Indonesian fruit-pickers say seasonal work in UK left them drowning in debt

Medan, Indonesia – Indonesian workers who paid thousands of dollars to travel to the United Kingdom to pick fruit say they face the prospect of returning home heavily in debt after being sacked for not meeting unrealistic targets.

Migrant worker Abdul said he departed for the UK in May with nine other Indonesians under the country’s seasonal worker scheme, which grants foreign workers six-month visas to work on British farms.

Hired by UK recruiter Agri-HR, Abdul was sent to Haygrove, a farm in Hereford, about 215km (135 miles) southwest of London.

“A friend of mine who had already been to the UK told me about the opportunity. He said I could make $65 per day picking fruit,” Abdul, who asked to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera.

Abdul, who made about $130 per month in his previous job as an ice cream seller in Central Java province, said he racked up about $4,000 in debt borrowing money from family and friends to pay fees to two Indonesian third-party organisations – a recruitment agency called PT Mardel Anugerah International and a workers’ hub called Forkom – as well as out-of-pocket expenses to travel to the UK.

Abdul said workers at Haygrove were expected to pick 20kg of cherries and strawberries per hour, which he found to be an impossible task due to the lack of fruit – a problem that only got worse as harvest season went on.

“We [the Indonesian workers] were always put at the edge of the plantations where there was little fruit. Several times, we were given trees that were not in good condition and we picked all the fruit there was, but we couldn’t do any more than that,” he said.

Abdul said he and four other Indonesian fruit-pickers received three written warnings before they were sacked within five to six weeks of arriving at the farm.

He also alleged that other workers who had not met targets had not been let go.

“When they let us go, Haygrove just said, ‘Sorry, we didn’t want this either’, and gave us an official letter to say we had been sacked and our ticket back to Indonesia leaving the next day,” he said.

In a statement provided to Al Jazeera, Haygrove said the workers had been let go for poor performance and that it is “committed to fair employment practices and the well-being of all our workers”.

“On June 24, 2024, five Indonesian workers were dismissed following a thorough and fair disciplinary process due to consistently poor performance. These dismissals were conducted in accordance with our structured performance management procedures, which include multiple stages of feedback, training, and support,” the farm said.

The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), the UK’s main agency for investigating labour exploitation, earlier this year opened an investigation into the case.

According to GLAA licensing rules, “a licensing holder must not charge a fee to a worker for any work-finding services”. However, other costs such as travel and medical checks may be charged as long as they are voluntary.

“Additional goods or services must be optional and cannot be discriminated against if not taken up,” the rules state.

In a statement provided to Al Jazeera, GLAA said it was looking into the workers’ complaints.

“We are currently investigating the recruitment processes for a number of Indonesian workers in the UK and are working to establish the exact circumstances. At this time, we cannot comment further while the investigation is underway,” it said.

Cherries await harvest at an orchard in Tunisia [File: Mohamed Messara/EPA-EFE]

Haygrove said it takes allegations of misconduct “very seriously” and is fully cooperating with GLAA’s investigation.

“We were unaware of any illegal recruitment fees until concerns were raised by a third party and subsequently reported to the GLAA by Agri-HR. Haygrove has a zero-tolerance policy for such practices and is actively supporting the GLAA’s investigation,” the farm said.

“We emphasise that no issues have been raised directly by the Indonesian workers regarding their recruitment, accommodation, or working conditions at Haygrove.”

Following their dismissal by Haygrove, Abdul and two other workers decided to remain in the UK.

Abdul has since found work at another farm picking lettuce, although his six-month visa is due to expire in November, after which he will have to return to Indonesia.

PT Mardel told Al Jazeera that Indonesians wishing to take advantage of the UK’s seasonal worker scheme must be able to cover the cost of a visa, medical check, return plane tickets and insurance, along with other processing costs in accordance with provisions set by the Indonesian labour department.

“The estimated costs required are a maximum of 33 million Indonesian rupiah [$2,123],” a company spokesperson said. “The workers we have placed in the UK are all very happy that they can work there with very good salaries. The farms also pay great attention to their welfare,” the spokesperson said.

PT Mardel also said there was “no relationship between PT Mardel and Forkom”.

Forkom did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Several other workers awaiting departure to the UK told Al Jazeera that they were also saddled with debt.

Ali, a seasonal worker applicant from Central Java province, said he was still waiting to go to the UK after Forkom told him he could depart in August last year.

“They said if I went to the UK, I would earn $65 per day picking strawberries. I had to stop work in Indonesia so that I could focus on getting all the documents together, but then I didn’t get to leave,” Ali, who asked to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera.

Ali said he is now about $1,300 in debt to his family.

“I’ve spent all my money. Before this, I used to buy secondhand goods and sell them on the side of the road. I had been doing that for 25 years and it was enough for me to pay for my family,” he said.

“All the information about the scheme was sent through Forkom, and they made promises that they did not keep. PT Mardel also said that we needed to transfer money to them in order to secure our work in the UK.”

“My wife and children are suffering because all our money is gone,” Ali said. “I can’t pay for my children’s school fees and their pocket money. The biggest effect has been on my family. I am always fighting with my wife now because we don’t have any money.”

In a statement sent to Al Jazeera, the Indonesian Embassy in London said it is aware of reports of Indonesian fruit-pickers being exploited in the UK.

“The Indonesian Embassy in London supports the Indonesian government’s efforts to ensure placement of Indonesian migrant seasonal workers to England in accordance with regulations and applicable laws in both countries,” the embassy said.

The embassy said that it was aware that 136 seasonal workers had arrived in the UK and been placed at seven workplaces in England as of 22 July 2024.

“The placement of the seasonal workers was in accordance with recommendations from the Indonesian Ministry of Manpower and verification and consultation with relevant authorities in the UK,” it said.

Addressing allegations of illegal fees being charged during the recruitment process, the embassy said it “supports investigations and law enforcement by the authorities in Indonesia and the UK, including pushing for an investigation by the GLAA”.

Cherries at New House Farm in Canterbury, England [Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]

Andy Hall, a labour rights activist who is supporting the Indonesian workers, said UK companies are increasingly turning to migrant workers because of Brexit.

“This means that they are now recruiting workers from far-flung destinations, but they do not want to pay their fees. If anything goes wrong, it is a really risky situation because the workers think they are going to earn lots of money,” Hall told Al Jazeera.

“It is the fault of the UK side. The system is broken and the actors are broken. They are lax and naive. They have set up a scheme where workers have to pay their own costs, but they could do it properly and, if they executed it properly, everything would be fine.”

Hall said supermarkets in the UK are a major part of the problem as they want to buy produce at the cheapest prices, which means that farms in turn do not want to pay the costs of recruiting workers.

“The farms do not want to pay recruiters, and the recruiters then expect the workers to pay for themselves,” he said. “Supermarkets are responsible for all this mess. They have the money to do this properly. It is all just a squeeze on price.”