16 March 2010

4 minute read

Europe

Workers reported physical and verbal abuse and a lack of proper health and safety protection, with the treatment of pregnant workers a particular concern. Many workers had little knowledge of their rights and feared raising concerns would lead to dismissal. While migrant workers were most affected, British agency workers also faced similar mistreatment.

The inquiry uncovered frequent breaches of the law and licensing standards in meat processing factories - some of which supply the UK’s biggest supermarkets - and the agencies that supply workers to them. It also highlighted conditions which flout minimum ethical trading standards and basic human rights.

The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has said that practices which the report has found in some parts of the industry are completely unacceptable in a modern food industry and in our society.

Stephen Rossides, Director of the BMPA said that he is meeting with the ECHR this week to discuss the report and aims to engage with other relevant agencies and the industry to address the important issues raised.

The inquiry also found examples of good practice with firms treating permanent and agency workers of all nationalities with respect. These firms benefitted as a result, by being able to attract and retain well motivated, loyal and increasingly skilled workers.

The inquiry, which was launched in October 2008, examined the employment and recruitment practices in the sector to identify differences in pay and conditions between agency and temporary workers and employees with permanent or directly employed status.

One third of the permanent workforce and over two thirds of agency workers in the industry are migrant workers. At one in six meat processing sites involved in the study, every single agency worker used in the past twelve months was a migrant worker. This is in part due to difficulties in recruiting British workers to what is physically demanding, low paid work. It may also be due to perceptions amongst employers and agencies that British workers are either unable or unwilling to work in the sector.

More than eight out of ten of the 260 workers that gave evidence said that agency workers were treated worse than directly employed workers. Seven out of ten workers said they thought they were treated badly in factories or by agencies because of their race or nationality.

Physical and verbal abuse were not uncommon, with a fifth of workers interviewed reporting being pushed, kicked or having things thrown at them by line managers; over a third of workers interviewed said they had experienced, or witnessed verbal abuse, often on a daily basis. Workers also reported being refused permission to take toilet breaks, and subsequently urinating or bleeding on themselves at the production line.

A quarter of those interviewed said they had witnessed mistreatment of pregnant workers, such as the instant dismissal of agency workers who had announced they were pregnant. Pregnant women were also forced to continue to undertake work that posed risks to their health and safety, including heavy lifting and extended periods of standing.

Despite finding their experience in the workplace distressing and degrading, nearly one third of workers endured this treatment without complaint both because of fears that their work would be terminated as a result and that it would affect their goal of securing stable employment. These workers also had little knowledge of their rights or how to make complaints.

Conversely, the Commission found examples of firms who treated workers, both permanent and agency, of all nationalities with respect and dignity. The supermarkets have an important role in supporting and monitoring their suppliers. However, the findings from the inquiry clearly show that the ethical auditing systems used by supermarkets are not uncovering the mistreatment and that more action is needed.

Recommendations

As a result of the inquiry, the Commission is making a number of recommendations. These include:

• Processing firms and agencies to use fair and transparent recruitment practices and provide workers with a safe working environment free from discrimination and harassment, where they are able to raise issues of concern without fear of the consequences.
  
  
• Supermarkets to improve their support to and auditing of suppliers
  
  
• Government to provide sufficient resources for the GLA to deliver on its task of safeguarding the welfare and interests of workers and broaden its remit to include other sectors where low-paid agency workers are at risk of exploitation

The Commission will review action taken over the next 12 months by supermarkets, processing firms and recruitment agencies, and will consider taking enforcement action if necessary.

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