13000 Slaves in Britain

How is slavery defined?

In this instance I mean?

I think they are illegal immigrants brought over by gang masters who then have them over a barrel - they have to do whatever work they are given for whatever meagre reward as they dare not fight back as they will be deported. They find themselves in prostitution and working on the land. They are essentially owned by the gang masters and can be bought and sold among fellow criminals - very much like slaves of yore. Being a slave is being the property of someone else, which is what these poor people are.

And how about those employers who agree to allow these 'slaves' to pick their fruit or whatever?

They don't know. One of my best friends is a farmer, and he always used to hire students at harvest time to drive the tractors and trailers and do the heavy work, and Londoners would come down to do the hop-picking and sleep in the same huts their grandparents had. But the grandchildren gradually decided it wasn't for them and the term dates changed for the uni students, they went back too early, so he went to an employment agency and they put him in touch with contractors.

People would arrive with an overseer and be collected in the evening. He had no contact with them, as the orders would be given to the bilingual overseer. He hadn't a clue for about ten years, having never heard of such practices going on. He has now of course and felt dreadful. So now he employs a very lively gang of Asian ladies from the Medway towns who love the chance to get out in the countryside.

Here is the definition of modern slavery from the BBC.

www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/modern/modern_1.shtml

It make sobering reading, especially that there are more slaves now world wide that when the Atlantic slave trade was rife.

pompa

It is very sad that 'slavery' is still practiced and let's face it in numbers that could only be guessed at due to it's abhorrent nature.

It is sobering to think the UK is not immune from it's grasp and if it happens here God knows the numbers worldwide where human life has little to no value, or so it appears.

We all too often read stories that refer to men and women held captive whether it be by 'travellers' keeping men for building/groundwork/landscaping jobs, poor souls kept to do domestic work to the horrendous sex trade and all the vileness that sordid world provides. The list goes on.

It is so unbelievably sad.

I often wonder why harvest workers dont speak out.
But I suppose they would be deported, perhaps back into worse conditions?

It's deplorable - and I find it difficult to imagine the misery these slaves are enduring. I can't understand why some human beings can inflict these horrors on someone else. Horrible :'(

I think some humans, maybe because of what they have endured themselves, or been taught, can cease to think of other humans as people at all.
There was a picture recently, of a toddler of an ISIS member, told to kick..
I shudder to think what he or she is being taught. And how they may therefore behave when older.

The modern slavery bill is in the House of Lords now and is going through committee stage from Monday.
Frank Field has an e-petition on the parliament website to include the supply chain of businesses. It looks interesting but I am not sure if it is possible.
You can read it at
www.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/68492

I don't think it is just gang masters - although they are a major problem.

Apparently, some wealthy overseas people bring staff with them and keep their passports so that if they are being ill treated, or not paid, they can't do anything about it.

I really don't understand why people with so much money are not prepared to pay people properly and give them proper conditions of work.

One of the solicitors I worked at in central London dealt primarily with clients from the Middle East. One of the paralegals had to visit a client because there had been complaints that there were too many people staying in she and her husband's holiday residence - against the terms of their lease - something which they vehemently denied. While he was having tea there, various members of staff trooped in and out with refreshments. He asked whether they were staying in the house, to which the client said "Yes". He told her that this was why there had been a complaint - they weren't allowed to have that many people sleeping in the house. "Oh", the client said "These aren't people, they're staff"!!