News

A firm that supplied workers to the agricultural packaging sector has been forced to stop trading after an investigation by the Gangmasters Licencing Authority (GLA) revealed its "shocking" abuse of workers.

Cambridge-based ELS Recruitment supplied vegetable pickers, processing and packaging teams to Allpress Farms, which supplied leeks to Produce World, which in turn supplied Sainsbury's.

Workers were threatened and verbally abused by director Shamus Paul, hours were deducted from the workers' wages with no explanation, and some workers were not given contracts, the GLA investigation revealed.

It also found that workers were forced to use and pay for overcrowded company transport, and were not paid sick leave or paid for holidays.

As Packaging News went to press the company was unavailable to comment.

Judith Batchelor, a director at Sainsbury's, said: "Sainsbury's takes the welfare of workers and sourcing with integrity very seriously and this is the type of behaviour that both we and Produce World find totally unacceptable."

The GLA said it had started joint action with retailers following a meeting earlier this month to discuss ways to resolve exploitation in the supply chain.

It said all the major supermarkets were involved and it hoped an agreement to help exploited workers would soon be signed.

The GLA was set up to curb the exploitation of workers in the agricultural, horticulture, shellfish gathering and associated processing and packaging industries.