Pro Installer June 2018 - Issue 63 | Page 13

News
Read online at www. proinstaller. co. uk
JUNE 2018 | 13

News

SLAVERY AND EXPLOITATION LAID BARE IN NEW GLAA REPORT

The extent of labour exploitation and slavery in modern-day Britain has been laid bare in a new report by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority( GLAA).
Drawing on its extensive work with victims and offenders, as well as inspections at hundreds of workplaces, the GLAA has outlined the nature and scale of slavery in the UK today- who is being exploited, which industries are affected, and the methods being used.
Some of the key findings include:
• Victims of labour exploitation are most commonly Vietnamese, Albanian and British, with British victims increasing by 362 %
• Forced labour accounts for around 30 % of all exploitation. Most victims are male EU nationals from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia
•‘ Debt bondage’ is an increasing tactic used by criminals, where victims are forced to work off debts they have no control over
• Social media is being used to recruit workers who go on to be exploited, with some people arriving in the UK for work that doesn’ t exist
• Victims tend to live in poor conditions without basic facilities like electricity, heating and water. They are threatened with losing their jobs if they find somewhere else to live
• Some workers are being further exploited by being charged a daily rate of transport to and from work, with wages taken directly from their bank account
• In the 12 months until March 2017, police in England and Wales recorded 2,255 modern slavery offences.
• The report is entitled‘ The Nature and Scale of Labour Exploitation Across All Sectors Within The United Kingdom.’
www. gla. gov. uk

COMPANY FINED AFTER A SCAFFOLDER WAS INJURED IN FALL FROM HEIGHT

A scaffolding company has been sentenced today for safety breaches after a worker fell approximately four metres while working on a fragile surface.
Hull Crown Court heard how in May 2013 Acorn Scaffolding( Yorkshire)
Ltd were carrying out the erection of scaffolding on a barn at Lockington Grange Farm Driffield.
The injured worker fell four metres through a fragile roof light on an asbestos cement sheet roof sustaining several injuries including the dislocation
and fracture of his right wrist, crushed nerves in his left wrist, broken nose and sprains to his shoulder and ankle.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive( HSE) found that Acorn did not identify that workers were working on a fragile roof, so they failed to put in place any measures to prevent falls through the fragile surfaces.
Acorn Scaffolding( Yorkshire) Ltd of Moxon Way, Moor Lane Trading Estate, Sherburn in Elmet pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2( 1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and has been fined £ 33,333.33 and ordered to pay £ 14,638.40 in costs.

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