GLA Welcomes Consultation Launch

Today’s launch of a new Government consultation ‘Tackling Exploitation in the Labour Market’ has been welcomed by the GLA.

The document was issued jointly by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Home Office.

It seeks the views of the public on four key proposals to build on the effectiveness of the current regime:

• to establish a statutory Director of Labour Market Enforcement, who will set priorities for the enforcement bodies across the spectrum of non-compliance, from criminally-minded exploitation to payroll errors
• to create a new offence of aggravated breach of labour market legislation
• to increase intelligence and data sharing between the existing enforcement bodies and also other bodies to strengthen the targeting of enforcement
• to widen the remit, strengthen the powers and change the name of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to enable it to tackle serious exploitation

Within the consultation is a section called ‘Reforming the Gangmasters Licensing Authority’, which complies with the requirement to consult and report back on the role of the authority by April 2016, as set out in the Modern Slavery Act (Section 55).

Margaret Beels the Chair of the GLA commented: “We very much welcome the launch of this new public consultation as to how workers across the labour market can be better protected and prevented from being abused. I urge all interested parties to respond to this valuable process.”

Chief Executive Paul Broadbent added: “The document unveiled this morning states that ‘the Government proposes to build on the GLA’s strengths by transforming it into an organisation that is capable of preventing worker exploitation, especially in its most persistent and serious forms, wherever it occurs in the labour market’.

“The GLA remains committed to working in partnership to protect vulnerable and exploited workers and the proposals within the public consultation provide a step change to doing so even more effectively.”

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Questions in the consultation document specifically about the GLA includes seeking views on:

• whether to maintain or expand its current role
• extending the GLA remit to ‘preventing, detecting and investigating’ worker exploitation
• whether the GLA should provide training and develop codes of conduct and voluntary accreditation schemes
• whether the GLA should be able to charge for such services
• what other tasks the GLA might perform The full consultation document can be found here.

Responses must be returned by 9 November 2015 to labourmarket.consultations@bis.gsi.gov.uk.

ENDS

Press release issued by GLA Communications and Information Officer Paul Fearn. For more information from the GLA contact 0115 959 7069 or email communications@gla.gsi.gov.uk.

Notes to editors

1. The GLA operates throughout the UK and is a Non-Departmental Public Body. 2.

The authority was formed in 2005 in the wake of the Morecambe Bay cockle picking disaster when 23 Chinese workers drowned on the sands.

3. The GLA licences companies that supply labour (gangmasters) for agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering as well as all associated processing and packaging.

4. Its main strategic priorities are to prevent worker exploitation, protect vulnerable people and tackle unlicensed and criminal activity.

5. Under the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act (2004), it is illegal both to operate as, or enter into an agreement with, an unlicensed gangmaster.

www.gla.gov.uk