A consortium of universities and NGOs is investigating whether post-Brexit visas introduced to address labour shortages in agriculture and care have left people vulnerable to exploitation and modern slavery.
In the post-Brexit shake-up of UK immigration rules and the end of free movement with the EU, the government introduced unique visa schemes to allow people from overseas to work in the agricultural and care sectors in the UK.
Since then, labour exploitation has been widely documented in both sectors, with reports of some workers being at risk of debt bondage, preventing them from leaving work without risking financial ruin.
A recent report from the Association of Labour Providers said the Home Office and Defra had not engaged with industry experts in establishing the rules of these visa schemes, leaving workers vulnerable to exploitation.
The current UK government is already under pressure from Britain’s labour abuse watchdog, whose chief executive has pushed back at claims by the Home Secretary Suella Braverman that modern slavery laws are being “gamed” for immigration purposes.
Now, a research project led by the Modern Slavery PEC and involving the University of York School for Business and Society intends to shed light on the impact of these hastily introduced visa schemes and whether they have made people more vulnerable to exploitation and modern slavery.
The project will analyse the effects the schemes have had on access to protective labour market structures such as union membership and employment tribunals. It will also examine whether the perceived insecure status of workers has affected their access to enforcement mechanisms and their ability to resist unreasonable demands and exploitative working conditions.
Dr Joyce Jiang of the University of York School for Business and Society said: “The rights of agricultural workers to change employers while working on short-term visas have been limited, while care workers have had to contend with demand for extremely flexible hours, significant involvement of intermediaries and agencies in recruitment, and the devaluing of care as feminised work.”
“Our team is conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with migrant workers and their representative organisations on their experience of work, their bargaining power, and access to protective mechanisms. We are also carrying out desk-based research on ongoing changes to the labour market and new visa regimes prompted by Brexit, Covid-19 and recent legislative initiatives.”
To arrange interviews with the researchers, contact Harry O'Neill at Insight Media: harry@insightm.co.uk