Home Office urged to protect workers amid Boohoo slavery allegations – Metro.co.uk

Home Secretary Priti Patel has been urged to act to protect workers (Picture: PA)

The Home Office is facing increasing pressure to take action against the exploitation of garment factory workers in the UK.

More than 90 retailers, MPs and other organisations have come together to urge the Government to act.

It comes after online fashion giant Boohoo came under fire following an article which alleged workers in a Leicester factory making clothes for the company were paid as little as 3.50 an hour.

In a letter sent to Home Secretary Priti Patel on Saturday, the coalition called for a licensing scheme to ensure textile factories are fit to trade.

The letter said: These reports on the terrible working conditions people face in UK garment factories add weight to concerns which have been raised over the last five years by academics and parliamentary committees about the gross underpayment of the national living wage and serious breaches of health and safety law in these workplaces.

Unless action is taken now, thousands more people will likely face exploitation.

The licensing scheme would ensure workers are paid the national minimum wage and encourage retailers to source clothing locally, the letter states.

Coordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the letter has been signed by fashion retailers ASOS, Missguided, New Look, Next and River Island among others.

Boohoo has not signed the letter but on Friday its chief executive John Lyttle sent his own note to Ms Patel in which he backed calls for a licensing scheme.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, added: While there is no silver bullet, licensing is a critical step toward resolving this issue.

The public want to know that the clothes they buy have been made by workers who are respected, valued and protected by the law.

Minister for safeguarding, Victoria Atkins, said: Exploiting vulnerable people for commercial gain is despicable and this Government will not stand for it.

We expect all companies implicated in these allegations to conduct a full and thorough investigation to ensure that their supply chains are free from labour exploitation. We have liaised with relevant agencies regarding alleged working practices at garment factories in Leicester. We await the results of these investigations.

Boohoo had more than 1 billion wiped from its share value in two days, while other retailers such as Next and Asos dropped its clothing from their websites.

The fast-fashion company said it will investigate the allegations and end relationships with any supplier it finds to have broken its code of conduct.

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Home Office urged to protect workers amid Boohoo slavery allegations - Metro.co.uk