Memorandum submitted by P. C. Tinsley
Ltd (V3)
1. P. C. Tinsley Ltd grows vegetables in
S Lincolnshire. We employ casual workers at intervals throughout
the year for weeding and harvesting vegetables. Our annual casual
worker wage bill is £140,000. We use the SAWS scheme and
Gangmasters. Without the latter labour providers our business
would revert to one primarily growing Combinable Crops and employ
less permanent employees.
2. Growers and reputable Gangmasters have
been asking for Gangmaster Registration for 10 years. It is the
only practical solution to the issue of disreputable labour providers.
For reasons the Committee will understand the situation is even
more urgent now because of political and social pressures.
3. It is not a practical option for Growers
to check on each casual employee each day. The time pressures
of modern vegetable production do not allow this. Legality of
workers and taxation must be the responsibility of the worker
provider. We have always paid a rate for the casual worker and
then paid an extra percentage to cover Gangmaster costs, transport
and tax and NI.
4. Gangmaster Registration and Licensing
would make UK Horticulture a fairer and socially more responsible
industry.
10 April 2003
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