UK: Seasonal worker license revoked for AG Recruitment following reports of worker recruitment debt & overstaying; incl. co. comment
Summary
Date Reported: 9 Feb 2022
Location: United Kingdom
Companies
AG Recruitment - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Indonesia , Agriculture & livestock , Gender not reported , Documented migrants )Issues
Recruitment FeesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Guardian
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The company denied any wrongdoing.
Source type: News outlet
"UK recruiter of debt-hit Indonesians loses seasonal workers licence" 9 Feb 2023
A British recruitment agency that brought Indonesian farmworkers to the UK who had debts of thousands of pounds to foreign brokers has lost its licence as a seasonal worker sponsor.
More than 1,450 Indonesians were brought to Britain last year by AG Recruitment to pick berries and other fruits to supply British supermarkets.
The Guardian revealed that some owed as much as £5,000 to unlicensed foreign brokers when they arrived in Britain, despite only having work for a single season. AG denied any wrongdoing and said it had known nothing about Indonesian brokers charging money.
Douglas Amesz, its managing director, said he was “devastated” to receive notice from the Home Office of its licence being revoked on Wednesday and that the process had been “very unfair and unjust”.
Thousands of vulnerable workers have faced conditions akin to forced labour and debt bondage due to the negligence of seasonal worker scheme operators, including AG Recruitment, the broader framework of a failing seasonal worker scheme and sponsorship licence system, as well as the failures of the UK’s largest retailers and farms to protect this essential workforce from such abuses. Conditions created by the seasonal worker scheme structure remain ripe and conducive to worker overstays as a means for these desperate workers to ensure a return on their considerable investments expended to come to the UK. Systemic reform of the scheme is therefore urgent and essential.Andy Hall, independent migrant rights specialist