Some gangmasters 'are abusing workers with low pay'

The Gangmasters (Licensing) Bill was given an unopposed second reading, but faces substantial changes during its later stages if it is to become law.

Jim Sheridan, the Labour MP who sponsored the Bill, says it will be a "fitting memorial" to those who died.

Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael said it would "curb the exploitative activities of gangmasters".

Offence

The Bill, which comes just weeks after the deaths of 20 Chinese cockle-pickers at Morecambe, sets out a system of registration and licensing for employers.

It is the duty of all of us to ensure those who lost their lives will have a fitting memorial - this must mean legislation to tackle the worst excesses of illegal gangmasters Jim Sheridan Cockler joke Tory MP speaks out

It would become illegal for gangmasters to employ people without having a licence - and it would also be an offence to use the services of gangmasters who did not have a licence.

Gangmasters would have to show proof of a licence before they could employ workers - and this would include information about pay and deductions.

Mr Michael said this would create an offence which would be simple to prove and which would not create unnecessary bureaucracy.

But he warned that that changes would not represent a "magic wand" in tackling abuses of workers, because the target is "a group of serious lawbreakers".

"With the sort of changes Mr Sheridan has indicated he is willing to accept, I am confident we can cooperate in getting the Bill on to the statute book without delay," he said.

"We believe that the Bill will significantly strengthen attempts to curb the exploitative activities of gangmasters without introducing unnecessary new regulatory burdens."

Abuses

Mr Sheridan said the "harrowing events in Morecambe Bay showed the human consequences" of inadequate employment regulations.

"I believe it is the duty of all of us to ensure those who lost their lives will have a fitting memorial," he said

There were at least 3,000 gangmasters operating in the agricultural, shellfish, food processing and packaging sectors, employing up to 100,000 workers, he said.

Mr Sheridan insisted that "exploitation was commonplace" and listed a catalogue of abuses.

These included workers on very low wages paying �600 in documentation charges. Another worker was being paid �83 per week and being charged �80 for accommodation, while 27 people were sharing a small house.

Exploitation

The Morecambe Bay cockle-pickers had been paid 11p an hour and were "left to die", he said.

Geraldine Smith, the Morecambe MP who had warned of the risks before the tragedy, urged the government to back the demands for licensing.

The lack of regulation meant that such deaths remained "an accident waiting to happen", she told MPs.

"I would at least hope that this terrible tragedy would shame the government into taking long overdue action against rogue gangmasters and they can make a very good start by supporting this Bill," said Ms Smith.

Owen Paterson, for the Tories, said while his party endorsed the intentions of the bill, he feared that in its current form it "will not realise the high hopes" Mr Sheridan and his supporters have.

The proposals come a day after Tory leader Michael Howard expelled MP Ann Winterton from the parliamentary party for failing to apologise for a joke about the Chinese workers' deaths at a Whitehall dinner.