Gangmaster Authority exposes violations in raid on packaging site

The authority said it was assessing the information gathered before making a decision on the licence status of the three gangmasters involved and the charges to be made.

A Simms & Wood spokesman said the firm had "immediately suspended" one of its labour providers for "health and safety infringements" concerning its minibus.

He added that the GLA had highlighted "certain procedural aspects" that the company could develop to help protect its agency workforce.

The investigators found an untaxed and uninsured minibus being used to ferry 14 workers from their homes to the warehouse; a "serious hygiene issue" involving food destined for major UK supermarkets; employees working 60-70 hours a week with only 39 hours recorded on their payslips; and no accurate record of the number or identity of workers employed at the warehouse.

The raid on Simms & Wood was part of the GLA's Operation Scorpion, an ongoing series of unannounced visits carried out throughout the UK to ensure that labour providers are operating within the law.

Gangmasters must comply with GLA standards to hold a licence. Operating a labour group without one could result in a 10-year prison sentence and unlimited fine.

The GLA was set up to protect workers from exploitation in food processing and packaging, agriculture, horticulture and shellfish gathering after the deaths of 23 Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2005.

The GLA has issued licences to 1,140 gangmasters.

GLA chairman Paul Whitehouse said: "Those gangmasters who do not follow the rules risk being trapped by one of our operations. We will root out these rogues. There is no excuse for exploiting vulnerable workers and we will take the firmest action possible in all cases."

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