Government agency finds no

THE Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) says it has found no evidence of modern slavery in visits it has made to Leicester textile firms in the past week.

The Government anti-slavery agency is one of the bodies investigating conditions in some of the more than 1,000 garment manufacturers in the city.

It follows reports some workers in the trade were being exploited and paid as little as £3.50 an hour.

In a statement, the GLAA said it has been working to ensure regulations are being followed in factories in Leicester during the pandemic.

A spokesman said: “It follows concerns about how some businesses in the city have been operating before and during the localised lockdown introduced by the government at the end of June.

“Multi-agency visits involving officers from the GLAA, police, Leicester City Council, National Crime Agency, Health and Safety Executive, Leicestershire Fire and

IN THE PUBLIC EYE: There has been scrutiny of alleged conditions in some Leicester textile factories

Rescue and Immigration Enforcement have been carried out over the past week.

“Officers from the different agencies spoke to business owners and workers to discuss concerns and provide advice on how protect workplaces from the risk of coronavirus.

“Further visits will be carried out in the coming weeks.” The GLAA said no enforcement has been used during the visits and officers have not at this stage identified any offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The HSE has, however, said it issued an improvement notice to a factory that was found not to be working in Covid-secure conditions and is investigating two others.

GLAA head of enforcement Ian Waterfield said: “We are committed to working with partners to ensure workers in Leicester are safe during the coronavirus pandemic and are not having their employment rights eroded or abused.

“Allegations of labour exploitation are something we take extremely seriously and we will continue to take appropriate action to safeguard potentially vulnerable workers.

“We would also encourage the public to be aware of the signs of labour exploitation and report their concerns to us, by calling our intelligence team on 0800 4320804 or e-mailing.”