Medan, Indonesia – Indonesian workers who will pay thousands of dollars to travel to the UK to pick fruit say they face the prospect of returning home with a strong motivation after being fired for failing to meet unrealistic targets.
Migrant worker Abdul said he left for the UK in May with other Indonesians under the country's seasonal work scheme, which gives foreign workers six months' leave to work in British agricultural exploration.
Abdul was hired by British recruitment firm Agri-HR, and sent to Haygrove, a farm in Hereford, about 215 kilometres (135 miles) southwest of London.
“A friend of mine who had already visited the UK told me about this opportunity. He said he could earn $65 a day by picking fruit,” Abdul, who asked to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera.
Abdul, who earned about US$130 a month in his previous job as a candy seller in Central Java province, said he raised about US$4,000 in money by borrowing money from family and friends to pay fees to two Indonesian outsourcing organisations – a recruitment agency called PT Mardel Anugerah International and a workers’ centre called Forkom – both of which shared a travel allowance to the UK.
Abdul said Highgrove workers were expected to harvest 20kg of cherries and morangos per hour, or they considered it an impossible task due to the lack of fruit – a problem that only arose as the harvest season progressed.
“We (Indonesian workers) were always placed at the borders of the farms where there was little fruit. Several times we broke the trees that were not in good condition and collected all the fruit in them, but we could not do more than that,” he added.
The other four Indonesian fruit pickers will receive three written warnings before being released, five to six weeks after arriving at the farm, Abdul said.
He also claimed that other workers who did not meet the targets were not identified.
“When we were allowed to go, Highgrove said, ‘Sorry, we didn’t want this either,’ and sent us a formal letter saying we were dismissed and our return ticket to Indonesia would leave the next day,” he said.
In a statement sent to Al Jazeera, Highgrove said the workers were fired for poor performance, and that he was “committed to fair employment practices and the well-being of all our workers.”
“On June 24, 2024, five Indonesian workers were dismissed after a full and fair disciplinary process for their continued poor performance. The factory stated: “These mistakes are made in accordance with our structured performance management procedures, which include multiple stages of feedback, training and support.”
The Gangs and Workers Abuse Authority (GLAA), the UK's leading agency for investigating worker exploitation, opened an investigation into the case this year.
According to GLAA licensing rules, “a licensee shall not charge a worker a tax for non-traditional labor purchase services.” However, other costs, such as travel and medical examinations, may be charged as long as they are voluntary.
The rules state that “additional pennies or services must be optional and cannot be discriminated against if not earned.”
GLAA said in a statement sent to Al Jazeera that it is analysing the workers' claims.
“We are currently investigating the recruitment of several Indonesian workers in the UK and are working to establish the exact circumstances. At this moment, we cannot comment further on whether an investigation is ongoing,” he added.
Highgrove said he was making allegations of “very serious” misconduct and was cooperating fully with the GLAA's investigation.
“We are not aware of any illegal employment taxes as concerns were raised by third parties and subsequently reported to GLAA for Agri-HR. Haygrove has a zero tolerance policy for these practices and actively supports GLAA’s research,” Quinta said.
“We confirm that the Indonesian workers did not raise any of this directly in relation to their employment, accommodation or working conditions at Highgrove.”
After leaving Highgrove, Abdul and other workers decided to stay in the UK.
Since then, Abdul has found work on the fifth floor of his house, which has made his face full, and his six-month sentence is due to end in November, before he returns to Indonesia.
PT Mardel told Al Jazeera that Indonesians who intend to participate in the current employment system in the UK must be able to cover the costs of visas, medical examinations, return tickets and insurance, as well as other processing costs, and I agree with the provisions stipulated in Indonesia's Department of Labour.
“The estimated costs required are no more than IDR 33 million (US$2,123),” a company spokesperson said. “The workers we place in the UK are very happy because they are able to work with very good salaries. Because the farms also pay very close attention to your well-being,” the spokesperson said.
PT Mardel said that “there is no relationship between PT Mardel and Forkom.”
Forkom did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Several other workers waiting to leave for the UK told Al Jazeera they were also burdened by divisions.
Ali, a seasonal worker candidate in Central Java province, said he was still waiting to go to the UK after Forcom said he might leave in August last year.
“If I was working in the UK, I would be making $65 a day collecting morangos. I had to stop working in Indonesia so I could focus on collecting all the documents, but I couldn’t get out.”
Ali said he now owns a section worth about $1,300 with his family.
“I spent everything or my money. Before, he used to buy used products and sell them on the street. “Ja Vasya has been with me for 25 years, and it was enough to pay my family,” he said.
“All the information about the Foram scheme was sent through Forkom, and these were promises that were not kept. PT Mardell also said that we needed to transfer the money to them, in order to ensure our work in the UK.
“My wife and children are suffering because everything is over for our money,” Ali said. “I can’t pay the school fees for the other two children. The biggest impact has been on my family. “Now I always quarrel with my wife because we don’t have money.”
A statement sent to Al Jazeera, to the Indonesian Embassy in London, is aware of the stories of Indonesian fruit explorers in the UK.
The embassy stated that “the Indonesian Embassy in London supports the efforts of the Indonesian government to ensure the employment of experienced Indonesian migrant workers in England, in accordance with the regulations and laws applicable in both countries.”
The embassy said it was aware that 136 UK-based workers had been appointed to seven work sites in England on 22 July 2024.
“The recruitment of experienced workers was in line with the recommendations of the Indonesian Ministry of Labour and with verification and consultation with the relevant authorities in the UK,” he said.
In response to allegations of illegal taxation during the recruitment process, the embassy said it “supports investigation and enforcement by Indonesian and UK authorities, including pressing for an investigation by GLAA.”
Andy Hall, a labour rights campaigner who supports Indonesian workers, said British companies were increasingly targeting migrant workers because of Brexit.
“This means that we are now bringing in workers from far away, but we don’t want to pay them. If something goes wrong, it’s really risky because the workers think they’re going to make a lot of money,” Hall told Al Jazeera.
“It’s the UK’s fault. The system is broken and the actors are broken. They are comfortable and naive. “We will create a scheme where workers have to pay their own costs, but we can do it right, and if it’s done right, everything will work.”
Supermarkets in the UK are a big part of the problem, Hall said, because we want to buy produce cheaper, or it means that agricultural exploration doesn't want to pay for workers.
“As an agricultural exploration company, we don’t want to pay wages to the recruiters, and the recruiters expect the workers to pay themselves,” he said. “The supermarkets are just responsible for all this bagonsa. You have the money to do it right. It’s all just free press.”
