From the article in FWI
Maizie
Working hours in agriculture are normally long at harvest time 16 hours 7 days a week is fairly normal, there are plenty who work from 7 am til midnight and sometimes beyond, nothing to do with migrants
For pickers and packers 8 to 12 hours 6 days a week would be normal with Saturday’s free - no deliveries on Sunday. Hours are not regulated it’s up to the individual, most want the extra hours
Safety, if a HSE inspector visited any home, factory, or farm he would produce a list of safety concerns.
The line on wages is blurred when accommodation and transport is deducted, my guess is that there are a lot of UK workers that end up with less after housing and transport is paid. Accommodation should be a reasonable standard, mobile homes being the norm, one critism was a electric heater close to bedding - how is the employer supposed to control that.
Slave Labour, the only case I remember reported is a group of travelers using vulnerable men as slaves, nothing to do with GLAA
I don’t believe that pay is the same as Bulgarian levels although there are always some disgruntled workers who think they should get more, many do farm work for a while then move on to other work. There are a lot of picking gangs working in this area, they always seem well organized and seem to work 8-10 Hours, they get checked by the GLAA regularly but I having seen any prosecutions in recent years.
The article is very much a self justification for the GLAA and no doubt a bid for more funding. I say to them prosecute as many of the law breakers as possible, it would make their job easier if there was a proper official scheme where only registered legal workers could work. This happens in Australia, it’s illegal to employ anyone without tax documentation, resident or migrant, they police it too.
Recommendations please, for a stopover on the way to Loch Tay