Call to crack down on agencies exploiting UK migrant workers
RIGHTS GROUPS SAY MANY FORCED TO PAY HUGE AMOUNTS IN HOME COUNTRIES FOR VISAS
URGENT action is needed to tackle criminals charging people from south Asia thousands of pounds after falsely promising them highly paid jobs in the UK, charities and lawyers have urged.
Human rights groups have raised the plight of migrants forced to give money in fees or commission to brokers in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh in return for a job in Britain.
Unseen UK, the charity which runs the national modern slavery helpline, told Eastern Eye that between January and June 2022, it raised 95 modern slavery cases relating to labour exploitation involving Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers, mainly in the care, construction, hospitality and retail sectors.
Between January and June 2021, the figure was 25 labour exploitation cases relating to nationals from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.
Under UK employment law, it is illegal to charge workers fees for finding them jobs and breaches international labour standards. But the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) charity said every week it hears a new story about agencies illicitly pocketing huge portions of workers’ wages and keeping people in “debt bondage”.
Ravishaan Rahel Muthiah, from the JCWI, told Eastern Eye: “Every worker in the UK should be paid a living wage and be treated fairly at work, but our government’s hostile immigration rules make life a picnic for bad bosses and agents, who are increasingly profiting off migrant workers’ misery.
“Every week, we hear a new story about agencies illicitly pocketing huge portions of new workers’ wages and keeping people in debt bondage, but sadly our government is doing almost nothing to tackle the issue. In fact, many new workers fear speaking out about wage theft or abuse at work, because they fear our anti-migrant government will detain or deport them, instead of prioritising their safety.
“The UK government should be doing its utmost to guarantee working people’s safety, regardless of where we were born, which is why we’re calling for migrants to be able to report abuse without fear of arrest or deportation.”
A recent report by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority revealed a group of Indian students at three different universities stopped attending lectures soon after arriving in the UK and were found to be working in the care sector in Wales. The report said they were working “up to 80 hours a week, sometimes double-shifting”, for “way below” minimum wage. The students were also living in squalid conditions with up to 12 people in a three-bedroom flat.
In another case, students from India were found living in a property in Birmingham where they had had their passports confiscated. They alleged they were forced to work 24-hour shifts without breaks and were paid so little they could not afford to eat.
Executive director of charity Unseen, Justine Carter, warned that migrant workers are at significant risk of exploitation because of their desire for a better life.
He told Eastern Eye: “Many are forced to pay huge amounts in their home countries to secure work in the UK or, alternatively, may be placed into debt bondage having accepted the prospect of work with the expectation that the so-called finder fees will be repaid.”
Unseen said it saw 78 potential victims of modern slavery and labour exploitation in the care sector in 2021 across all nationalities, double the figure in 2020.
Carter added: “Criminals seeking to exploit vulnerable workers will use whatever methods they can to make a profit and will change their approach to circumvent new barriers.
“It is not just stronger or more legislation that is required, but a need to implement legislation effectively. The difficulty in dealing with a truly international crime is that actions occur in many different jurisdictions, all with different legal frameworks for worker rights. Even if legislation was similar, the application is what will make it most effective.”
Workers from countries, including India, many of whom arrived via a new visa scheme for care workers launched in February, have reported being charged between £2,000 and £18,000 in illegal fees.
The official visa application fee for individuals is £247 with recruitment costs supposed to be paid by the employer.
Peter Frankental, economic affairs programme director at Amnesty International UK, said: “Exorbitant recruitment fees, appalling living conditions, false promises about the salaries migrant workers will receive, restrictions on freedom of movement, all provide concrete evidence of systematic abuse and exploitation of migrant workers in the UK. This is not just an appalling case of exploitation, but a clear example of human trafficking into the UK, which the Modern Slavery Act was intended to bring to an end.
“The government must take action to prevent students and other workers in the UK paying exorbitant recruitment fees to agencies abroad that leaves them destitute, as there is a clear loophole in the law that needs to be closed. “Why should foreign agencies be allowed to get away with charging fees for placing workers in the UK, when UK recruitment agencies would be acting illegally in doing so?”
Amjad Malik, a solicitor based in Greater Manchester, said he has come across cases of people acting as employment agents to charge hefty fees or commission from workers who are legitimately trying to seek employment in the UK.
“They are students or from the hospitality, health service and care industry. “More stringent measures need to be taken to root out complaints in this sector,” he added.
The Home Office said: “Criminals who force people into modern slavery for commercial gain will be tracked down and brought to justice. We have given law enforcement bodies the powers and resources to take action.”