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A recent Guardian leader raised the issue of ‘unheard workers’ in the UK who are suffering under abhorrent conditions working for agencies in industries such as agriculture and food packing. The leader states that, in direct contrast to the issues of foreign sweatshops and labour standards in the garment industry, the issues in our own back yards, or indeed homes and offices, remain unnoticed and under-prioritised. 

Here at Impactt, we believe that the issues facing these workers have been anything but overlooked in the past years. There has been a steady increase in the number of reports of the issues faced by migrant workers in the UK. The British public may rightfully feel bombarded with news reports, articles and commentaries about the suffering of our considerable migrant workforce.

What causes the greatest concern is the number of industries that fall outside of the remit of the increasingly successful Gangmasters Licensing Agency (GLA). Recent BBC productions have shown that migrant workers are not travelling to the UK merely to work in fields and pack houses. The Open University and BBC series ‘Meet the Immigrants‘ illustrates the breadth of industries which utilise the influx of migrant workers; from pizza delivery companies to taxi ranks and hotels; migrant workers are contributing to the UK economy in more ways than just agriculture.

Asked to comment on the murky world of Britain’s low wage migrant workers, Paul Whitehouse, explained how his agency was powerless to stop gangmasters in sectors outside of agriculture, food-processing, fishing and shell-fishing. Mr Whitehouse stated: “I have absolutely no doubt the Government passed this law because it believes it is wrong for people to be exploited…. I cannot see why if you work in one area you should be protected, but not in another.”

This intervention was a contribution to a continuing debate which has been raging over what sectors the Gangmasters Licensing Act should cover. Recently, the TUC General Council called for the Act to cover other industries such as construction, after research by Sheffield University estimated that there are over 10,000 gangmasters in operation in unlicensed sectors of the British economy.

We at Impactt believe that regulation and continued debate about the rights of migrant workers will only serve to increase pressure on those groups capable of changing the lot of vulnerable workers such as migrants and long term agency workers. The media, trade unions, NGOs and social enterprises such as Impactt need to maintain the pressure on stakeholders to ensure that all workers are treated fairly whilst at home, and abroad.