Thread by @sarahoconnor_

Have you ever heard someone ask this Q about why Brits won't pick fruit and veg?
@JudithREvans
& I have a story which sheds some light. It's about the experience of some Russians & Belarusians coming to pick UK fruit on a new visa pilot (Thread) ft.com/content/11e49a…

They expected hard work, long hours, and the minimum wage. But the problem the faced was the opposite of too much work: the ones we spoke to were being deprived of it for not meeting productivity targets.

They were on zero hour contracts, which do not guarantee any work. Here's a clause from one contract we saw.

In 2019 the immigration minister said in a written parliamentary answer that zero hour contracts would not be permitted on this "seasonal worker pilot" scheme. But we have even seen a contract that is literally titled "Terms and conditions of zero hours employment".

Under free movement these unhappy workers could move jobs. But under the seasonal visa pilot, they can only move with permission of their recruiter, & some are being refused transfers. Some are also in debt back home, to pay for the £244 visa & travel.

An NGO called @FocusOnLabour, which has researched workers' experience on the scheme in Scotland, found that some workers were resorting to buying boxes of picked fruit from the fastest pickers, just so they could be allowed to keep working.

Now this is just a snapshot of a small no of workers - others might well be on better conditions, or happily meeting targets. But the experience of these workers highlights how a combination of piece-rates, zero-hours contracts, & strict visas without the right to move farms...

...risks leaving people feeling trapped, unable to move, with debts to pay back home. It also, I think, sheds some light on how these UK picking jobs have intensified over the years. It's hard to see how they work for a local with a family, rent, mortgage to pay.

The two operators of the pilot must facilitate farm transfers "where possible" & it's not clear why they weren't in these cases.

FWIW I don't think this is "slave labour". It's important to use language precisely I think. But it is problematic, & now (while the system is still in the pilot stage) is the moment to fix it.