abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb

이 페이지는 한국어로 제공되지 않으며 English로 표시됩니다.

이 내용은 다음 언어로도 제공됩니다: English, 日本語, 简体中文, 繁體中文

이야기

2024년 4월 15일

UK: NGO finds exploitative recruitment of migrant farmworkers, including high fee-charging and false promises, incl. through social media; incl. co responses & non-responses

Shutterstock (licensed)

In the first of a series of reports, NGO Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX) has published a report on recruitment-related risks associated with the UK Seasonal Worker Scheme, based on outreach, interviews and surveys of more than 400 workers. Surveys and interviews were carried out by Rosmini Centre Wisbech, Citizen Advice South Lincolnshire, and the Southeast and East Asian Centre (SEEAC).

FLEX found most workers (768.8% women; 69.9% men) reported taking out a loan to cover the costs of coming to the UK, with significant variation between countries of origin; for example, 47.9% Ukrainian workers reported taking a loan, compared with 91.7% workers from Indonesia. Amounts charged to workers also varied by country with Romanian workers paying an average of £490 while Indonesian workers paid £3,547.

Most workers did receive accurate information about the nature of their job and accommodation, though one in four said they had received no information regarding the possibility of changing employers in the UK, which is not allowed under the scheme.

Only three in five workers reported receiving a contract in a language they understood on or before their work commenced; across nationalities this varied between 16.7% Belarussian workers and 87.3% workers from Kyryzstan. Practices between scheme operators - agencies sourcing and placing workers in employment - were mixed, with some workers seeing a sample contract before arriving into the UK, som signing the contract online prior to arrival, and others only at the farm during onboarding.

The report also contains a testimony from a worker who migrated after seeing ‘deceptive’ images of what life could be like for them in the country on social media, including on Instagram (part of Meta), TikTok and Telegram. The report emphasises the influence of ‘scammers’ on social media who charge workers illegal recruitment fees.

We want to see that this isn’t a lottery for workers — with safeguards embedded in the structure of the scheme
Lucila Granada, FLEX Chief Executive

Recommendations from FLEX include that:

  • Government data should be available on a timely basis;
  • Recruitment practices and illegal fee-charging be actively monitored;
  • The UK Government consider regulating countries operators can recruit from;
  • Information on labour rights and employment conditions be shared with workers in their country of origin, and in native languages;
  • Workers not be responsible for costs of their journey
  • Overseas labour providers be actively monitored to strengthen the Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority licensing scheme

In April 2024, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Meta, TikTok and Telegram to respond to the report and to outline how they monitor and remove content containing false promises of employment conditions, or leading to workers being charged illegal recruitment fees, for jobs in the agricultural sector in the UK, including content impacting migrant workers from Central Asia. TikTok's responses can be read in full below. Telegram and Meta did not respond.

기업 응답

Meta (formerly Facebook)

무응답

TikTok (part of ByteDance) 응답 보기
Telegram

무응답

타임라인

개인정보

이 웹사이트는 쿠키 및 기타 웹 저장 기술을 사용합니다. 아래에서 개인정보보호 옵션을 설정할 수 있습니다. 변경 사항은 즉시 적용됩니다.

웹 저장소 사용에 대한 자세한 내용은 다음을 참조하세요 데이터 사용 및 쿠키 정책

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

분석 쿠키

ON
OFF

귀하가 우리 웹사이트를 방문하면 Google Analytics를 사용하여 귀하의 방문 정보를 수집합니다. 이 쿠키를 수락하면 저희가 귀하의 방문에 대한 자세한 내용을 이해하고, 정보 표시 방법을 개선할 수 있습니다. 모든 분석 정보는 익명이 보장되며 귀하를 식별하는데 사용하지 않습니다. Google은 모든 브라우저에 대해 Google Analytics 선택 해제 추가 기능을 제공합니다.

프로모션 쿠키

ON
OFF

우리는 소셜미디어와 검색 엔진을 포함한 제3자 플랫폼을 통해 기업과 인권에 대한 뉴스와 업데이트를 제공합니다. 이 쿠키는 이러한 프로모션의 성과를 이해하는데 도움이 됩니다.

이 사이트에 대한 개인정보 공개 범위 선택

이 사이트는 필요한 핵심 기능 이상으로 귀하의 경험을 향상시키기 위해 쿠키 및 기타 웹 저장 기술을 사용합니다.