by Indonesian workers who paid thousands of pounds to travel to Britain and pick fruit on a farm supplied by most major supermarkets were sent home within weeks for not picking fast enough.
One of the workers said he had sold his family’s land, as well as his and his parents’ motorbikes, to cover the more than £2,000 cost of coming to Britain in May and was desperate to get unemployed with few possessions.
The labor exploitation watchdog is investigating allegations that he was one of many workers charged illegal fees of up to £1,100 by an Indonesian organization claiming to get them to the UK faster.
In Indonesia the worker earned around £100 a month selling food and said his parents were “very disappointed” because he sold everything for a shot at helping his family. He said: “I feel confused and mad and angry about this situation. I have no job in Indonesia [and] I have spent all my money to come to the UK.”
The Guardian has spoken to four of the sacked workers and in three cases has seen evidence of apparent fee payments to a third party in addition to the more than £1,000 transferred for flights and visas to the licensed recruiters.
The allegations of illegal fees being paid in Indonesia raise questions about the risk of exploitation in the seasonal worker scheme, which allows foreign workers a six-month visa to work on farms but bears all the financial risk.
The Guardian understands that the new immigration minister, Seema Malhotra, will look at exploitation in the work visa system to curb exploitative practices. The Migration Advisory Committee recommended on Monday that seasonal visas should continue to “ensure food security” but should include more safeguards, such as guaranteeing at least two months of work.
Haygrove, a farm in Hereford that supplies soft fruit to British supermarkets, gave the man and four other workers warning letters about the speed of their picking before they were sacked five to six weeks after starting work. Their recruiters booked them on a flight home the next day.
The workers said the targets at the farm in Ledbury included picking 20kg of cherries per hour. Another of the posted selectors said: “It was very difficult to reach the target because there were fewer results day by day.”
He said he borrowed money from “the bank, friends and family” and still owed more than £1,100. “Why did I end up like this? Now I’m in Indonesia without any job … It’s not fair to me because I’ve sacrificed so much.”
Beverly Dixon, managing director of farming at Haygrove, said the farm had to consistently pay the men’s wages due to poor performance and supported them in trying to improve. She said targets were set “based on achievable standards with most selectors sometimes reaching more than double that speed”.
The five men only arrived in Britain in mid-May and were all deported from Haygrove on June 24, having earned between £2,555 and £3,874. Once the cost of coming to Britain – as well as living costs – was deducted, many said they were left with significant debts.
Two men ran to London and refused to board flights home booked for 25 June. They have now been given new jobs in a full house after intervention by a migrant welfare activist.
Andy Hall, the migrant labor rights specialist who intervened on behalf of the men, said: “This scandal shows once again that the full burden of carrying the multiple risks associated with the UK seasonal worker scheme is not being fully borne. on supermarkets, farms, scheme operators or other supply chain actors but on vulnerable overseas workers.”
An investigation by the Gangmasters and Labor Abuse Authority was opened last month. It is understood to be aimed at allegations of illegal charging of fees in Indonesia.
Dixon said Haygrove was “deeply concerned” to hear of the “alleged financial challenge faced by Indonesian workers, particularly if one or more illegal recruiters were paid in Indonesia” and that the farm was fully supportive of GLAA investigation.
The Guardian revealed that the Indonesians were coming to Britain with debts of up to £5,000 to unlicensed foreign brokers in 2022. The debts were to third parties, and AG, the British agency that officially recruited them, lost his license as a sponsor of a seasonal worker.
Since then, Indonesia was considered a dangerous country to recruit from, but this year a new recruiter from the UK, Agri-HR, reopened the way. He worked in partnership with Indonesian agent PT Mardel Anugerah, which also obtained a recruiting license to Britain, and was supported by the Indonesian embassy.
However, workers in Indonesia have accused a third party, Forkom, which appears to be a communications hub for Indonesians wanting to work abroad, to recruit workers and charge fees, saying it could get them to Britain faster. Recruiting without a license is illegal under UK and Indonesian law.
Agra-HR said: “Upon hearing these allegations, Agra-HR immediately contacted the GLAA with the request to investigate these claims. The GLAA interviewed a number of workers on the same day and are continuing their investigations and further worker interviews have been conducted and scheduled.”
Workers told the Guardian that Forkom was encouraging its members to pressure the families of the unemployed managers to run away, and one said his family in Indonesia was visited at home at 3am.
In messages to a group of Forkom WhatsApp recruiters, its chairman, Agus Hariyono, encouraged those still in Indonesia to put pressure on the men who escaped in Britain by going to their family homes. In a follow-up video call to members, he allegedly asked workers there to destroy records of any money paid to Forkom.
Hariyono said his organization was a social forum established for Indonesians with seasonal worker visas after some of them did not return from the 2022 season, meaning the visa route was closed. He said one worker “entrusted funds” to Forkom but “this was meant as a deposit” and the funds were returned to his account to pay PT Mardel Anugerah directly.
Hariyono said he sent messages to families to encourage those dismissed to return to Indonesia and prevent the 2022 season from happening again when one in five overstayed their visas.
Delif Subeki, from PT Mardel Anugerah, said the Indonesian ministry of manpower introduced its recruitment agency to Forkom and made a commitment to “prioritize” members. Subeki said he “clearly told” applicants that he was not using any third parties for recruitment and that no fees should be paid.
