical checks may be charged as long as they are voluntary.

“Additional goods or services must be optional and cannot be discriminated against if not taken up,” the rules state.

In a statement provided to Al Jazeera, GLAA said it was looking into the workers’ complaints.

“We are currently investigating the recruitment processes for a number of Indonesian workers in the UK and are working to establish the exact circumstances. At this time, we cannot comment further while the investigation is underway,” it said.

Cherries await harvest at an orchard in Tunisia [File: Mohamed Messara/EPA-EFE]

Haygrove said it takes allegations of misconduct “very seriously” and is fully cooperating with GLAA’s investigation.

“We were unaware of any illegal recruitment fees until concerns were raised by a third party and subsequently reported to the GLAA by Agri-HR. Haygrove has a zero-tolerance policy for such practices and is actively supporting the GLAA’s investigation,” the farm said.

“We emphasise that no issues have been raised directly by the Indonesian workers regarding their recruitment, accommodation, or working conditions at Haygrove.”

Following their dismissal by Haygrove, Abdul and two other workers decided to remain in the UK.

Abdul has since found work at another farm picking lettuce, although his six-month visa is due to expire in November, after which he will have to return to Indonesia.

PT Mardel told Al Jazeera that Indonesians wishing to take advantage of the UK’s seasonal worker scheme must be able to cover the cost of a visa, medical check, return plane tickets and insurance, along with other processing costs in accordance with provisions set by the Indonesian labour department.

“The estimated costs required are a maximum of 33 million Indonesian rupiah [$2,123],” a company spokesperson said. “The workers we have placed in the UK are all very happy that they can work there with very good salaries. The farms also pay great attention to their welfare,” the spokesperson said.

PT Mardel also said there was “no relationship between PT Mardel and Forkom”.

Forkom did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Several other workers awaiting departure to the UK told Al Jazeera that they were also saddled with debt.

Ali, a seasonal worker applicant from Central Java province, said he was still waiting to go to the UK after Forkom told him he could depart in August last year.

“They said if I went to the UK, I would earn $65 per day picking strawberries. I had to stop work in Indonesia so that I could focus on getting all the documents together, but then I didn’t get to leave,” Ali, who asked to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera.

Ali said he is now about $1,300 in debt to his family.

“I’ve spent all my money. Before this, I used to buy secondhand goods and sell them on the side of the road. I had been doing that for 25 years and it was enough for me to pay for my family,” he said.

“All the information about the scheme was sent through Forkom, and they made promises that they did not keep. PT Mardel also said that we needed to transfer money to them in order to secure our work in the UK.”

“My wife and children are suffering because all our money is gone,” Ali said. “I can’t pay for my children’s school fees and their pocket money. The biggest effect has been on my family. I am always fighting with my wife now because we don’t have any money.”

In a statement sent to Al Jazeera, the Indonesian Embassy in London said it is aware of reports of Indonesian fruit-pickers being exploited in the UK.

“The Indonesian Embassy in London supports the Indonesian government’s efforts to ensure placement of Indonesian migrant seasonal workers to England in accordance with regulations and applicable laws in both countries,” the embassy said.

The embassy said that it was aware that 136 seasonal workers had arrived in the UK and been placed at seven workplaces in England as of 22 July 2024.

“The placement of the seasonal workers was in accordance with recommendations from the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and verification and consultation with relevant authorities in the UK,” it said.

Addressing allegations of illegal fees being charged during the recruitment process, the embassy said it “supports investigations and law enforcement by the authorities in Indonesia and the UK, including pushing for an investigation by the GLAA”.

Cherries at New House Farm in Canterbury, England [Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]

Andy Hall, a labour rights activist who is supporting the Indonesian workers, said UK companies are increasingly turning to migrant workers because of Brexit.

“This means that they are now recruiting workers from far-flung destinations, but they do not want to pay their fees. If anything goes wrong, it is a really risky situation because the workers think they are going to earn lots of money,” Hall told Al Jazeera.

“It is the fault of the UK side. The system is broken and the actors are broken. They are lax and naive. They have set up a scheme where workers have to pay their own costs, but they could do it properly and, if they executed it properly, everything would be fine.”

Hall said supermarkets in the UK are a major part of the problem as they want to buy produce at the cheapest prices, which means that farms in turn do not want to pay the costs of recruiting workers.

“The farms do not want to pay recruiters, and the recruiters then expect the workers to pay for themselves,” he said. “Supermarkets are responsible for all this mess. They have the money to do this properly. It is all just a squeeze on price.”

Additional Reading:

24th August 2024 TBIJ: ‘We sacrificed everything we had’: seasonal workers in UK left without jobs after Home Office decision

6th August 2024: Fruitnet – Indonesian picker allegations highlight risk of exploitation for seasonal workers

31st July 2024: BBC Indonesia –‘I’m at my wits end’ – The fate of Indonesia’s aspiring seasonal fruit pickers who have yet to be sent to the UK (translated from Bahasa)

21st July 2024: Guardian Exclusive Investigation – Indonesians who paid thousands to work on UK farm sacked within weeks

16th July 2024: Financial Times -UK food sector should cover migrant workers’ upfront costs, advisers say

Independent 2nd June 2024: Vulnerable workers coming to UK in post-Brexit deal at risk of bullying and sexual harassment, report finds

Independent 29th May 2024: UK ministers pressed ahead with seasonal worker visa scheme for migrants despite UN experts’ warning of forced labour and human trafficking risks

Bureau of Investigative Journalism 29th May 2024: Government expanded visa scheme weeks after UN raised alarm over people trafficking

Bloomberg 22nd May 2024: Fruit Picker Who Said Her Hands Bled From Work Sues UK Employer

Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce Update 17th May 2024: SWS Taskforce update on Employer Pays Principle study

GROCER 10th May 2024: SOURCING Workers’ groups call on supermarkets to pay seasonal labour fees – The groups said there are risks farmers will be unable to comply to new rules

Guardian 9th May 2024: UK Government says employers may be required to pay travel and visa costs for people getting seasonal worker visas

9th May 2024: Landworker’s Alliance and Allies call for UK supermarkets to pay recruitment related fees and costs for migrant workers

April 30th 2024: BBC World –England again employs seasonal fruit pickers from Indonesia (translation)

3rd April 2024: Financial Times (London) UK employment – Britain’s seasonal worker scheme leaves many migrants in debt, research finds

3rd April 2024: Independent – Migrant fruit pickers saddled with debts of up to £5,500 to come to UK through government scheme

26th January 2024: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Modern Slavery Issues: Indonesian seasonal fruit pickers landed in debt bondage challenges Home Office

26th Jan 2024: ATLEU – UK government fails to protect workers from trafficking and exploitation

26th Jan 2024: ATLEU – Challenge to government’s Seasonal Worker Scheme

24th Jan 2024: ATLEU – Seasonal worker recognised as a potential victim of trafficking

20th Jan 2024 Independent: Migrant fruit picker may have been modern slavery victim under Home Office scheme, government finds

12th January 2024: UK government ‘breaching international law’ with seasonal worker scheme, says UN envoy

2nd Dec 2023 Independent: Nepali Migrant fruit picker who ‘struggled to buy food after being underpaid by British farm’ sues employers

6th Nov 2023: UK government complicit in exploitation of farm workers – Bureau of Investigative Journalism

FLEX 26th Oct 2023 – Seasonal Workers’ Rights; Who’s Responsible?

25th Oct 2023: DEFRA Former Secretary – Seasonal Worker Scheme should be taken away from Home Office to prevent continued abuses.

20th Sept 2023: Worker interest groups’ statement on leaving the UK ‘Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce’.

27th July 2023 Maplecroft: UK’s Seasonal Worker Scheme Raising Human Rights Concerns in the Food Sector.

21st July 2023: Vulnerable UK migrant workers at risk as audits of farm recruiters stall

23rd June 2023 – ‘They’re afraid’: Seasonal farm workers in the UK face poor conditions and visa hurdles.

17th March 2023 BHRRC Blog Series: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Endangers Vulnerable Foreign Workers. (My Op Ed)

16th March 2023: Labour agencies to face supermarket scrutiny over foreign worker exploitation claims in UK seasonal worker scheme.

11th March 2023: ‘UK Seasonal Workers Scheme Taskforce’ to fund audits to prevent worker exploitation.

23rd February 2023: Farm workers on UK seasonal visas to be guaranteed 32 hours a week

21st July 2024: Guardian Exclusive Investigation – Indonesians who paid thousands to work on UK farm sacked within weeks

Andy Hall — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 10:26:17 +0000

21st July 2024: Guardian Exclusive Investigation – Indonesians who paid thousands to work on UK farm sacked within weeks

Indonesians who paid thousands of pounds to travel to Britain and pick fruit at a farm supplying most big supermarkets have been sent home within weeks for not picking fast enough.

Original source: The Guardian by Emily Dugan – 21st July 2024

One of the workers said he had sold his family’s land, as well as his and his parents’ motorbikes, to cover the more than £2,000 cost of coming to Britain in May and was distressed to find himself unemployed with few possessions.

The labour exploitation watchdog is investigating allegations that he was one of several workers charged illegal fees of up to £1,100 by an Indonesian organisation claiming it would get them to the UK faster.

In Indonesia the worker earned about £100 a month selling food and said his parents were “very disappointed” as he had sold everything for a shot at helping his family. He said: “I feel confused and mad and angry about this situation. I have no job in Indonesia [and] I’ve spent all my money to come to the UK.”

The Guardian has spoken to four of the dismissed workers and in three cases seen evidence of apparent fee payments to a third party in addition to the more than £1,000 transferred for flights and visas to the licensed recruiters.

—

Also see Fruitnet 6th Aug 2024: Indonesian picker allegations highlight risk of exploitation for seasonal workers

—

The allegations of illegal fees being paid in Indonesia raise questions about the risk of exploitation in the seasonal worker scheme, which allows workers from foreign countries a six-month visa to work on farms but makes them bear all the financial risk.

The Guardian understands the new immigration minister, Seema Malhotra, will look into exploitation in the work visa system to clamp down on exploitative practices. The Migration Advisory Committee recommended on Monday that seasonal visas should continue to “ensure food security” but that they should include more protections, such as guaranteeing at least two months of work.

—

Additional Reading:

Kumparan News 25th July 2024: Impact of 5 Indonesian Citizens Fired in England, PT Mardel Will Be More Selective in Recruiting Prospective PMI/Imbas 5 WNI Dipecat di Inggris, PT Mardel akan Lebih Selektif Rekrut Calon PMI

Kumparan News 25th July 2024: Allegations of Extortion by Indonesian Migrant Workers Who Pick Cherry: Company Denies, Ministry of Manpower Seeks Solution/Dugaan Pungli TKI Pemetik Ceri: Perusahaan Bantah, Kemnaker Cari Solusi

Kumparan News 24th July 2024: PT Mardel Denies Extortion of Indonesian Cherry Pickers in England, Ready to Compensate/PT Mardel Bantah Pungli ke WNI Pemetik Ceri di Inggris, Siap Ganti Rugi

Kumparan News 24th July 2024:
Commission IX Asks Government to Help Indonesian Citizens in England Suspected of Being Victims of Extortion

—

Haygrove, a farm in Hereford that supplies soft fruit to British supermarkets, gave the man and four other workers warning letters about the speed of their picking before dismissing them between five and six weeks after they started work. They were booked on a flight home by their recruiters the next day.

The workers said the targets at the farm in Ledbury included picking 20kg of cherries an hour. Another of the sacked pickers said: “It was very hard to meet the target because day by day there was less fruit.”

He said he borrowed money from “the bank, friends and family” and that he was still more than £1,100 in debt. “Why have I ended up like this? Now I’m in Indonesia with no job … It’s not fair for me because I’ve sacrificed so much.”

Beverly Dixon, the managing director of farming at Haygrove, said the farm had consistently had to make up the men’s wages because of poor performance and had supported them to try to improve. She said targets were “set based on achievable standards with the majority of pickers sometimes achieving more than double that speed”.

The five men only arrived in Britain in mid-May and were all dismissed from Haygrove on 24 June, having earned between £2,555 and £3,874. Once the cost of coming to Britain – as well as living costs – were taken from this, several said they were left with significant debts.

Two of the men ran away to London and refused to board flights home booked for 25 June. They have now been given new jobs in a packhouse after an intervention by a migrant welfare activist.

Andy Hall, the migrant labour rights specialist who intervened on behalf of the men, said: “This scandal shows once again that the entire burden of shouldering the multiple risks associated with the seasonal workers scheme in the UK is placed not on supermarkets, farms, scheme operators or other supply chain actors but on vulnerable workers from overseas.”

A Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority investigation was opened last month. It is understood to be focused on allegations over the illegal charging of fees in Indonesia.

Dixon said Haygrove was “deeply concerned” to hear of the “alleged financial challenge faced by the Indonesian workers, particularly if one or more paid an illegal recruiter in Indonesia” and the farm was fully supporting the GLAA investigation.

The Guardian revealed that Indonesians were coming to Britain with debts of up to £5,000 to unlicensed foreign brokers in 2022. The debts were to third parties, and AG, the British agency that officially recruited them, lost its licence as a seasonal worker sponsor.

Since then, Indonesia had been considered a risky country to recruit from, but the route was reopened this year by a new UK recruiter, Agri-HR. It worked in partnership with the Indonesian agent PT Mardel Anugerah, which also secured a licence to recruit to Britain, and was being supported by the Indonesian embassy.

However, workers allege a third party in Indonesia, Forkom, which appears to be a communication hub for Indonesians trying to work abroad, recruited workers and charged fees, saying it could get them to Britain faster. It is illegal to recruit without a licence under UK and Indonesian law.

Agri-HR said: “On hearing these allegations, Agri-HR immediately contacted the GLAA with the request to investigate these claims. The GLAA interviewed some workers that same day and are continuing with their investigations and further worker interviews have taken place and are scheduled.”

Workers told the Guardian that Forkom was encouraging its members to put pressure on the families of the dismissed pickers who ran away, with one saying his family in Indonesia was visited at home at 3am.

In messages to a Forkom WhatsApp group of recruited workers, its chair, Agus Hariyono, encouraged those still in Indonesia to put pressure on the men who had run away in Britain by going to their family homes. In a follow-up video call to members, he then allegedly asked workers to delete records of any money paid to Forkom.

Hariyono said his organisation was a social forum set up for Indonesians with seasonal worker visas after some did not return from the 2022 season, meaning the visa route was closed down. He said one worker “entrusted funds” to Forkom but that “this was intended as a deposit” and the funds were returned to his account to pay PT Mardel Anugerah directly.

Hariyono said it conveyed messages to families to encourage those who were dismissed to return to Indonesia and prevent a repeat of the 2022 season where one in five overstayed their visa.

Delif Subeki, of PT Mardel Anugerah, said his recruitment agency was introduced to Forkom by the Indonesian ministry of manpower and made a commitment to “give priority” to members. Subeki said it “clearly informed” applicants that it was not using any third parties for recruitment and that no fees should be paid.

Financial Times 16th July 2024: UK food sector should cover migrant workers’ upfront costs, advisers say

The seasonal worker scheme allows UK growers to hire around 45,000 people a year on six-month visas © MediaWorldImages/Alamy

UK immigration: Migration Advisory Committee urges government to do more to stamp out abuses in seasonal worker scheme

Sourced from: Financia l Times Delphine Strauss and Oliver Telling – 16th July 2024

The UK food industry should cover the upfront costs faced by migrant farm workers if it wants to keep access to the overseas labour it relies on, the government’s advisers on migration have said.

Farm workers coming to the UK are at risk of debt bondage because they often borrow money to cover flights and visas without knowing what they will earn, a report by the independent Migration Advisory Committee found.

To maintain current levels of food production, there was no immediate alternative given a lack of willing UK recruits to the seasonal worker scheme (SWS), the report published on Tuesday said, urging ministers to give industry certainty over the scheme’s future.

However, the report also said the industry and government had not done enough to stamp out abuses of workers’ rights in a scheme where they faced “an inherent imbalance of power” against employers.

The SWS allows UK growers to hire around 45,000 people a year on six-month visas.

The previous Conservative government said in May that the programme would run at least until 2029 but noted the aim would be to taper its size over time, while encouraging farmers towards automation.

Ministers should confirm visa numbers each year on a rolling basis, so the industry would in effect “have five years’ notice if the scheme were to be closed”, the MAC said.

Labour pledged before the general election on July 4 to reform the immigration system with a view to reducing overseas hiring, by making employers’ access to visas conditional on greater efforts to train UK workers.

However, it has not yet said what this will mean in practice or proposed any changes to the SWS.

But workers also need more certainty over how much they will earn, the committee added, calling for a guarantee of at least two months pay, to ensure they could recoup the costs of coming to the UK.

It urged the industry to accelerate action to move to an “employer pays principle”, so that recruitment and relocation expenses are borne by employers rather than workers.

An industry task force, including supermarkets, growers and recruiters, has said it will model waysan EPP model could work. But it has made slow progress because there is no consensus on how to share costs along the supply chain, given the tight margins imposed by retailers on UK growers.

The MAC said the task force needed to work faster and urged it to set a timeframe to present proposals. Ministers should then confirm the scheme’s continuation only if this timeframe was met, it said.

The committee noted that the government and employers needed to do more to inform workers of their legal rights and to enforce them through proactive inspections. It also called for a clearer process to refund income tax and help workers opt out of pension auto-enrolment.

Workers’ rights campaigners welcomed the committee’s recommendations. “All the risks of the seasonal worker scheme are on the workers, all the costs . . . It’s really important the government takes heed of this,” said Andy Hall, a migrant rights campaigner who has worked with the industry’s Stronger Together task force.

A government spokesperson said it would “carefully consider” the MAC’s findings and respond in “due course”.

Sophie De Salis, a sustainability policy adviser at the British Retail Consortium, said the task force’s study would be “a vital step” to understand how the EPP could be applied in practice.

It urged the government to adopt the MAC’s recommendations but also to scrap visa fees, arguing that these “heighten the financial risk to workers from the outset”.

The industry’s SWS task force said it acknowledged the committee’s call for its study to be conducted in a timely manner and was working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the jointly-funded project.

Additional Reading

Independent 2nd June 2024: Vulnerable workers coming to UK in post-Brexit deal at risk of bullying and sexual harassment, report finds

Independent 29th May 2024: UK ministers pressed ahead with seasonal worker visa scheme for migrants despite UN experts’ warning of forced labour and human trafficking risks

Bureau of Investigative Journalism 29th May 2024: Government expanded visa scheme weeks after UN raised alarm over people trafficking

Bloomberg 22nd May 2024: Fruit Picker Who Said Her Hands Bled From Work Sues UK Employer

Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce Update 17th May 2024: SWS Taskforce update on Employer Pays Principle study

GROCER 10th May 2024: SOURCING Workers’ groups call on supermarkets to pay seasonal labour fees – The groups said there are risks farmers will be unable to comply to new rules

Guardian 9th May 2024: UK Government says employers may be required to pay travel and visa costs for people getting seasonal worker visas

9th May 2024: Landworker’s Alliance and Allies call for UK supermarkets to pay recruitment related fees and costs for migrant workers

April 30th 2024: BBC World –England again employs seasonal fruit pickers from Indonesia (translation)

3rd April 2024: Financial Times (London) UK employment – Britain’s seasonal worker scheme leaves many migrants in debt, research finds

3rd April 2024: Independent – Migrant fruit pickers saddled with debts of up to £5,500 to come to UK through government scheme

26th January 2024: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Modern Slavery Issues: Indonesian seasonal fruit pickers landed in debt bondage challenges Home Office

26th Jan 2024: ATLEU – UK government fails to protect workers from trafficking and exploitation

26th Jan 2024: ATLEU – Challenge to government’s Seasonal Worker Scheme

24th Jan 2024: ATLEU – Seasonal worker recognised as a potential victim of trafficking

20th Jan 2024 Independent: Migrant fruit picker may have been modern slavery victim under Home Office scheme, government finds

12th January 2024: UK government ‘breaching international law’ with seasonal worker scheme, says UN envoy

2nd Dec 2023 Independent: Nepali Migrant fruit picker who ‘struggled to buy food after being underpaid by British farm’ sues employers

6th Nov 2023: UK government complicit in exploitation of farm workers – Bureau of Investigative Journalism

FLEX 26th Oct 2023 – Seasonal Workers’ Rights; Who’s Responsible?

25th Oct 2023: DEFRA Former Secretary – Seasonal Worker Scheme should be taken away from Home Office to prevent continued abuses.

20th Sept 2023: Worker interest groups’ statement on leaving the UK ‘Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce’.

27th July 2023 Maplecroft: UK’s Seasonal Worker Scheme Raising Human Rights Concerns in the Food Sector.

21st July 2023: Vulnerable UK migrant workers at risk as audits of farm recruiters stall

23rd June 2023 – ‘They’re afraid’: Seasonal farm workers in the UK face poor conditions and visa hurdles.

17th March 2023 BHRRC Blog Series: UK Seasonal Worker Scheme Endangers Vulnerable Foreign Workers. (My Op Ed)

16th March 2023: Labour agencies to face supermarket scrutiny over foreign worker exploitation claims in UK seasonal worker scheme.

11th March 2023: ‘UK Seasonal Workers Scheme Taskforce’ to fund audits to prevent worker exploitation.

23rd February 2023: Farm workers on UK seasonal visas to be guaranteed 32 hours a week

Other stories on challenges of UK seasonal worker scheme

1. Working in the UK: Hundreds of Indonesian Citizens Escape, More Than 1,200 Workers from Indonesia Threatened to Cancel (BBC, 16th Feb 2023)

3. Indonesian former fruit pickers become illegal immigrants and asylum seekers in the UK – ‘This is the easiest shortcut’ (BBC, 26th Jan 2023)

4. Home Office accepts recommendations in Chief Inspector’s report on immigration system as it relates to the agricultural sector (Freeths, 16th Jan 2023)

5. Immigration: Investors warn food companies about risk of forced labour on UK farms (Financial Times 19th Dec 2022)

6. Investor statement on the UK Seasonal Worker Scheme (Public Investor Statement 19th Dec 2022)

7. Hundreds of Indonesian fruit pickers in UK seek diplomatic help (Guardian, 2nd Dec 2022)

8. Seasonal worker visa puts migrants at risk of exploitation, say supermarkets (Guardian, 2nd Dec 2022)

9. Seasonal fruit pickers from Nepal left thousands in debt after being sent home early from UK farms (Guardian, 13 th Nov 2022)

10. Indonesia to investigate claims fruit pickers in UK seasonal agricultural workers scheme charged thousands to work in Kent (Guardian, 29 th Aug 2022)

The post 21st July 2024: Guardian Exclusive Investigation – Indonesians who paid thousands to work on UK farm sacked within weeks appeared first on Andy Hall.

16th July 2024: Financial Times – UK food sector should cover migrant workers’ upfront costs, advisers say

Andy Hall — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 16:18:42 +0000

16th July 2024: Financial Times – UK food sector should cover migrant workers’ upfront costs, advisers say

The UK food sector should cover the upfront costs faced by migrant farm workers if it wants to keep access to the overseas labour it relies on, the government’s advisers on migration have said.