Union highlights exploitation of Polish migrant workers in UK

In November 2005, the Transport and General Workers’ Union wrote to the Polish prime minister, who was visiting London, urging him to raise the issue of the exploitation and abuse of Polish migrant workers in the UK with British government.

On 24 November 2005, the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU) released details of a letter that its general secretary, Tony Woodley, has sent to the Polish prime minister, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, highlighting evidence of the exploitation and abuse of Polish migrant workers in the UK and urging him to raise the issue with his UK counterpart, Tony Blair, during a visit to London.

Official figures show that 173,000 Polish workers have applied to work in the UK since EU enlargement - more than from any other country. In its letter to Mr Marcinkiewicz, the TGWU says it 'has been made aware of some alarming levels of exploitation [Polish] citizens are enduring while residing in this country'. It urged the Polish prime minister to use the opportunity presented by his visit to London to 'work with the UK government to eliminate this unacceptable behaviour by British and, sadly, Polish employers'.

According to the TGWU, although Polish workers are working in the UK legitimately as EU citizens, 'they are being denied the basic employment rights fellow citizens across the EU are supposed to enjoy' and are being 'systematically exploited' in order to lower business costs. 'For instance, workers are promised a certain rate of pay by the recruitment company in Poland only to discover on arrival in the UK (or on receipt of their first paycheque) that they are employed on poorer terms and conditions, either because the employer is exploiting legal loopholes or because the employer is simply making unlawful deductions from workers’ wages. If workers complain, or try and organise themselves into a trade union, they are often threatened with the sack, and with eviction from their tied accommodation.'

The union argues that 'the combination of unscrupulous behaviour by some employers and the lack of enforcement of the law by the appropriate UK authorities means that the abuse and mistreatment these workers is widespread yet undetected and certainly unpunished'.

Mr Woodley’s letter continues: 'National governments must play their part in protecting their citizens wherever they may work - but we firmly believe that governments must also work jointly in developing and implementing a strategy for tackling the exploitation of workers and they must do so as a matter of urgency. I urge you and the UK government to work together to close the loopholes that allow these agencies to operate and to support the trade union initiatives to engage workers in protecting themselves from abuse.'

The TGWU is campaigning for the UK government to tighten up the law on employment agencies, to ensure that legislation on 'gangmasters' covers the food processing industry, and to make urgent progress on the draft EU agency workers Directive.

An annex to the letter lists details of recent cases of the exploitation of Polish migrant workers in the UK brought to the attention of the TGWU. Much of the abuse is centred on the food processing industry. In Norfolk, one employment agency’s contract reportedly states that employees will be paid 'approximately GBP 5 per hour' but, according to the union, 'in reality almost certainly [receive] much less'. They also have to pay a GBP 45 per week 'management fee'. They are charged GBP 70 per week for accommodation, but could be evicted at 24 hours’ notice. One worker received just GBP 53.87 for a 40-hour week - a 'miserable, illegal' GBP 1.30 per hour.

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