Support seasonal migrant farm workers’ fight for justice 

Bosses want cheap migrant labour they can exploit. Fear, inaccessibility and time barriers prevent these workers from seeking justice. 

UVW is a grassroots trade union of low-paid, migrant & precarious workers and we fight the bosses for dignity and respect through direct action on the streets and through the courts.

The case: 

We are raising £8000 to challenge the unfair time limits that are denying seasonal migrant workers access to justice

We are helping our members, a group of Latin American fruit pickers on the seasonal migrant worker scheme who say their working conditions constituted modern slavery. They are seeking support to challenge the unjust and unfair time limits that are denying them access to justice and protecting exploitative employers. UVW has represented them in multiple court hearings to date.

They are now appealing a tribunal decision that refused to hear their case, despite evidence of serious mistreatment and exploitation. The three-month time limit for filing tribunal claims — which can be extended where "just and equitable" — was rigidly enforced, even though the workers were homeless, undocumented, and traumatised for months after they left the farm. The workers argue that it is unjust and irrational to expect traumatised, undocumented workers in crisis to meet rigid legal deadlines designed without their realities in mind.
 

“There was never drinking water, only water to wash our hands for the first week and then it ran out. Fruit picking is a heavy job, the body gets dehydrated, so we need to drink water. There were toilets and showers in the camp where we lived and in the fields where we worked, but they weren’t hygienic, they were blocked and they kept filling up. The beds were so narrow and the rooms so small that the beds joined together; it was almost like sharing beds. It was a very, very cramped place. The sofas were dirty, and the fridge burnt and our food rotted. A replacement fridge froze all our food. I cut my finger once while harvesting and there was no first aid, nothing, no first aid kit.”

Their journey: from Chile to the fields of exploitation in Hertfordshire 

Their story began back in March 2023 in Chile when the group was recruited by Haygrove Ltd, one of the UK's biggest fruit producers, to work at farms in Herefordshire for the summer months. The workers were offered £400 per week and bonuses for six months of work, plus a loan to cover the cost of flights.  

It was only when they arrived at the farm that these promises turned to dust. They were not provided with work for the first week, and so they weren’t paid despite racking up debt for the accommodation that they were forced to pay. The workers found out afterwards that their pay would be much less than initially promised. To make matters worse they claim they suffered bullying and abuse at the hands of supervisors because of where they were from.

Conditions became unbearable and they felt they had to leave, but as they did, their visas were cancelled and they were left them homeless on the streets. Their bosses did not give them return tickets; they had no money to buy another flight and had no other way of getting back home. They didn’t speak any English and had no understanding of their rights.  

"We were traumatised, homeless, undocumented and left stranded on the streets with no money and no way to get home, living in fear of reprisals and worried about where our next meal was coming from."

Taking it to the courts 

By the time the group were able to bring an Employment Tribunal claim against Haygrove, they were told that the time limit had expired. 

UVW, acting for our members, applied for an extension, and argued that the circumstances that they were in as possible victims of modern slavery and an abusive employer should be taken into account. The judge refused to hear their claim. We believe this decision was clearly irrational, not least because it relied on arguments that were never once raised in evidence. 

On behalf of the workers, we are now appealing against the judge’s refusal to extend this time limit. An Employment Tribunal can extend the three-month limit for bringing a claim if it is “just and equitable” to do so . We want to challenge the time limit because .it prevents victims of abuse from accessing justice. This is plainly wrong and contradicts any sense of justice. 

As a small trade union that supports precarious workers, we are asking for assistance to help the workers continue fighting this key case, which, if won, could help other seasonal workers in similar situations.

Help us fight back and challenge this decision in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Thank you! 

Kindly note that any funds we raise for our members that exceeds the estimated costs for bringing an appeal will go towards supporting our tribunal team.