‘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’
The reports contradict claims by government ministers and visa scheme operators about the treatment of seasonal workers on British farms. And none of the allegations raised during these inspections was investigated by the Home Office or visa scheme operators, according to an independent report.
The Home Office refused several of TBIJ’s requests for the inspection reports, until an appeal was lodged with the Information Commissioner’s Office. The reports were eventually released, albeit with the farm names redacted.
The Home Office argued that it was a “critical enabler of the agriculture industry” and revealing the names “would likely discourage workers from these farms”.
In response to TBIJ’s findings, the Home Office said that “each year improvements have been made to stop exploitation and clamp down on poor working conditions”.
It added that a new team had been established to safeguard worker rights. It is understood that the team has just half a dozen staff.
At the same time, the GLAA has had to
consider job cuts after the Home Office slashed £1m from its £7m funding.
At Haygrove, workers have taken their complaints forward themselves. They reported the farm to West Mercia police, which referred the case to the GLAA. TBIJ understands the GLAA interviewed four workers in late September, two months after the initial complaint had been filed and after dozens of workers had left the farm.
Haygrove rejected all allegations of wrongdoing in the “strongest terms” and said it was not aware of any ongoing investigation.
During the walkout at Haygrove, the workers were visited by Justin Emery, the managing director of Fruitful Jobs, which had been contracted to provide HR to the Haygrove workers. At the visit, Emery told Julia and her colleagues that if they continued to protest, their visas would be revoked.
“If you choose not to work, you are protesting, you are breaking the rules of the sponsorship,” he is heard saying in a recording of the conversation.
He was also recorded telling a woman who is upset about working conditions, “Look, do you want to go home? Shush then.”
15 uniteLANDWORKER Winter 2023/24
In most farm inspection reports, people also said they had been mistreated, including bullying, being publicly humiliated by supervisors and racism. When workers made complaints, some were ignored or told they could go back to their home countries.
Nearly 90 Chileans, Peruvians and Bolivians joined the unofficial strike at Haygrove for three days. Of them, 30 continued for nearly a week.
Isolated in the British countryside, far from home and with their visas in jeopardy, many eventually went back to work without having secured any of their demands. Since then, dozens of workers have left the farm.
Julia is now speaking out to stop others from falling into the same trap. “In this country, labour exploitation is allowed,” she said. “The government is allowing it to happen. It’s complicit.”
Find out more
Read the full story and it’s follow up on The Bureau of Investigative Journalism website
www.thebureauinvestigates. com/profile/emilianomellino
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