FEATURE Migrant Workers
n By Emiliano Mellino
Where ‘labour is
allowed’ Migrant workers believe govt ‘complicit’ in their abuse
On a farm in Herefordshire, thousands of miles from her home in Bolivia, Julia Quecaño Casimiro went on strike for the first time in her life.
Julia had worked on farms in Chile for several years but said she had never experienced bullying, discrimination or wage deductions until working in the UK.
“As soon as I started, I saw that it was exploitation,” she said. “It was modern slavery.”
A recruiter in Chile had promised Julia, 23, she would earn up to £500 a week picking fruit for the duration of the five-month seasonal worker visa.
But she was given no shifts or pay during her first week at Haygrove, one of the UK’s biggest fruit producers, in late June. The next week, she made less than £150.
For Julia and some of her colleagues the tipping point came when they were told to repay the farm £1,500 for the flights that had brought them to the UK – even though receipts show some of the tickets cost a lot less.
Workers were told they would have to repay £250 every week for six weeks on top of accommodation deductions. In Julia’s case, that would mean being left with only £16 on the weeks when she was given guaranteed hours. The news prompted employees to draw up a list of demands regarding their treatment.
The following morning, having received no response, about 90 workers, including Julia, held an unofficial walkout. Their action was among the first recorded strikes by people on the UK government’s seasonal worker scheme.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) recently revealed allegations of mistreatment such as those at Haygrove are common across many UK farms. There’s also evidence that the Home Office knew about the allegations, failed to act on them and then attempted to stop that information from being made public.
Haygrove told TBIJ the lack of shifts was because of “adverse weather conditions”, but that all workers were paid at least 32 hours a week at minimum wage, with £100 cash
14 uniteLANDWORKER Winter 2023/24
advances to new arrivals who didn’t immediately get work. The company also rebutted allegations of modern slavery and labour exploitation.
The company claimed that recent inspections by both the Home Office and Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) had found no evidence of wrongdoing. However, TBIJ understands that the Home Office has not finalised its findings and the GLAA told TBIJ that an investigation remains ongoing.
Following a five-month freedom of information battle, TBIJ was given access to 19 Home Office farm inspection reports between 2021 and 2022.
Nearly half of the 845 workers interviewed as part of the inspections raised issues including racism, wage theft and threats of being sent back home. On most of the inspected farms, there were allegations of mistreatment or discrimination and over 80 per cent of workers interviewed on the three most complained about farms raised an issue of some sort.
Alamy
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