I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.GLA delivers final warning to Northern Ireland
THE Gangmasters Licensing Authority delivered a stark warning to labour providers in Northern Ireland to get their house in order or face a series of fresh investigations.
The message came following a survey this week that revealed more than a third of Northern Irish gangmasters are unlicensed.
The GLA delivered its warning to labour providers and labour users, that operating without a license is illegal and it will come down hard on anyone breaking the law.
The latest research found that only 63 per cent of agencies supplying workers to the food processing and packing sector and 64 per cent supplying workers to the farming and horticulture sector hold a valid GLA licence.
Small employment agencies in particular had failed to understand the law, with only one in every eight able to identify when a licence was legally required.
Paul Whitehouse, Chairman of the GLA, said: “Ignorance of the law is no defence, anybody operating without a licence must come forward immediately or face the consequences. It is unacceptable that the food you eat could have been picked packed or processed by an exploited worker.”
With a maximum penalty of 10 years improsionment for labour providers operating without a license and up to six months in prison for farmers and growers employing unlicensed labour, the stakes are high.
The GLA recently launched Operation Ajax in Northern Ireland and has already carried out 16 inspections and delivered six formal warnings.
With the worrying results of the latest survey, the GLA says it intends to carry out a number of additional operations in the coming weeks and months to catch those gangmasters operating illegally.
The move was welcomed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ assistant general secretary Peter Bunting, who called for more support in cracking down on worker exploitation.
He said: “The trade union movement respects the ethos and actions of the GLA and will happily work with employers’ organisations to achieve more widespread recognition for the GLA.
“The levels of ignorance about the GLA from employment agencies in particular are shocking, if not surprising. There must be a rigorous campaign of public information directed at not only employers, but also people working for gangmasters, so that they can challenge the shoddy and potentially lethal practices of some bosses.”
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