CAMPAIGN Migrant workers
THE REAL LIVES OF MIGRANT WORKERS
Unite speaks out on migrant workers’ plight at top farming talks
Unite rural and agricultural chair Steve Leniec proudly represented the voice of farm workers at an influential farming event in January.
Steve was a panellist at the Oxford Real Farming Conference (OFRC) in a discussion on food supply chains. The talk, entitled Who Works, Who Eats: Justice in Supply Chains, was attended by a diverse crowd, including farmers, farm workers and representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Steve raised the plight of migrant farm workers, who make up a quarter of the total agricultural labour force across Europe. In particular, he highlighted the challenges faced by migrant workers in the UK, more than 45,000 of whom are on the Seasonal Worker visa, introduced by the previous Tory government.
Steve told the conference, “We find that many come from South America and the Indian subcontinent, recruited through agencies, tied to a sponsoring employer and often in debt, reliant on their sponsoring employer.
“Many of these employers are fine, but when things go wrong, migrants are in real difficulties. They often find themselves homeless, in debt and unable to work, often stranded in a country with no means to return home, and with English very much a second language.”
Steve went on to say that the stories of some of these workers they’ve encountered are “horrendous”. He added that this vulnerable group poses organising challenges for Unite, because they are usually only here for six months at a time.
Despite the challenges, Unite’s FDA sector believes several measures can be taken to support these transient migrant workers who are at the heart of the UK’s food security.
Steve highlighted some of these measures, including strengthening the regulations governing agencies and gangmasters who supply the labour. While many of these are reputable, there is a significant number of rogue operators.
These rogue operators proliferated as the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) was watered down over the years. From April 2026, the GLAA has become part of the new Fair Work Agency (FWA) and Unite hopes the FWA will start to turn this situation around.
Unite would also like to see the Seasonal Worker visa extended from six months to at least nine months, with an additional provision that would allow migrant workers to change employers.
At present, Steve explained, “they are tied to a single sponsor, a single farmer.
“If things go wrong, they are stuck,” he said. “Often, the migrant who comes to this country is reliant on that farmer not just for work, but also for accommodation and everything that goes with it. When that relationship breaks down, the workers are truly stuck. They have no means of earning money to, at the very least, afford to fly home.”
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They are tied to a single sponsor, a single farmer and reliant on that farmer not just for work, but also for accommodation and everything that goes with it
Steve Leniec,
Unite farm worker and agri subsector chair
Kamal Badhey
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