Trade frustration with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) is growing following a raid on Vale of Evesham spring onion and leek supplier Simms & Woods.

The firm was targeted in a sting last week to which a Sunday Times journalist was invited. The raid was also carried out with West Mercia Police and the Border & Immigration Agency.

The GLA alleges that it found breaches involving three gangmasters supplying labour to the firm, and these allegation were made in the Sunday Times article that appeared at the weekend. But as FPJ went to press, the authority had still not named the firms or revoked any licences.

The alleged illegal practices included a minibus with no tax or insurance and a single working door being used to transport 14 workers to the Simms & Woods (S&W) packhouse; a worker with a bleeding finger continuing to pack spring onions with the digit wrapped in cling-film; employees working 60-70 hours a week but with only 39 hours shown on their payslips; and no record of the number or identity of workers employed at the premises.

But S&W has spoken out about its “frustration” at the action of the GLA. “We stopped using the gangmaster with the un-taxed van immediately, but we are still using the other two labour providers as the issues are still just allegations,” a spokesman told FPJ. “What is frustrating is that we cannot get any more information from the GLA, which in its public statements is making no differentiation between Simms & Woods as a labour user and the gangmasters themselves.

“The issue of the worker with the cut finger was recorded in our accident book, a plaster was applied and the GLA has copies of that documentation. As for the issue of the 60-70 hours, our factory has not even been open 60 hours a week for at least the last six weeks. We have also passed copies of all the workers’ identity documents to the authorities.”

S&W has co-operated fully with the GLA and as FPJ went to press had already held one “washdown” meeting following the raid.

Certainly Asda is sticking by its supplier to date. “We have already invited Simms & Woods up for a meeting, but so far the GLA has gone very quiet,” said a spokesman for the retailer.

And some in the industry are questioning the GLA’s achievements, despite last month’s report that apparently detailed how well it is performing. “If you look at its accounts on the website, you will see it has £2 million to regulate this sector,” said one industry insider. “You have to wonder what it is achieving for that money.”

In a recent freshinfo poll on the GLA’s performance in its first year, 43 per cent of respondents thought the authority was doing a poor job, compared to 28 per cent who thought it was doing a satisfactory job and just 11 per cent who deemed it was doing a good job.

Topics