Support for migrant workers
When the Tories launched the 2019 Seasonal Workers Pilot to bring here temporary non-EU agricultural workers, needed to pick unharvested crops, Unite, with its history of representing a traditionally exploited workforce was concerned. Especially after research uncovered workers were funding their travel costs and working on zero hours contracts.
In subsequently offering 45,000 annual Seasonal Workers Scheme (SWS) horticultural places to overseas workers the government was forced to
conduct internal studies whilst refusing financial support to migrant community organisations and trade unions, essentially Unite.
The review, completed prior to the General Election, paved the way, without significant protective changes, for the SWS’s extension to 2029. This was despite, for the second time in a year, the scrapping in May of a scheme operator’s licence to sponsor workers.
In 2023, Unite and the TUC joined NGOs in establishing the Seasonal
Worker Interest Group (SWIG) to advocate for migrant seasonal workers.
With Keir Starmer’s new government content to maintain the SWS largely unchanged, SWIG is calling for its radical overhaul and wants Labour to reassure migrant workers stung by the recent revocation that they won’t lose out financially or have their immigration status affected.
Individuals should have access to independent worker support.
Our survey says…
According to a recent edition of Farmers Weekly, Defra has just published the results of the 2023 Seasonal Worker Survey, reports editor Amanda Campbell.
According to the survey 91 per cent of respondents reported a “positive” experience from their time in the UK, while 95 per cent expressed a desire to return.
This compared with 86 pent so- called “positive” and 91 per cent “would return” result given in the previous year’s survey.
But before we all get out of our boxes – only 13,911 individuals
responded. And of those who did one third came from Kyrgystan, with many respondents also coming from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Landworker hasn’t seen the report but Farmers Weekly report “The one area of particular complaint was in relation to poor accommodation”.
“The caravans are in a deplorable condition,” said one worker.
“There is a heating appliance, but we’re not allowed to turn it on, and it’s cold. We used our own portable heaters. We cooked on the stove.” Apparently – and believe this if you will, according to Defra, there were
7 uniteLANDWORKER Autumn 2024
very few formal complaints – just 3 per cent – although 10 per cent said they had grievances that they didn’t report.
Defra added it was working hard with the industry to improve the overall levels of satisfaction through its farm compliance checks, “to ensure sponsors are adhering to their duties and undertaking welfare checks on workers,”.
Landworker will now be seeking alternative evidence and will report in due course.
Alamy
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