Stamping out exploitation of seasonal workers

ETI led an industry-wide alliance that lobbied the UK Government to introduce extra legal protection for temporary agricultural workers, and that helped labour providers prepare for the Gangmaster Licensing Act, passed in July 2004.

Why we took action

Up to 600,000 temporary agricultural workers in the UK are involved in picking, packing and processing much of the fruit and vegetables we see on our supermarket shelves. The food industry has always relied on temporary labour to manage seasonal peaks in production, and this trend has intensified with the demands of 24 hour retailing.

But lack of effective controls meant that the traditional ‘gangmaster' system - where temporary labour providers or gangmasters supply gangs of workers to farmers at harvest time - had developed into a largely unregulated sector, with unscrupulous employers and criminal gangs presenting themselves as legitimate businesses.

Emerging evidence of poor labour conditions suffered by many temporary and migrant workers - including extreme forms of abuse such as violence, coercion, and poor health and safety practices, as well as sub-minimum wages and poor living conditions - prompted ETI in 2002 to convene a broad coalition of interests in the food industry to work on stamping out the growing exploitation of this vulnerable group of workers.

A cross-industry alliance for change

Members of the Temporary Labour Working Group (TLWG) included supermarkets, food manufacturers, packers and wholesalers, trade unions and other experts, and some government departments. ETI led the group's lobbying for statutory licensing and registration of labour providers in the agricultural sector, and its work on helping labour providers improve their practices in the meantime.

TLWG partners worked together to develop and test a code of labour practice for gangmasters and a system for auditing compliance with the code, and developed best practice tools, support and advice for gangmasters to help them improve their practice.

After Morecambe Bay: a new licensing regime

When 23 Chinese migrant workers drowned picking cockles in Morecambe Bay on 5 February 2004, the TWLG's calls for licensing shot to the top of the political agenda and on 8 July 2004 the Gangmaster (Licensing) Act became law. Since it came into force in October 2006, all temporary labour providers (gangmasters) must have a licence to operate.

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) - the body set up to safeguard the welfare and interests of workers, while ensuring labour providers operate within the law - is already demonstrating its effectiveness as a regulator. As at March 2009, it has now licensed over 1,219 labour providers. Some 85 licenses have been revoked, eight of them with immediate effect. One person has been prosecuted for operating without a licence, and more prosecutions are forthcoming.

Useful links

Gangmaster Licensing Authority
Association of Labour Providers