The Gangmasters Licensing Authority has kept up the pressure on the fresh produce trade with raids on seven salad and vegetable preparation plants and one ornamentals business last week, as part of Operation Trafalgar.
Six teams of officers went into the facilities in Scotland, West Sussex, Lincolnshire and east Yorkshire, inspecting businesses and interviewing workers.
The teams uncovered alleged non-compliance, including bonded labour, passports withheld, illegal deductions, lack of proper contracts, long hours, lack of holidays and time off, unsafe and overcrowded accommodation, unsafe and un-roadworthy worker transport and the minimum wage not being paid.
The GLA estimated that some 750 workers were provided by the 18 gangmasters at the heart of the investigation. “We were glad to find no labour provider so seriously non-compliant as to call an immediate revocation of the licence,” said GLA ceo Mike Wilson. “It was also good to find labour providers that were fully compliant with the GLA standards. But it is clear that a significant level of non-compliance exists in a number of businesses…Getting a GLA licence is one thing. Keeping it is another. Any licence holder can expect an unannounced visit by GLA officers to check continued compliance.”
The GLA is continuing its investigation as part of Operation Trafalgar based on the information it gathered last week, and warned that the possibility remains that licences may be revoked. Some 1,009 providers are licensed by the authority, which has revoked 20 licences since it was established.
It is planning a further 19 operations similar to Operation Trafalgar during the rest of the year.
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