22-7-2024 (LONDON) Several Indonesian workers who paid thousands of pounds to travel to Britain to pick fruit at a farm supplying major supermarkets have been sent home within weeks due to failing to meet stringent productivity targets.
One of the dismissed workers revealed that he had sold his family’s land, as well as his and his parents’ motorbikes, to cover the cost of more than £2,000 (S$3,475) required to come to Britain in May. However, his dreams were shattered when he found himself unemployed and with few possessions within a matter of weeks.
The labour exploitation watchdog, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), is currently investigating allegations that the worker was among several others who were illegally charged fees of up to £1,100 (S$1,911) by an Indonesian organisation, which claimed it could expedite their arrival in the UK.
In Indonesia, the worker earned around £100 (S$173) a month selling food, and he expressed his anguish, stating, “I feel confused, mad, and angry about this situation. I have no job in Indonesia [and] I’ve spent all my money to come to the UK.” His parents were “very disappointed,” as he had sold everything for a chance to support his family financially.
The Guardian has spoken to four of the dismissed workers and has seen evidence of apparent fee payments to a third party in addition to the more than £1,000 (S$1,737) transferred for flights and visas to the licensed recruiters in three cases.
The allegations of illegal fees being paid in Indonesia raise concerns about the risk of exploitation within the seasonal worker scheme, which allows workers from foreign countries a six-month visa to work on farms but requires them to bear all the financial risk.
The Guardian understands that Seema Malhotra, the new immigration minister, will investigate exploitation in the work visa system to crack down on exploitative practices. Additionally, the Migration Advisory Committee recommended on Monday that seasonal visas should continue to “ensure food security” but should include more protections, such as guaranteeing at least two months of work.
Haygrove, a farm in Hereford that supplies soft fruit to British supermarkets, issued warning letters to the man and four other workers about the speed of their picking before dismissing them between five and six weeks after they started work. The workers were booked on a flight home by their recruiters the very next day.
The workers stated that the targets at the farm in Ledbury included picking 20kg of cherries per hour. Another dismissed picker said, “It was very hard to meet the target because day by day there was less fruit.”
He added that he had borrowed money from “the bank, friends, and family” and was still more than £1,100 in debt. “Why have I ended up like this? Now I’m in Indonesia with no job… It’s not fair for me because I’ve sacrificed so much,” he lamented.
Beverly Dixon, the managing director of farming at Haygrove, stated that the farm had consistently had to make up the men’s wages due to poor performance and had supported them in attempting to improve. She said that targets were “set based on achievable standards, with the majority of pickers sometimes achieving more than double that speed.”
The five men only arrived in Britain in mid-May and were all dismissed from Haygrove on June 24, having earned between £2,555 (S$4,439) and £3,874 (S$6,732). Once the cost of coming to Britain and living expenses were deducted, several said they were left with significant debts.
Two of the men fled to London and refused to board flights home booked for June 25. They have now secured new jobs in a packhouse after the intervention of a migrant welfare activist, Andy Hall.
Hall, a migrant labour rights specialist, said, “This scandal shows once again that the entire burden of shouldering the multiple risks associated with the seasonal workers scheme in the UK is placed not on supermarkets, farms, scheme operators or other supply chain actors but on vulnerable workers from overseas.”
Dixon said that Haygrove was “deeply concerned” to hear about the “alleged financial challenge faced by the Indonesian workers, particularly if one or more paid an illegal recruiter in Indonesia,” and the farm was fully supporting the GLAA investigation.
The Guardian had previously revealed that Indonesians were coming to Britain with debts of up to £5,000 (S$8,688) to unlicensed foreign brokers in 2022, leading to the British agency AG losing its licence as a seasonal worker sponsor.
This year, a new UK recruiter, Agri-HR, worked in partnership with the Indonesian agent PT Mardel Anugerah to reopen the recruitment route from Indonesia, with support from the Indonesian embassy. However, workers allege that a third party in Indonesia, Forkom, recruited workers and charged illegal fees, claiming it could expedite their arrival in Britain.
Agri-HR stated, “On hearing these allegations, Agri-HR immediately contacted the GLAA with the request to investigate these claims. The GLAA interviewed some workers that same day and are continuing with their investigations, and further worker interviews have taken place and are scheduled.”
Workers told the Guardian that Forkom was encouraging its members to pressure the families of the dismissed pickers who had fled, with one worker reporting that his family in Indonesia was visited at 3 am.
In messages to a Forkom WhatsApp group, its chair, Agus Hariyono, allegedly encouraged members still in Indonesia to pressure the men who had run away in Britain by visiting their family homes. He also allegedly asked workers to delete records of any money paid to Forkom during a follow-up video call.
Hariyono claimed that Forkom was a social forum set up for Indonesian seasonal workers after some did not return from the 2022 season, leading to the visa route being temporarily closed. He denied any wrongdoing and stated that one worker had “entrusted funds” to Forkom as a deposit, which were later returned to pay PT Mardel Anugerah directly.
Delif Subeki of PT Mardel Anugerah said his recruitment agency was introduced to Forkom by the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and made a commitment to “give priority” to Forkom members. However, he stated that applicants were “clearly informed” that no third parties were involved in recruitment and that no fees should be paid.
