VILE factory chiefs pay £2 an hour to workers forced to operate in “atrocious” conditions.
The modern-day slaves cram into rat-infested units and work 70 hours a week making garments.
In Leicester alone, the owners are also robbing the economy of £10million a week by dodging taxes and making false furlough claims.
The “lawless state” is revealed by the Centre for Social Justice.
The think tank’s report reveals mostly migrant workers are trafficked by gangs with the fear of deportation making them scared to reveal abuses. The study follows reports of a Leicester factory paying illegally low wages and flouting safety.
It was claimed up to 100,000 people could be exploited.
The latest report states: “None of this is acceptable.”
Rats and hot beds
THE shameful conditions in the Centre for Social Justice report include:
- Rat-infested units have bricked-in windows, no fire escapes and doors boarded up with card.
- Houses practise “hot-bedding” with one worker sleeping a few hours then vacating it for another.
- No hand sanitiser, meaning Covid-19 rates must be “significant”.
- Faked payslips show wrong working hours.
- Managers tip each other off about raids.
