According to a newspaper investigation, Indonesian workers at a Kentish fruit farm which supplies customers including M&S are ‘at risk of debt bondage’ due to the way they have been recruited in their home country.
According to The Guardian, the workers were supplied to Clock House Farm near Maidstone by AG Recruitment under the current seasonal workers’ scheme. AG Recruitment is believed to have looked at Indonesia as a source of labour after war broke out in Ukraine, limiting access to some 20,000 workers.
According to the report, AG ‘sought help from Jakarta-based Al Zubara Manpower, who in turn went to brokers on other islands who charged exorbitant fees to the people they introduced.’ One worker described how he staked his family home in Bali as surety on the debt and fears losing it. “Now I’m working hard only to pay back that money,” he said. “I cannot sleep sometimes. I have a family who need my support to eat and meanwhile, I think about the debt.”
Sukiasa Ketut of Al Zubara admitted that many freelance brokers did not stick to the rules and pocketed money. “We didn’t prepare well regarding the rules of how to recruit people, so we [went] to the recruiters and they just did this in their own way. We were surprised as some charged more and others charged less.” Charges included training and language fees (which were not required) and visa fees in excess of the official Home Office figure. Aside from £1,478 for the flight and the visa, there are not supposed to be unnecessary supplementary fees under the seasonal worker scheme.
There is no suggestion that Douglas Amesz, managing director of AG Recruitment, knew of the fees, while Clock House said it was ‘deeply concerned’ by the allegations. The situation is now being investigated by the Home Office and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).