Indonesians wait for UK farm jobs after paying deposits of up to £2500 | Immigration and Asylum

It is understood that Indonesians who dream of working in Britain have paid deposits of up to £2,500 to the Jakarta agency to “guarantee” jobs on British farms that have yet to materialize.

Labor experts say the deposit is a job search fee, which is illegal in the UK and Indonesia.

One worker told the Guardian he had paid a £1,000 down payment in July to an agency in Jakarta to secure a farming job with a British recruit, but he had not even had a job interview.

He said he was one of several people left unemployed and money-losing in hopes of getting a job on a UK farm.

“We stopped working to be able to seriously pursue the recruitment process to get a new and better job. Now we are out of work and our fate is increasingly unclear.

Official Indonesian government documents released in late August indicate that around 170 workers are stranded in Indonesia after being assigned jobs on 19 farms across the UK.

Most had been out of work for months, waiting for jobs they thought were imminent, and nearly all had obtained visas to come to the UK.

It is understood that there are plans to bring some of these workers to Britain, although it is now entering the harvest season.

It follows revelations in the Guardian that Indonesian workers harvesting berries on a farm supplying Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury and Tesco reported facing thousands of pounds in charges from unlicensed brokers in Bali to work for one season in the UK. Brexit and the war in Ukraine have pushed desperate recruiters and farms to search for labor thousands of miles away.

A presidential task force in Indonesia is investigating the employment of fruit pickers after experts said alleged high fees could leave workers at risk of debt bondage.

The Gangmasters and Work Abuse Authority is investigating whether any UK laws have been broken.

Andy Hall, an independent migrant rights specialist who investigates forced labor issues in Asia's supply chains, said: “There is no legal basis either under Indonesian or British laws to charge workers as recruitment fees, whether it is called a deposit or not. Where a deposit is withdrawn from a candidate, this is an illegal recruitment fee.”

He said that the risks of debt bondage leading to forced labor and forced departure of a worker abroad against his will would increase significantly if deposits were drawn from workers rather than employers or potential clients.

Indonesian workers already in Britain were provided by AG Recruitment, one of four UK agencies authorized to recruit using seasonal work visas. AG denied any wrongdoing and said it knew nothing about Indonesian brokers charging fees or deposits.

The AG had no previous experience in Indonesia and sought help from the Jakarta-based Al Zubarah company, which in turn turned to brokers on other islands who charged exorbitant fees to people who applied, according to one of Al Zubarah's agents.

The Guardian has learned that so far, more than 1,200 Indonesians have been placed on British farms this year by AG which operates alongside Al Zubarah.

Of these, 207 came from Bali, where Zubarah does not have an office and relies on middlemen to supply candidates. Another 102 are from Lombok, where it is understood that the reliance on intermediaries is similar.

AG Recruitment's managing director, Douglas Ames, said AG went to Al Zubarah only to help with advertising and creation of the application letter, which gives official permission to hire workers.

But the ads seen by the Guardian give Alzabarah email addresses for applications, and under local laws only a licensed Indonesian manpower agency can hire. Local official papers indicate that Al Zubarah carried out the recruitment, although Ames vehemently denies this.

Now an Indonesian government source says workers have reported that Al Zubarah is encouraging them to pay deposits of up to 50 million rupiah (£2,500) to secure a job in the UK. Understandably, many are waiting to speak to AG.

One worker who had not yet been interviewed by the AG or signed a contract said he was encouraged by Alzabarah to make a down payment of around £1,000 to show his interest and secure a job in Britain.

He said he knows others who have done the same, and the Guardian has seen receipts for two such cannons. “We know a lot of candidates are crying every day, waiting for news from AG,” he said.

Ames said: “The making of any form of payment, called a deposit or otherwise, to Zubarah (AZ), or any party, in the form of an illegal work-finding fee in both the UK and Indonesia is not condoned by the AG. Any way.Our contracts with AZ specifically state that such practices will not be tolerated, and that AZ adhere to local and English law.We also made it clear to every worker directly, when I did recruitment in Indonesia, that they should never pay for a job in the UK and to report any such approach.”

Al Zubarah charges £2,500 for UK farm jobs, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Fees include flights and visas. Several workers said they faced thousands of pounds in extra fees from Indonesian brokers who brought them to Zubarah and promised big profits. Al Zubarah has been contacted several times for comment.

David Camp, president of the Labor Providers Association, of which the AG is a member, said: “It is GLAA's responsibility to conduct a full investigation and determine whether or not Al Zubara is supplying AG workers. Al Zabbara does not have a GLAA license and is considered to be a gang leader without a license or to enter into arrangements to supply AG workers. Working with an unlicensed gang official is a criminal offense.”

AG vehemently denied any indication that AZ had been contracted to hire AG. Amesz said he recruited directly in Indonesia, and that “AZ contracted with AG to carry out services in Indonesia to help us create the letter of request (for the course of action) and then submit local advertisements via job boards. The contracts with AZ specifically made it clear that they did not have to They subcontract the work to third parties, and they also did not apply fees to workers.”

AG blamed the Indonesian bureaucracy for the delay in allocating work permits. Alzabarah's license to recruit in the UK was temporarily suspended in the week since the Guardian published its first story.

The AG had intended to hire from Ukraine before the outbreak of the war and had to scramble to get large numbers of workers into a new market at short notice.

Ames said AG was aware of workers in Indonesia waiting to come to the UK and that he interviewed “all remaining workers to determine their individual circumstances”. He said he interviewed candidates still in Indonesia about “what payments the workers made, if any, and to whom”.

Andrew Obe, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Our members are aware of these allegations and remain deeply concerned. They are urgently investigating potential violations of the system with suppliers.

“It is clear that hiring seasonal workers is becoming more difficult, particularly with the loss of Ukrainian workers, and retailers will work in partnership with farmers, program operators, implementers and the government this fall to ensure that all workers' rights continue to be protected.”

A Tesco spokesperson said the supermarket welcomed investigations in both countries, and that it was “essential that any illegal fees be paid in full.”