Inspectors order firm to take action to protect staff – two more investigated
HEALTH and safety inspectors have ordered a textile firm to take action to protect its staff from coronavirus.
Officials from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the company, which it has not identified, is one of three in the city it is investigating following a series of visits in recent days.
The city’s textile trade is in the spotlight at the moment after suggestions that conditions in small workshops could be a factor in the recent outbreak of coronavirus.
While Public Health England and Leicester City Council have said there is no evidence to suggest textile factories are a specific setting where the virus is being transmitted, campaigners have suggested employees are being forced to work in non-Covid secure conditions where social distancing is not being applied.
An HSE spokesman said: “We are working alongside Leicester City Council and others in the regulation of workplace health and safety and will work with the local public health authorities to support their understanding of any patterns of Covid-19 in Leicester.
“In Leicester, we are investigating three textile businesses and one of these has been issued an Improvement Notice, requiring the business to take action to control the risk of Covid-19 in the workplace.
“Friday’s multi-agency activity in Leicester further focused on the textile industry.
“We engaged with 11 businesses in total – 10 of those were site inspections.
“No notices were served and no businesses were shut down.
“However, verbal advice was given to all of them in relation to the latest guidance on protecting workers from coronavirus risk.
“Further inquires are being made with a number of the businesses to ensure compliance with safer workplaces guidance. We will take enforcement action where necessary and will have continued interactions with key business across Leicester throughout the pandemic to ensure they are working in accordance with health and safety regulations and social distancing measures.
“Further spot inspections will take place in the area in the coming days and weeks to ensure businesses are Covid-secure.”
Leicester’s textile trade is also the centre of a political row, with accusations authorities in the city have failed to stamp out exploitation of workers and poor practice.
North West Leicestershire Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said he has been contacted by industry whistleblowers asking the government to deal with issues such as employers not paying the minimum wage.
Mr Bridgen said: “They have contacted me because they say they have no faith in Leicester City Council to do anything about the appalling conditions in some of these factories. The Labour council knows about these issues but has not tackled them.
“It is a stain on our country.” Mr Bridgen said he had passed a series of factory addresses to the Sunday Times which resulted in a story highlighting some of the issues, including staff being paid as little as £3.50 an hour – well below the national minimum wage.
He said he raised concerns with the council in April but no action was taken at the time.
Mr Bridgen said he believed 200 companies in Leicester were operating in sweatshop conditions, often in dilapidated buildings.
He said: “This has been a problem for years but it has not been dealt with.
“Hopefully it will be now.” Home Secretary Priti Patel has instructed the National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the allegations about the textile trade in the city.
An NCA spokesman said: “Within the last few days NCA officers, along with police and others, attended a number of business premises in Leicester area to assess concerns of modern slavery and human trafficking.
“Tackling modern slavery is one of our highest priorities.”
Deputy mayor Adam Clarke said: “Complaints about textiles factories operating during the lockdown in April were referred to the Health and Safety Executive for investigation.
“Last week we were made aware of other allegations.
“These factories were visited by the HSE and the police last week. Advice was given, but no notices were served and none of the factories was required to close.”
A council spokeswoman said: “It’s important to emphasise that councils have limited powers when it comes to these issues.
“They have no powers to check on working conditions inside a building, enforce the minimum wage or monitor the legality of the workforce.
“In Leicester, the council has been instrumental in forming the first partnership of its kind in the UK to tackle non-compliance in the textiles supply chain.
“In October 2017, Sir Peter Soulsby convened a meeting of more than 60 representatives from national regulators, manufacturers and retailers to discuss how the problems of non-compliance within the industry can be combated.
“The four main national enforcement bodies – HMRC, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the HSE started to pilot a taskforce in September 2018.
“This taskforce is now being led by the city council and its work is ongoing.”