GLA proposal is welcomed

Construction union UCATT has welcomed a leading Tory’s call for an extension of the remit of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to the hospitality and construction industries.

The GLA licences labour providers in the agriculture, horticulture, forestry, shellfish gathering and the food and drink processing and packaging sectors, to protect workers in these highly casualised industries from the worst forms of exploitation.

The leader of the Conservatives on the London Assembly, Andrew Boff, has called for an extension of the GLA’s remit to tackle labour trafficking in London.

He has published a report called Shadow city: exposing human trafficking in everyday London, which highlights the high level of human trafficking that occurs in industries that use large amounts of casual labour.

However, the government has just removed certain sectors, including forestry, land agents and cleaning contractors in the food processing industry, from the strict licensing process. And earlier this year it moved to a “light-touch” approach to licensing inspections as part of its Red Tape Challenge. This means physical inspections prior to giving a licence are now limited to “high-risk” sectors.

UCATT general secretary Steve Murphy accused the Conservatives of being “dysfunctional”.

He said: “On the one hand the out-of-touch government is reducing the powers of the GLA, while on the other leading Conservative politicians are rightly calling for an extension of its powers to areas such as construction.”

www.ucatt.org.uk/london-conservatives-call-extend-gangmasters-licensing-conflict-government-policy

http://glaconservatives.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Shadow-City.pdf