More migrant workers seek help over UK farm exploitation claims

BBC learned that the number of foreign workers seeking help in exploitation, bullying, lower payment and poor living conditions on UK farms increased significantly in the past year.

Nearly 700 years of foreign agricultural workers complained to the Wsc Support Center (WSC) in 2024, and they were not fairly treated by farmers who brought them to work, compared to more than 400 in 2023.

I told one of the former fruits that the BBC should be done more to protect migrants from treatment such as slaves.

The UK government has always taken “decisive measures” if abusive practices are found on farms.

Polivian Julia Kokcano Casemiro came to the United Kingdom with a seasonal visa to choose cherries for Haygrove, a Heerfordshire farm company.

Mrs. Casimiro is currently transferring the company to an employment court due to unjust and wage dismissal and wages, and now campaigns for better protection for workers on seasonal farms.

In a preliminary ruling, the Ministry of Interior found that there are reasonable reasons for the belief that Mrs. Casimiro may be a victim of modern slavery.

BBC told that she is afraid that the true size of the exploitation of workers will be a “hidden problem”, adding: “Many seasonal workers still violate their rights at this particular moment.

“What happens is very dangerous because we cannot reach any help or support.

“If the UK government does not take measures to stop what is happening, there will remain more victims of modern slavery.”

A spokeswoman for Haragov said that Mrs. Casemiro’s dissatisfaction has prompted a variation in the nominal value of airline tickets and the amount that was lended to workers for tickets, and less than the exemplary working hours available in July, as a result of the unusual weather conditions.

The company added that its allegations are “financially incorrect and misleading” and that it “had no accusations of this nature before in the history of our business.”

The BBC has told her practices “routinely audited by a group of third -party bodies, including the Holding and Lack of Labor Treatment (GLAA), the Ministry of Interior, the British Retail Union, the Red/Crystallment, Paper, Flag and Law EDEX.

The company said that Mrs. Casemiro worked in Hayford for 11 days before leaving with a free air ticket, and her claims were based on “a short -term, non -stereotype”.

The spokeswoman added: “We strongly notice the guarantee of fairness and equality in our employment and work operations,” the spokeswoman added.

The company said it is also cooperating with Glaa investigations in the country on how companies recruit 20 Indonesian workers.

Last summer, these workers claimed that they accused illegal fees to reach the United Kingdom by employment agencies abroad.

“We are very worried about allegations that Indonesian workers accused illegal fees by employment agents, which opposes our policy and principles,” said Haragov’s spokeswoman.

She added that the company took any allegations of misconduct “seriously” and “fully cooperated with the investigations conducted by Glaa”.

She said that Haragov is “committed to fair employment practices and the welfare of all of our workers.”

The government’s agricultural workers ’plan will witness 43,000 visas available for the gardening industry and 2000 poultry farms this year.

A survey conducted at early last year by the Ministry of Environment, Food and Wind (Defra) found that 91 % of the respondents reported positive experience on UK farms.

However, WSC, which works to prevent the violations of marginalized workers, said it had dealt with a rise in complaints about the plan during 2024.

A man, from Kyrgyzstan, who worked on various farms in England and Scotland inside and outside for three years, told WSC that he was expected to live in bad conditions, and to be distinguished and unfairly expelled.

The worker, who wanted to remain anonymous to protect future job opportunities, told the BBC through a translator that he felt that the standards increased from that time and employers did not care about the farmer’s welfare, or the level of wages.

WSC said that cases specialist dealt with 158 farm workers in one month last summer and indicated 19 cases that included 101 people for enforcement agencies. The workers were mainly Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik and Uzbek.

The charity wants to review the seasonal workers ’plan and any risk of exploitation it offers.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Interior said that its employees had visited 318 farms and made more than 2,100 workers interviews, with improvements every year to stop exploitation and bad working conditions.

“We will always take decisive measures, as we believe that abusive practices are taking place or the conditions of the path are not fulfilled,” she added.

The Patriotic Union of farmers said that workers abroad “are invaluable” for British farmers, who “take care of employees seriously and constantly adapt to the way they work to provide the best worker experience.”

A spokeswoman added that the vast majority of workers have “a good experience in the United Kingdom, which leads to the return of many of the same farms season after the season.”