Gangmasters 'not being tackled'

Gangmasters controlled the cockle pickers at Morecambe Bay

The government has failed to respond "sufficiently urgently" to illegal activities by gangmasters, despite MPs highlighting the problem.

The criticism comes in a report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, published on Thursday.

A lack of government action meant thousands of people were "vulnerable to both exploitation and personal danger", committee chair Michael Jack MP said.

He called on a single minister to be in charge of gangmaster activities.

The committee published the report as a follow-up to its September 2003 inquiry into gangmasters.

It concluded that the government's action was "driven by external events" - specifically Jim Sheridan MP's Gangmasters (Licensing) Bill and the tragedy in Morecambe Bay when 20 Chinese cockle pickers drowned in early February after being caught by rising tides.

The committee highlighted the lack of action with the example of fisheries minister Ben Bradshaw who visited Morecambe Bay three weeks after the tragedy.

The fact that illegal gangmasters continue to trade is deeply unfair to those legitimate providers of temporary labour who want to play by the rules Michael Jack MP Chairman of Efra committee UK demand for migrant labour Illegal workers prop up economy

They compared this to a rail accident where ministers are usually on site within hours.

Mr Jack said that despite recommendations from last year's report, "the government is no closer to having a clear picture of the scale and nature of the problem".

The committee said central government had made the matter "overly complicated...leading to muddle and confusion about who is responsible," even though there was evidence of increased grassroots enforcement.

It recommended that structures be simplified, and that a single minister be given responsibility for the issue.

"Temporary workers operating in safe conditions and paying their taxes are of vital importance to British agriculture and horticulture today," Mr Jack said.

"If this labour is to operate safely in the future then the government needs to get its act together fast and appoint a minister with sufficient seniority to ensure that the elimination of illegal gangmasters becomes the story, rather than the tragedies of those who work for them."

It also warned that Mr Sheridan's Bill, which it supported, was "not a panacea" and called for greater commitment from government.

Abuse of workers by these unscrupulous gangmasters has gone on far too long Defra spokesman

"The fact that illegal gangmasters continue to trade is deeply unfair to those legitimate providers of temporary labour who want to play by the rules," Mr Jack said.

The department for environmental, food and rural affairs committee responded to the report, saying it was "committed to tackling exploitation by unscrupulous gangmasters who have no respect for the law or for people".

"Abuse of workers by these unscrupulous gangmasters has gone on far too long," a spokesman said.

He added that the government had stepped up action against gangmasters, leading to prosecutions and imprisonments.

On the recommendation of appointing a single minister to oversee the issue, he said the department would consider it carefully.

"Action against illegal gangmasters cuts across the routine work and responsibility of several different departments and ministers."

Citizens Advice welcomed the single minister recommendation as without one, "this dire situation will only continue," chief executive David Harker said.