"Indonesians wait for UK farm jobs after paying deposits of up to £2,500", 25 Sep 2022

Indonesians dreaming of working in Britain are understood to have paid deposits of up to £2,500 to a Jakarta agency to “guarantee” jobs on UK farms that have not yet materialised.

Labour experts say a deposit is considered a work-finding fee, which is illegal in the UK and Indonesia.

One worker told the Guardian he made a £1,000 down payment in July to a Jakarta agency to guarantee an agricultural job with a British recruiter, but he had not even had a job interview.

He said he was one of several people left unemployed and out of pocket on the hope of a farm job in the UK.

“We stopped working to be able to seriously follow the recruitment process for a new and better job. Now we are unemployed and our fate is increasingly unclear,” he said.

Official Indonesian government documents from late August suggest about 170 workers were stranded in Indonesia having been assigned jobs on 19 farms across the UK...

It follows revelations in the Guardian that Indonesian labourers harvesting berries on a farm that supplies Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco had reported facing thousands of pounds in charges from unlicensed brokers in Bali to work for a single season in the UK...

The Indonesian workers already in Britain were supplied by AG Recruitment, one of four UK agencies licensed to recruit using seasonal worker visas. AG denied any wrongdoing and said it knew nothing about Indonesian brokers charging fees or deposits.

AG had no previous experience in Indonesia and sought help from Jakarta-based Al Zubara Manpower, which in turn went to brokers on other islands who charged exorbitant fees to the people they introduced, according to one Al Zubara agent...

Al Zubara charges £2,500 for farm jobs in the UK, according to documents seen by the Guardian. The fees include flights and visas. Multiple labourers said they faced thousands of pounds in extra charges from Indonesian brokers who brought them to Al Zubara and promised substantial earnings. Al Zubara has been contacted numerous times for comment...

Andrew Opie, the director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Our members are aware of these allegations and remain extremely concerned. They are urgently investigating possible breaches of the scheme with suppliers.

“It is clear recruiting seasonal workers has become more challenging, particularly with the loss of Ukrainian workers, and retailers will work in partnership with farmers, scheme operators, enforcers and the government this autumn to ensure all labour rights continue to be protected.”

A Tesco spokesperson said the supermarket welcomed investigations in both countries, and it was “vital that any illegal fees are repaid in full”.