Seasonal workers at prestigious farm given 'cramped and undignified' accommodation
Summary
Date Reported: 6 Sep 2024
Location: United Kingdom
Companies
Castleton Farm - Employer , Lidl - Buyer , Marks & Spencer - Buyer , Waitrose (part of John Lewis Partnership) - Buyer , Tesco - BuyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Agriculture & livestock , Gender not reported , Documented migrants )Issues
Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Occupational Health & Safety , Right to Privacy , Intimidation , Racial, ethnicity, caste or origin discriminationResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited the four supermarkets to disclose any human rights due diligence undertaken prior to entering contracts with suppliers and when monitoring working conditions, any steps taken to investigate the reported abuse and any steps taken by the supermarket to remedy workers for the outlined unsuitable living conditions. Responses from all supermarkets are available on our website.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 6 Sep 2024
Location: United Kingdom
Companies
Leabank Nursery - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Asia & Pacific , Agriculture & livestock , Gender not reported , Documented migrants )Issues
Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Occupational Health & Safety , Intimidation , Excessive production targets , Forced Labour & Modern SlaveryResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The owner of Leabank Nursery has denied the allegations ITV News put to him.
Source type: News outlet
Seasonal workers at Castleton –S one of the country’s biggest, most prestigious fruit farms – are being given substandard accommodation and “undignified” living conditions...
However, workers have told us about “overcrowding” in the static caravan accommodation provided to seasonal workers...
The workers tell us they do a physical job by day, and then they “must sleep in one position because there is barely room to move” for the six months they live on Castleton Farm...
ITV News has also learned how a two-bedroom caravan at Castleton is being rented out for approximately £1,200 per month...
“Those conditions look unacceptable,” [First Minister] John Swinney said in response to the evidence presented to him.
“Obviously the points you’re putting to me about cost [of the caravan accommodation] are equally troubling as well.”
He added he will now look into closing the legal loophole, saying: “I will certainly explore that.”...
In a statement, Castleton Farm told us they try to avoid having strangers sharing bedrooms, and said, “Castleton Fruit Ltd is a family owned and run business.
“We have supplied the UK’s major supermarkets for over 30 years. As part of this we are independently audited regularly, which includes an assessment of how we treat our workforce and our standard of accommodation; workers are randomly selected and interviewed as part of this process...
Castleton Farm adds that they are “replacing static style caravans with modern chalet style accommodation,” and say, “we take great pride in the accommodation and conditions we provide,” which they say “represents good value compared with private sector accommodation.”
The farm in Aberdeenshire is not the only place where the investigation found concerns about accommodation...
The windows on the accommodation at Leabank Nursery are visibly in a state of disrepair, the furniture is stained, the heater doesn’t work, and even the toilet is broken.
Seasonal workers from Central Asia came to the UK on six month visas to support the country’s agricultural sector, and their job was to grow and pick aubergines....