Global food and drink slammed for migrant worker abuse ‘failures’

Agri-food is cited as the most prolific of all value chains for profiting from migrant worker abuse globally, accounting for 32% of cases, versus 20% for construction & engineering, and manufacturing at 12%.

The shocking claims have emerged from a new report released by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, a human rights charity, which linked a whopping 498 companies to human rights abuses.

Agri-food accounted for 210 of the total 665 cases in the report. Food and beverage processing & packaging accounted for 40 of them or 6% of all cases.

All levels of companies are alleged to have migrant worker abuse within their supply chains, from multinational global players to direct employers, labour suppliers and recruitment agencies.

Businesses accused of having links to migrant worker abuse in their supply chains include, according to the report, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Carrefour, Tesco, Asda, Lidl and Marks & Spencer, among others.

However, an FDF spokesperson said the UK industry was dedicated to upholding the highest employment standards and opposes worker abuse in all its forms.

Food and drink makers working to protect labour force“Food and drink manufacturers have robust measures in place to protect vulnerable individuals and prevent the exploitation of workers, with mechanisms to ensure exploitation is eliminated from their supply chains,” they said.

FDF and its members would continue working with the Home Office, and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority to support businesses in the sector to identify and report exploitation, “if it occurs”.

Within the report, 31 migrant deaths were recorded across agri-food supply chains in 2024. Some 40% of the other cases recorded contained occupational health and safety violations, 35% of wage theft and 30% intimidation and threat.

The report also highlights many other cases of abuses, including unsuitable living conditions, barriers to accessing non-judicial remedy, recruitment fees, excessive working hours, restricted access to information and injury.

Top 10 reported risks in F&B processingNo. of casesOccupational health & safety17Wage theft13Access to information11Reasonable working hrs10Unsuitable living conditions9Forced labour/modern slavery9Access to non-judicial remedy7Recruitment fees7Injuries7“The agri-food sector continues to profit from exploitative working conditions,” says Isobel Archer, the charity’s senior researcher in labour & worker rights.

“Our data – tracking egregious abuses linked to the food on our supermarket shelves and in global supply chains from the USA to the UK, Italy to Taiwan – exposes the harsh reality that many everyday food products are tainted by worker exploitation.”

There were examples of worker abuse across almost all food and drink sectors, from fruit farms in the US, to slaughterhouses in Poland and supermarkets in Saudi Arabia.

Who are the abused migrant workers?
There’s an estimated 167.7m migrant workers, according to the United Nations. These include workers moving internationall and within borders
Just under half of migrant workers are women, but three over quarters (77%) of abuse cases inpacted male workers. Though ‘hidden feminised work’ is not factored in
Undocumented workers make up a a third (32%) of impacted workers
Workers most likely to report abuse come from lower and upper middle income backgrounds across the Global South, according to the World Bank
Where companies could be identified and linked to abuse cases, they were most likely headquartered in high income countries

Companies that fail to address the abuses could face legal, reputational and financial consequences, and should put in place stronger migrant worker-specific human rights due diligence in place, Archer adds.

Government support needed to make changeProtecting the welfare of people in the supply chains was crucial to members’ practices, and allegations of labour exploitation were taken seriously, British Retail Consortium sustainability policy advisor Sophie De Salis said on behalf of the UK retailers referenced.

Retailers acted swiftly when made aware of issues, but De Salis pointed to Government, arguing they could strengthen due diligence only with support from the UK Government, urging policy makers to introduce Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence to encourage greater transparency and stringent due diligence.

“Governments and businesses must take urgent action by strengthening labour protections, pushing for mandatory human rights due diligence regimes, ensuring transparent supply chains, and guaranteeing access to remedy for affected workers,” Archer agrees.

“The reported cases we have tracked are likely only the tip of the iceberg.”

It is already expected cases of worker abuses will worsen in 2025, as governments fail to get a grip on distressed migration and human trafficking, the report warns.

The charity’s research reflects an almost incalculable scale of daily abuse against some of the world’s most vulnerable and hidden supply chain workers.

Though, it also highlights a resilience and rising number of migrants in workplaces reporting and protesting abuse. Thirty-five cases of worker protests were tracked in 17 countries. However, these were mostly in the construction sector, cleaning and maintenance, platform delivery, and clothing manufacture.

Location of abuse in F&B processingNo. of casesUSA12Poland5Taiwan4Australia3Canada 3India3Japan2