Unlicensed Scottish Gangmaster Convicted

An Inverness forestry contracting company has been fined £400 for supplying workers without holding the necessary GLA licence.

G M Forestry, of Stuart Avenue, Ardersier, pled guilty to the offence at Inverness Sheriff Court.

The company had previously been licensed when operating as a sole trader but changed legal entity to a limited company and did not seek to secure a new licence.

However, the contractor continued to supply forestry workers for almost a year through 2010-11 to a number of companies in the Inverness area as well as others in Northern Scotland.

Forestry has since been dropped from the regulatory remit of the GLA. However, both the investigation and offences pre-date the relaxation of the regulations and occurred when a licence was required.

ENDS

Press release issued by GLA Communications and Information Officer Paul Fearn. For more information 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) to agriculture, horticulture, food processing and packaging, forestry and shellfish gathering.

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

www.gla.defra.gov.uk