August has seen labour providers continue to feature on the news agenda,with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) regularly exercising its powers to revoke the licences of rogue gangmasters.

The recent coverage has demonstrated that some labour providers are still prepared to flout the law and exploit their workers, in spite of the introduction of the GLA. Several news outlets picked up on a shocking example of this in Cornwall, where 40 Bulgarian workers were forced to scavenge fields for food, having not been paid for over a month.The company in question, Baltic Work Team, had its licence revoked with immediate effect. Baltic’s directors face a ten year prison sentence if they flout this ruling.

Fresh Produce Journal recently carried a story which revealed that the GLA revoked the licences of 11 labour providers in August – four of which had been

supplying labour to the now-defunct Bomfords while it was the subject of the GLA’s ‘Operation Scallion’ earlier this year.

It was reported by The Times on 30th July that some illegal gangmasters are avoiding the legislation by moving their workers into sectors not covered by the GLA, such as care homes, construction and cleaning. GLA Chairman Mike Wilson is quoted in the article, estimating that 30 gangmasters who have had their licenses revoked have moved their work into other industries. A new Bill has been tabled in parliament to extend the remit of the GLA. As you will already be aware,Vital Recruitment is a fully licensed labour provider and you can read on to hear about exciting developments at the company. If you have any labour requirements you would like to discuss,we would love to hear from you – our contact details are at the bottom of the page.

Bill Singh
MANAGING DIRECTOR