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Artikel

20 Aug 2022

Autor:
Farangis Najibullah, RFE/RL

UK: Migrant workers from Central Asia say they face mistreatment at seasonal jobs

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Happy to be in Britain, Central Asian migrants want more work to cover expenses, 20 August 2022

Migrant workers from Central Asia hired for seasonal jobs on British farms say they're happy to be in Britain but wish they had more work.

Thousands of laborers from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan came to Britain this year under the U.K. government’s Seasonal Workers Scheme designed to address a severe shortage of farm workers due to Brexit..."Our employers in a farm in Scotland gave us about 30 hours of work in a six-day week, instead of the 48 hours a week we were promised by recruiters before coming to Britain," said a fruit picker from Tajikistan.

"After deducting the cost of accommodation, utilities, national insurance, and food, there is almost nothing left from my wages at the farm. I came here to work and to take money home, but that didn't happen," he said.

Similar complaints have been made by other laborers from Central Asia working in different parts of Britain...The workers spoke to RFE/RL on condition of anonymity, saying they didn't want to "get in trouble" for speaking out...

A 35-year-old worker from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, recently abandoned his work at the Barnsmuir Farm in Scotland citing "unbearable issues," including what he described as mistreatment by Eastern European supervisors...The laborer, who was recruited for Fruitful Jobs through AGRI-HR, said his problems in Britain began when he arrived at Heathrow Airport with some 20 other Central Asian migrants...When the group called AGRI-HR for help, a recruiting agency representative said the original offer of employment for the workers had "fallen through." Instead, they could work at the remote Barnsmuir Farm, he said the agent told the group, adding that the migrants must get to the farm by themselves..."At work we faced mistreatment by the supervisors, who are from Bulgaria. They're rude and [verbally] abusive," the Tajik migrant claimed...The laborer said when he complained about the situation, the supervisors threatened him with dismissal and retaliated by cutting his working hours. The worker ended up getting only 13 hours of work in nine days, just enough to pay for accommodation and utilities, he said...

The problems at Barnsmuir Farm were reported to Wendy Chamberlain, a member of the British Parliament representing North East Fife, where the farm is located.

British citizen Hywel Philippart, who heard about the situation at the farm through one of his acquaintances, urged the lawmaker to address "abuses" allegedly taking place in her constituency...