Select committee calls for gangmasters law for construction sector

Migrant abuse in the construction industry must be tackled within two years or the gangmaster law extended to cover it,an influential parliamentary report said today.

The Home Affairs Select Committee report "The Trade in Human Beings: Human Trafficking in the UK," published today,  said the construction industry should be "the first focus" of moves to extend the Gangmasters Licensing Act into other sectors.

It pointed to evidence of abuse in the construction industry including assaults and threats of violence; pay below the National Minimum Wage; excessive deductions from pay for rent, tools and utility bills; and provision of sub-standard accommodation"

The report also raised concerns at evidence of "the increasing incidence of gangmasters providing labour to major construction sites."

The report concluded: "We suggest that the construction industry should be the first focus and if, after two years, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate has not succeeded iin reducing abuse, then the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority should be extended to cover construction"

Responding to the report, Unite deputy general secretary Jack Dromey called on the Government to extend the Gangmasters Licensing Act to cover the construction industry and other sectors.

He said the report revealed "the ease with which migrant workers can be forced into modern-day slavery, it reveals the ugly side of employment in the UK.  Despite recent efforts to clamp down on abuse, there is still an enormous job to be done to root out those who prey on the most vulnerable in our workforce."

Dromey said by exploiting migrant workers, bad employers were driving down wages and creating division among workers and communities.

He said stepping up enforcement was not enough,"particularly in construction where there is widespread evidence of abuse.  A patchwork of protections and an on-off approach to enforcement lets the crooks off the hook."

He said the ball was  now in the Government's court."The evidence of worker exploitation is piling high; Government can no longer ignore the calls to extend licensing and put in place a universal, transparent process for determining who is fit to supply labour in this country."

In June, Jim Sheridan MP will introduce a Ten Minute Rule in the Commons which seeks to extend the Gangmasters Licensing Act into construction.  Unite and Ucatt are both backing the Bill.