A group of migrant farm workers are preparing to hold a protest in front of the Home Office this Friday, 24 January, demanding an end to the exploitation of overseas workers on UK farms.
The rally will take place at midday and is the first of its kind to be held by migrant farm workers in central London.
It will be staged by farmhands who came to the UK in 2023 as part of the government’s Seasonal Worker scheme, which began in 2019 as a response to labour shortages on UK farms after Brexit.
The workers will be joined by the other food, farming and migrant justice groups, as well as the Landworkers’ Alliance, a grassroots union of farmers, foresters and land-based workers.
They will call on the UK government to end forced labour and exploitation in UK farms and for “full accountability” for those responsible for such actions.
The workers are also set to demand fair wages, safe working conditions, and respect for all workers, recognition of their modern slavery victim status and access to justice and remediation.
WRead more: Why the UK seasonal labour worker scheme still isn’t working
The protest comes after Labour made an announcement in October 2024, confirming that 43,000 seasonal visas would be available to overseas workers looking for employment in the UK’s horticultural sector in 2025, while 2,000 visas would be supplied for the UK’s poultry sector.
It follows growing concerns over the conditions many overseas seasonal workers find when they arrive in the UK.
The LWA, which published a report with Focus on Labour Exploitation, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and New Economics Foundation in 2023, said the Seasonal Worker scheme was in need of reform.
The report’s findings revealed that many workers were left saddled with thousands of pounds worth of debt as a result of having to pay for their own visa, accommodation and travel, as well as illegal broker-fee costs.
The LWA, campaign group Libera, the Foundation Against Trafficking in Persons & Slavery and United Voices of the World Union has also arranged a seminar to follow Friday’s protest, which it said would give workers a chance to share their experiences and platform the legal practitioners.
No comments yet