Labour provider HOPS has launched an induction survey aimed at clamping out the practice of unscrupulous gangmasters charging illegal fees to workers.
There are concerns in the industry that certain gangmasters are circumventing rules by charging seasonal workers fees for bogus translation or pastoral care work, as well as such things as phoney fruit-picking qualifications.
HOPS is circulating the short survey, which is available in Romanian, Bulgarian and English, among farms that use its services and advising them to give it to all workers on their roster, regardless of what agency or gangmaster they’ve been sourced from, during their induction.
The survey asks whether the workers have been charged finders’ fees, or other costs related to their employment on farm.
The Association of Labour Providers already has guidelines in place related to worker feedback, but HOPS’ director John Hardman says the new survey goes further in identifying gangmasters soliciting illegal fees.
“Retailers find the practice [of gangmasters charging these fees] abhorrent and it flies in the face of their ethics,” Hardman said. “We hope this survey will enlighten growers and help them find out where and if gangmasters are charging fees so they can report them to the authorities.”
