Frustration mounts as delays bedevil gangmasters' law

Leaving secondary food processors and packers out of regulations governing gangmasters would be a "recipe for disaster" according to both unions and industry.

They have rounded on the government for suggesting that the Gangmasters Licensing Act, brought in to protect casual workers in the wake of the Morecambe Bay tragedy, should exclude labour providers involved in non-agricultural activities.

The Act, which is not yet in force, would require agencies and other suppliers of labour to be licensed and subject to inspections as the government attempts to crack down on exploitation. But the regulations have still to be finalised.

Four schemes were proposed under the Act, three of which excluded processors and packers.

"The food industry is unanimous that food processing should be included," said Dan Rees, chairman of the Temporary Labour Working group, set up by the Ethical Trading Initiative, whose members include industry giants Premier Foods, Tesco and Asda. "Three options out of four would give blanket exclusions for secondary processing and packaging. They are a recipe for disaster."

The Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) has also criticised the government's proposals. "Removing processing and packaging is wholly unacceptable," said Pauline Doyle, head of campaigns at the T&G. "There is definitely suspicion that there was a reluctance to pass the primary legislation and a reluctance to implement it.

"Our suspicion is that someone somewhere doesn't want this act to work. In the wake of Morcambe Bay, the government eventually agreed to support us, but a year later we are still waiting."

The government denied it was dragging its feet. "We said we'd consider including secondary processing. We are aware of exploitation in the industry," said a spokeswoman. "We are now looking for solid evidence."