UK: Migrant workers from Central Asia say they face mistreatment at seasonal jobs
Summary
Date Reported: 20 Aug 2022
Location: United Kingdom
Other
Not Reported ( Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Europe & Central Asia , Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 20 Aug 2022
Location: Russia
Other
Not Reported ( Construction ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Tajikistan , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discriminationResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 20 Aug 2020
Location: United Kingdom
Other
Not Reported ( Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Europe & Central Asia , Agriculture & livestock , Gender not reported )Issues
Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 20 Aug 2022
Location: United Kingdom
Other
Not Reported ( Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General ) - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Tajikistan , Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Contract Substitution , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 20 Aug 2022
Location: United Kingdom
Companies
Barnsmuir Farm - Supplier , Fruitful Jobs - Labour Supplier , AGRI-HR - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Tajikistan , Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Europe & Central Asia , Agriculture/food/beverage/tobacco/fishing: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Intimidation , Wage Theft , Dismissal , Occupational Health & Safety , Contract Substitution , Living Wage , Sexual harassmentResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Radio Free Europe
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Fruitful Jobs says it has since addressed most of the problems listed in the letter. Justin Emery, managing director of the company, told RFE/RL that Fruitful Jobs representatives visited Barnsmuir Farm in late July after they received the complaint. Emery acknowledged that language barriers can lead to "misunderstandings, tensions, or even conflict" between "experienced supervisors" from Eastern Europe and the new recruits, as Britain is looking farther afield than Europe to hire seasonal workers. He said supervisors at Barnsmuir and several other farms had been sent for retraining. Emery said temporary accommodations, including caravans that the farms offer to foreign workers, are checked by independent auditors to ensure they meet guidelines approved by the British government. He said workers have the right to rent alternative accommodations in nearby areas if they wish. Asked about the allegations of sexual harassment, Emery said: "We haven't received such a complaint. We take this issue extremely seriously and will have police involved if we get such complaints."
Source type: News outlet
Happy to be in Britain, Central Asian migrants want more work to cover expenses, 20 August 2022
Migrant workers from Central Asia hired for seasonal jobs on British farms say they're happy to be in Britain but wish they had more work.
Thousands of laborers from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan came to Britain this year under the U.K. government’s Seasonal Workers Scheme designed to address a severe shortage of farm workers due to Brexit..."Our employers in a farm in Scotland gave us about 30 hours of work in a six-day week, instead of the 48 hours a week we were promised by recruiters before coming to Britain," said a fruit picker from Tajikistan.
"After deducting the cost of accommodation, utilities, national insurance, and food, there is almost nothing left from my wages at the farm. I came here to work and to take money home, but that didn't happen," he said.
Similar complaints have been made by other laborers from Central Asia working in different parts of Britain...The workers spoke to RFE/RL on condition of anonymity, saying they didn't want to "get in trouble" for speaking out...
A 35-year-old worker from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, recently abandoned his work at the Barnsmuir Farm in Scotland citing "unbearable issues," including what he described as mistreatment by Eastern European supervisors...The laborer, who was recruited for Fruitful Jobs through AGRI-HR, said his problems in Britain began when he arrived at Heathrow Airport with some 20 other Central Asian migrants...When the group called AGRI-HR for help, a recruiting agency representative said the original offer of employment for the workers had "fallen through." Instead, they could work at the remote Barnsmuir Farm, he said the agent told the group, adding that the migrants must get to the farm by themselves..."At work we faced mistreatment by the supervisors, who are from Bulgaria. They're rude and [verbally] abusive," the Tajik migrant claimed...The laborer said when he complained about the situation, the supervisors threatened him with dismissal and retaliated by cutting his working hours. The worker ended up getting only 13 hours of work in nine days, just enough to pay for accommodation and utilities, he said...
The problems at Barnsmuir Farm were reported to Wendy Chamberlain, a member of the British Parliament representing North East Fife, where the farm is located.
British citizen Hywel Philippart, who heard about the situation at the farm through one of his acquaintances, urged the lawmaker to address "abuses" allegedly taking place in her constituency...