David Hanson MP Shadow Minister for Immigration, in response to the launch of the TUC guide published in 13 languages to tackle migrant worker exploitation, said:

“I welcome the TUC’s commitment to tackling worker abuse through this effective programme, but it’s just a shame that it doesn’t follow any attempts by the government to work on this problem; Ministers have simply ignored this for nearly five years.”

“Action by the sector is welcome and needed to tackle the widespread abuse happening to many workers, but we also need a government who will take worker’s rights seriously and stamp out exploitation.  Unfortunately, this government has opposed every measure Labour has tried to introduce to stop the abuse of migrants which is bad for them and can lead to UK wages being undercut.

“A Labour government would make exploitation a criminal offence for the first time, extend the remit of the gangmasters licencing authority to ensure abuse is found and stopped, and use existing powers to enforce the minimum wage and stop related exploitative practices like overcrowding of housing.”