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ePolitix.com reports on Jim Sheridan's ten-minute rule motion calling for gangmaster licensing to be extended.
Migrant workers that come to the UK are often lured into the "twilight world" of illegal gangmasters, Jim Sheridan (Lab, Paisley and Renfrewshire, North) told MPs today.
He called for people to focus on the "real villains", the gangmasters, rather than migrant workers themselves.
Introducing the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill under a ten-minute rule motion in the Commons, Sheridan said the 2004 legislation needed to be extended to cover the construction industry.
"Despite the powerful arguments put forward at the time the Act only covered agriculture and related industries," he explained.
He said that the effectiveness of the Act in shutting down illegal gangmasters in agriculture had led to them moving into the construction industry.
"Since 2007, there have been 120 fatal accidents in construction industry," he told the House.
"We don’t need a Morecombe Bay type tragedy in the construction of the Olympic villages."
Sheridan said that there was evidence that illegal gangmasters supplied unskilled labour to construction companies, undermining legitimate employers who invest in training and pay taxes.
There was also a political advantage to demonstrating that the government was "on the side of good employers", he argued.
He said a situation "where genuine workers see others doing their work and not contributing to wider society" led to community unrest.
"This week, this manifested itself by people turning to extremist parties such as the BNP," he argued.
"The trade unions, the small business federation [Federation of Small Businesses], and the master builders federation [Federation of Master Builders] are asking for help.
"With a little bit of vision and support we can make the change," he concluded.
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