Leicester politicians reject Boris Johnson’s attempt to blame mayor for factory exploitation

‘The Prime Minister must take responsibility for these failures,’ says Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East

(PA)

Politicians in Leicester have refuted and criticised Boris Johnson’s attempt to blame the local mayor for the exploitation of workers within the city’s garment industry.

The sector has once again fallen under scrutiny after The Sunday Times reported that workers in a Leicester-based factory were making clothes destined for Boohoo, the fast fashion retailer for as little as £3.50 pounds an hour.

The report also claimed that few measures had been put in place to prevent the potential spread of coronavirus among workers.

Previous investigations, stretching back to 2017, have highlighted the long-term issue of labour exploitation in Leicester.

Only last year, the Environmental Audit Committee, chaired by former MP Mary Creagh, published a report setting out wide-ranging recommendations to end the era of throwaway fashion by addressing environmental and labour practices – all of which the government rejected.

On Wednesday, the prime minister suggested that responsibility for the ongoing issue of modern slavery and exploitation in Leicester’s factories lay with Sir Peter Soulsby, the city major.

When asked during PMQs how the government intended to address such issues in light of the recent revelations, Mr Johnson said: “We hope it’d be the Labour mayor of Leicester who would stand up for the interests of the workforce in his community.”

The comments have drawn a sharp response from Leicester’s authorities, who insisted that, as a result of government inaction, local councils “have no powers” to monitor working conditions within factories or enforce the minimum wage.

Claudia Webbe, the MP for Leicester East, the epicentre of the city’s latest outbreak, said that the PM “must take responsibility for these failures”.

“Boris Johnson sought to blame the exploitation of workers in Leicester’s garment industry on our local city mayor,” she said. “Yet his government has known about this issue for years, rejected all the recommendations of a 2019 Environmental Audit Committee report into this issue, and slashed the funding of the Health and Safety Executive.

“I share the dismay of many that the government has long been aware of instances of exploitation yet failed to act.

“It is appalling that the exploited labour of the workers of Leicester East is helping to finance extravagant corporate salaries at Boohoo and other corporate giants.

“I urge the government to prove that it prioritises public health over private profit by beginning to take workers’ rights seriously.”

Adam Clarke, Leicester deputy city mayor for environment and transportation, told The Independent that the persistent issue of exploitation within the region’s factories “has to come back to the poor response by central government”.

He said that Leicester City Council had contributed to a 2017 parliamentary review of human rights within business, which would have granted councils powers to close down premises where workers were unsafe or being exploited. “This was also rejected by the government,” Mr Clarke said.

“As a result, councils have no powers to check on working conditions inside a building, to enforce the minimum wage, or to monitor the legality of the workforce. Had those recommendations been acted upon, we would be in a far better position now.”

The deputy mayor also defended Sir Peter’s record in tackling non-compliance within the textiles supply chain, pointing to the establishment of a local programme that, since September 2018, has worked alongside a number of national enforcement bodies – including the Home Office’s Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

“This has been done despite years of austerity, meaning ourselves and all the agencies which have enforcement powers to tackle this problem have had wave after wave of cuts to much-needed funding and resources.

“We want to see a plan for a single enforcement authority as soon as possible.”

There are an estimated 1,500 garment manufacturing businesses in the city employing around 10,000 people, the majority of whom are women from African, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

A recent study by HMRC found that, over a six-year period, a quarter of all UK textile factories caught failing to pay the minimum wage were based in Leicester, with some textile factories reportedly offering less than £3.50 an hour.

In a letter to PM, Ms Webbe called for a strengthening of the Modern Slavery Act and for local authorities to be granted the power to proactively intervene in unsafe workplaces. The MP also demanded a public inquiry into the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 cases and fatalities among migrant and low-income workers.

It comes as Boohoo announced it is launching an independent review into its supply chain after it was alleged staff are earning less than the minimum wage amid unsafe working conditions.

In a statement released on Wednesday, management said the board was “shocked and appalled by the recent allegations”, adding that it was “committed to doing everything in our power to rebuild the reputation of the textile manufacturing industry in Leicester”.