Today, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) have published a report entitled, Labour inspections to better protect workers from severe exploitation. The report is the product of a fieldwork study which involved interviews and focus groups with victims of severe forms of labour exploitation in eight EU Member States: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and the United Kingdom. The UK component of the study was carried out by HRLC.
HRLC researchers heard from victims that they had been told by employers to smile and tell inspectors that they were happy. One focus group even uncovered experiences of victims being told to lie about the conditions of their real accommodation. Often such instructions were reinforced by threats of being fired, deported or having their children taken away from them.
Overall, the research findings showed that workplace inspections are often lacking or ineffective, enabling unscrupulous employers to exploit their workers. Tightening up inspections to combat abuse and empower workers to report abuse are some ways the FRA suggests to help end severe labour exploitation. In the UK, interviewees explained that employees often had prior knowledge of an inspection and that workers would be sent home or moved elsewhere in order to hide them from inspectors:
“[I]t is best to send somebody like a secret inspector, not saying before ‘I am coming on this day’; no, just go there and check. Because you never find these mistakes, never find out what these people are doing, because it’s hidden. [If the inspector] says ‘I’m coming’, he (the manager) speaks with people and says ‘if you don’t speak nicely, or say everything is fine, I will kick you out’.”
(Female interviewee from Slovakia, hotel/ office cleaner)
HRLC researchers also heard that a lack of awareness of their rights was a barrier to exploited workers’ ability to access them. One interviewee suggested that this ought to be incorporated into the inspection mechanism:
“The only way is if somebody actually goes to all the big hotels, who are full of Romanian workers, very young workers – and tell them specifically what their rights are. And to take into account what is written in the contract. [...] More inspections, more fines for the hotel. If they got a big fine I don’t think they would be willing to do the same thing again as easily.”
(Female interviewee from Romania, hotel cleaner)
Please follow this link to read the full report.
Posted on Wednesday 5th September 2018