Concerns over the ongoing situation of up to 10,000 garment workers in Leicester, who are feared to be trapped in conditions of modern slavery and paid £3 an hour, have been raised in Parliament.
Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, raised a question on Tuesday about the continuing state of working conditions in factories supplying the UK’s booming fast fashion industry, and sought a meeting with business secretary Kelly Tolhurst for clarity over enforcement of the national minimum wage.
Speaking to the Guardian, Bridgen said what is happening in Leicester is a “national shame” and must not be allowed to continue.
“This is Leicester’s dirty secret,” he said. “These illegal businesses are not only keeping their workers in miserable conditions, they’re also undermining the marketplace for legitimate businesses to make a living in a very difficult market. I’ve seen the buildings where these workers are and it is shocking: the buildings are condemned – if there was a fire there then hundreds would die, and this is Britain in 2020. It’s a national shame.”
Persistent investigations into the UK’s domestic garment industry has raised the spectre of serious labour abuses thriving in factories across the north west of England with relative impunity.
Last February, an Environmental Audit Committee heard evidence of environmental and labour abuses flourishing in the UK’s fashion industry. MPs found that the Modern Slavery Act was not sufficient to stop wage exploitation at UK clothing factories and issued a series of recommendations, including forcing brands to increase transparency in their supply chains. However the government refused to implement any of the committee’s recommendations, which also included moves to improve environmental sustainability and limit waste.
In November 2019, a scoping survey on the Greater Manchester textile and garment industry that included 182 companies operating across the region, also found evidence that workers were being paid as little as £3-4 an hour.
The survey, conducted by HomeWorkers Worldwide, a labour rights NGO, found that the garment workforce across the region was diverse with British workers employed alongside European and other migrant workers, but that many were working in insecure environments without permanent contracts. Some of the most vulnerable workers were undocumented migrants who had little recourse to public assistance or support.
One worker quoted in the report described illegal working practices at one factory: “We’re paid in cash … instead of a bank transfer. They give us payslips but they only show 16 hours a week at £7.50 an hour, whereas in fact we’re doing many more hours than that … usually we do 40 hours a week from 8am to 6pm and we’re paid around £500 a month.”
Other workers interviewed for the survey claim that they have been forced to hand over part of their wages to their employer, and faced demands for money in return for help with passport applications.
The survey also highlighted concerns from small manufacturers that they were under increasing pressure from large retailers whose purchasing practices were driving down prices to levels at which it was impossible for them to pay their workers properly.
Last November campaigning group Labour Behind the Label said there needed to be greater accountability for brands sourcing goods from factories across the UK. It called on fast fashion brands sourcing clothing from factories in Leicester to end potential labour exploitation and increase transparency in their supply chains.
“Transparency is the first step to holding brands accountable to the conditions their workers could be facing,” said Meg Lewis, spokesperson at Labour behind the Label . A lack of accountability can lead to situations where really serious labour abuses can flourish and the anecdotal evidence we have received from Leicester indicates that this is happening in the UK.”
In the Commons yesterday, business minister Kelly Tolhurst agreed a meeting to discuss conditions in Leicester but said, “This is a particular sector that has been under focus; there has been much work that has been carried out by HMRC and cross-border agencies – HMRC enforce the national living wage.”
