"Brexit farm workers scheme found fueling risk of slavery in UK", 16 March 2021

Migrant farm workers in Britain are being trapped and mistreated by employers in conditions ripe for modern slavery, campaigners said on Tuesday, urging the government to review a scheme designed to avoid agricultural labour shortages post-Brexit.

Seasonal labourers in Scotland have been pressured to sign zero-hour contracts, made to live and work in degrading conditions, and prevented from changing employers, a study by the Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX) NGO and a Scottish nonprofit found.

About six in 10 workers said they incurred debts up to 870 pounds ($1,204) for visas and other costs, while many reported being threatened by bosses with fewer work hours or the prospect of deportation - which are drivers of forced labour - FLEX said...

...The Seasonal Workers Pilot (SWP) was launched in 2019 with an annual quota of 2,500 migrants, which has expanded to 30,000 this year. Workers who obtain a visa can stay in Britain for six months, and the vast majority so far have arrived from Ukraine...

...The study - based on interviews with about 40 scheme workers - found that most were paid per task on a “piece rate” instead of receiving an hourly wage and had zero-hour contracts despite the government having said such arrangements were not permitted.

While the scheme allows labourers to change employers, nearly two-thirds of those interviewed said they had requested transfers but had been refused, according to the research...

...Britain is home to an estimated 136,000 modern slaves, according to Walk Free’s 2018 Global Slavery Index, and agriculture has long been considered a high-risk sector by campaigners due to its reliance on low-skilled seasonal workers.