Sweatshops in Leicester - who are the owners?

As far as I know, the district council (we don't have cities either) doesn't have a role in inspecting workplaces, although the county council might (in certain circumstances).

Well, we have Trading Standards officers and Environmental Health inspectors (well stretched because of cutbacks to LA budgets). Don't all local authorities have these? Wouldn't they have a role?

Just wondering - is this a cultural thing? If the owners and workers are Asian, is this the norm for them? Is it the same in their country of origin? I’m not trying to condone it, just musing.

SNAP petunia. I genuinely don't know if the mayor is responsible.

This is a genuine question. I've just tried to find out the answer, but couldn't.

We don't have a mayor where I live, so what is the role of a mayor in overseeing workplaces?

My understanding is that the Mayor of Leicester is the leader of the city council (we have one of those, but don't call him mayor). As far as I know, the district council (we don't have cities either) doesn't have a role in inspecting workplaces, although the county council might (in certain circumstances).

It doesn't really matter where the factory owners live, but where the workplaces themselves are situated.

I would have thought that the question of pay was the responsibility of HMRC. A few years ago, HMRC made a big song and dance about "naming and shaming" employers who didn't pay minimum wage.

So who is/should have been responsible?

But is the mayor responsible? I would think so. He is the man in charge.This sort of behaviour by the factory owners is deplorable. But for the council and council workers to choose to ignore it due to cultural sensitivities is criminal, whatever their political persuasion.

biba70

Because it is also assumed that the labour Mayor is 'responsible' - but as far as I understand, the owners of those sweatshops do not live in Labour Leicester - but in the very Conservative County beyond.

Ah! All becomes clear.....you simply wish to bash those owners who you assume to vote Conservative.
In fact, you have no idea of the many garment factories owners political affiliations.

petunia

Whichever political group they belong to the owners should be exposed, shamed and punished. This is no less than slave labour. Workers underpaid, exposed to dangerous working conditions, told to hide if the authorities came knocking-this had no place in our society.

The exposure of such factories in different cities in the UK has been shocking. Why ever these places havent been investigated I cant imagine. There must be many blind eyes that were aware of this and did nothing.

Absolutely agree with you??

No offence Biba but your thread title would suffice. Your post is misleading. I think most would agree politics has nothing to do with this situation. It’s exploitation and has not been dealt with.

But the sweatshops are in Leicester, so surely they are under the jurisdiction of the authorities in Leicester. Whatever the political leanings of those in power, these sweatshops have been allowed to continue by the authorities.

Because it is also assumed that the labour Mayor is 'responsible' - but as far as I understand, the owners of those sweatshops do not live in Labour Leicester - but in the very Conservative County beyond.

biba70 What difference does their political affiliation make? I don't understand the reason for your question.

Lucca- because this has been implied all over the place. I agree it makes no sense.

Agreed Lucca.

Whoever they are someone in authority - be they Labour Tory Lib Dem Communist Or Green - should be doing something about it

biba70

Are they Labour supporters do you think?

Why Labour supporters ?

I’m disgusted with these owners on every level. They operate sweatshops, and if reports are true that they pay £3 or £4 an hour, then they are breaking the law. That makes me think that they most probably employ illegal immigrants, so yet again they are breaking the law. I saw one owner interviewed on television, he said he closed his factory for four weeks at the beginning of lockdown and then told his workers to come back. They were not socially distanced, the factory was filmed as he was talking. The authorities know about these sweatshops and do nothing. These places are operating like some sweatshops in the third world, and everyone condemns those, but here in Britain, people are allowed to operate in third world conditions. It’s disgusting.

There is not one owner of the sweatshops. They are mostly smaller concerns holed up in terraced houses and some of the disused, former, hosiery and knitwear factories. This proud history of hosiery and knitwear making was what drew the first immigrants to Leicester.

for for fear of

I believe they, the owners are worth something in the order of over a billion, which begs the question as to why they couldn't pay their workforce the minimum wage. I believe the Labour MP brought the subject up, but it was kicked into the long grass for offending cultural sensibilities. The contentious mural that Jeremy Corbyn thought was acceptable springs to mind, I wonder how he would view it if those getting rich on the back of others were depicted not as Jews but another ethnicity.

Good post, avalon.

I have said on other threads on this topic, everyone who lives round here knew what was going on apart from the Council. The Mayor, especially, I think has been negligent!

The owners are mostly of Asian origin who exploit their own people. We should not however tar everyone with the same brush. One factory owner who looked to me to be a Sikh (which as a religion is a way of life) sold his factory 2 years ago, payed his proper dues to HMRC, paid his workers the full wage, and made sure he met all regulations was accused by The Times of running a sweatshop. His family name was smeared and the paper have paid him an undisclosed amount that he is giving to charity.
It is the authorities in Leicester who need to be looked at.

The factory owners are doing well but I doubt they are billionaires.

The owners of BooHoo on the other hand.....

There was a report at the weekend that Boohoo have bought a property, in Leicester, with a view to running their own state of the art factory- that sounds like a step forward if a little late.

Whichever political group they belong to the owners should be exposed, shamed and punished. This is no less than slave labour. Workers underpaid, exposed to dangerous working conditions, told to hide if the authorities came knocking-this had no place in our society.

The exposure of such factories in different cities in the UK has been shocking. Why ever these places havent been investigated I cant imagine. There must be many blind eyes that were aware of this and did nothing.

Good!

Plenty of info on Google

They are doing very well. Billionaires

Having problems now though