Statement re: EHRC inquiry into meat and poultry sector

The EHRC report released earlier this week into recruitment and employment in the meat and poultry processing sector provides the latest authoritative evidence that conditions for some workers in the industry are very poor.

The report cites some disturbing abuses, including discrimination, physical and verbal abuse and forced overtime. These are all violations of fundamental human rights at work. It also provides further evidence that temporary workers, the great majority of whom are migrants, often endure significantly worse conditions than their colleagues, with an unacceptably high number of them kept on rolling temporary contracts. Where such abuses exist, urgent action must be taken to stamp them out.

As the report notes, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority is already proving an effective force for ratcheting up standards for temporary workers in the food industry. It must be given greater resources in order to increase its impact.

There is also already a wider body of innovation and good practice within the industry than is revealed in the Commissions report, which can be shared and built on.

This week we met our members and industry stakeholders to consider in detail the EHRC's recommendations, and what the next steps should be.

We are committed to continuing to engage with EHRC, and with our member companies and other industry stakeholders, to play a full part in driving up standards for workers across the UK food industry.

The workers who were interviewed for the EHRC enquiry are clear about what will make a difference to them. They want permanent employment contracts and parity of terms and conditions between those on temporary and permanent contracts. They want to be treated with dignity and respect.

Their priorities must be the focus of action.