As the Gangmasters Licensing Bill passes unchallenged from the House of Commons to the House of Lords, campaigners have welcomed the move towards legislation which will assist in cracking down on the exploitation of workers by unscrupulous gangmasters and will encourage fairer trading conditions for responsible suppliers of labour and their employers.
The NFU has been working closely with the Transport and General Workers’ Union and other supporters to change the law to license professional suppliers of labour for the agricultural and horticultural industries. NFU’s head of parliamentary affairs Barney Holbeche says: “It is imperative that any additional costs to business arising from licensing are shared within the food chain rather than retailers pushing the costs back up the chain to primary producers. This is a very positive step forward, and we hope that peers will give the Bill a fair wind in the House of Lords.”
The Association of Labour Providers (ALP) has also shown its support for the Bill and in addition, has called for the contentious term gangmaster to be replaced by labour provider. “Companies that provide labour to the agricultural industry have been the subject of political and media attention over the last year,” says chairman Mark Boleat, “particularly in respect of immigration issues and the terms of which they employ people. It has become clear that the industry comprises a mixture of companies trying to operate within the law and to high standards and other companies that do not work in this way and as a result can unfairly undercut the reputable operators.”
The ALP was formed earlier this year with the aim of ensuring that reputable firms in the sector had a collective voice. “The reputable companies need to differentiate themselves by being seen to operate according to the highest standards. The trade association will be the means by which this will be done and will also give the companies an effective voice in the many policy issues relevant to their business,” Boleat says.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has also supported the call for a co-ordinated approach to weed out rogue gangmasters and their illegal activities, responding to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee’s report on Gangmasters, BRC director-general Kevin Hawkins says: “The report has recognised that food retailers have done more than any other part of the food chain to stamp out rogue gangmasters and their illegal practices. The criminal elements are driven by their own greed pure and simple. They do not serve the interests of the retailer, farmer, manufacturer or the consumer.
“It is unfortunate that the report ignores the existence of the Agricultural Wages Board, which sets minimum rates of pay for all agricultural workers. This is the only sectoral wages board in the UK.
“We do not believe that policy makers should shift enforcement of law from the relevant authorities and agencies onto business. We expect British law to be enforced by government.
“The existence of legal and responsible suppliers proves there is no link between consumers receiving the freshest food at the lowest prices and the work of greedy criminals.”
The issue of unscrupulous gangmasters has quickly risen to the forefront of public imagination, but whether labour providers are regulated or not, the issue of casual labour is an ongoing one, particularly as the number of UK workers prepared to take on casual labour is declining each year. It is a far cry from times highlighted by the NFU when in the 1880s around 100,000 of London’s east-end residents would pack their bags and travel to Kent for the hop-picking season.
Producers now face a huge challenge to recruit sufficient seasonal staff at peak harvest times but the NFU has come up with a modern solution to this burgeoning problem and following on from a successful trial last year, its virtual job centre will be carrying details of seasonal jobs across the country including strawberry picking, cutting cauliflowers, harvesting herbs and pruning trees. “Last year the virtual job centre worked very well in connecting members with job vacancies with those looking for outdoor work in the summer months,” says NFU horticulture committee chairman Graham Ward. “We are urging farmers and growers to give us the details of the seasonal vacancies as early as possible to stand the best chance of securing workers for the busy periods.”
This year, in order to attract a wider audience, the NFU is also linking up with www.gumtree.com, the website for Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans living in the UK, many of whom will be from rural backgrounds and looking for summer work.
It is not just seasonal work that is under pressure. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has long recognised that its sector is being threatened by an acute lack of skills. A UK-wide survey of commercial vehicle operators conducted by the FTA and Skills for Logistics revealed that 83 per cent of respondents reported having difficulties in recruiting drivers. There was no region in the UK that was unaffected by this problem which hit large and small companies alike. In response to this the FTA has actioned a series of undertakings to address the crisis. These cover three main issues - promoting careers, recruitment and retention and training and development.
In this sense the FTA has adopted a wholly proactive approach. It has promoted opportunities for school leavers while developing and submitting proposals for the establishment of an industry-wide freight careers website.
Lantra is an employer-led organisation licensed by government to represent the interests of more than 400,000 businesses and 1.5 million workers in the environment and land-based industries in the UK. It has co-ordinated the Skills Matter seminar which is sponsored by Defra with the aim of bringing together organisations involved in the skills and rural regeneration agenda, and members of the Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food (SSFF) regional delivery teams to discuss how skills development can support the delivery of strategy.
The Skills Matter even explored examples of regional best practice, effective skills delivery mechanisms and how best to address the challenge of raising awareness of skills as a route to business improvement.
In order to address the skills shortage in the production horticulture industry Lantra has also developed an industry action plan to give those employed in the industry the chance to share their opinions on recruitment and retention issues.
Casual and migrant labour is a specific feature of some parts of the horticultural industry and, says Sally Beel, industry and partnership manager at Lantra, it does require a unique solution. It is important that workers are able to understand and communicate in relation to the work they are doing and their health and safety.
“It is a very topical issue,” Beel continues. “What we have to do is to look at both sides of the situation. We need to ascertain what skills each individual has and also what skills the people managing those individuals have and then work out what skill gaps there are. From that we need to create a framework and identify what is required - often there is a language barrier and so we need to ensure that is lessened.”
Competition from world trade and pressures from both supermarkets and multi-national organisations all affect the success and sustainability of the production horticultural industry, and at a time when business survival is the priority many business are tempted to cut training budgets. However, in the case of the horticultural industry and casual labour, training times could be shortened.
“Because of the seasonal nature of the work, training times could be very short,” says Beel. “It would be tailored to meet the needs of people who would not necessarily come back time and time again. People come and go in this line of work and so they have a very specific set of needs - but it is still worthwhile for training to take place.”
Employers want to get the best out of people, Beel continues, but in order to do this they often need to make some sort of financial contribution to achieve it. “In some parts of the country this is more pertinent than others because of the differing nature of the industry. We promote training as an investment, not as a cost. Employers have to get over the barriers of cost, time and travel - and also lessen the barrier of language.”
While employers do not always recognise the benefits of staff training, Lantra believes that employers need to update their own technical knowledge and management of themselves.
Poor image and a lack of understanding of the industry and its skill level also affects recognition and subsequently the number and type of potential recruits - and one of the main concerns is the lack of people who are choosing to work in the horticultural arena. The impact of this can be lowered by promoting the importance and value of the industry and by encouraging links with schools and colleges and work placements.
“We do need to convert people and to get the message across,” says Beel. “We cover a wide range of areas within horticulture and different members have different commitments and want to develop different hot-spots. We can develop the proposals but we also need commitment from employees.”
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