Gangmaster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gangmaster is a term used to describe a business or individual which employs mainly casual workers in certain specific industries on short-term contracts.
Under the UK Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) scheme such businesses and individuals will need to be licensed from 1 October 2006.
The GLA scheme was set up to prevent the exploitation of workers, and to improve health and safety standards, in what have often been unregulated areas of employment.
Businesses which provide labour in the following sectors need to be licensed:
- agriculture, including horticulture, forestry work, dairy farming, the production of consumable produce (whether for profit or not), the raising of animals that will enter the food chain, and the use of land as grazing, meadow or pasture land
- processing and packaging of products (food and drink) containing an agricultural component, any animal product that will enter the food chain, shellfish/fish products, plants/flowers/bulbs, and pet/animal feed
- gathering shellfish.
Companies who use contractors in these sectors are termed ‘labour users’, and will face prosecution if they use workers or services provided by an unlicensed labour provider, although this provision will not come into effect until 1 December 2006.
Four specific offences have been established by the Act:
- Operating without a licence
- Obtaining or possessing a false licence or false documentation which is likely to cause another person to believe that a person acting as a gangmaster is licensed
- Using an unlicensed gangmaster (subject to a reasonable steps/due diligence defence)
- Obstruction of enforcement officers/compliance officers exercising their functions under the Act
Moves to create the Licensing Authority were spearheaded by the Transport & General Workers' Union following the deaths of 23 Chinese cocklepickers in Morecambe, England on 5 February 2004.
