Latest modern slavery fight updates - FreedomUnited.org

MPs Announce Hand Car Wash ‘Slavery Probe’

  • Published on
    April 25, 2018
  • News Source Image
  • Category:
    Debt Bondage, Forced Labor, Human Trafficking, Prevention, Rehabilitation & Liberation
Hero Banner

MPs say they will investigate the rise in hand car washes across the UK amid concerns that many are exploiting workers and damaging the environment.

The Environment Audit Committee will look at the effects of disposed cleaning agents on water sources as well as employment conditions after several cases of human trafficking were uncovered.

Mary Creagh, the chair of the committee, said that although these car washes are “cheap and convenient,” the prices may be “too good to be true.”

The BBC reports:

The Labour MP told the BBC much of their workforce was from Eastern Europe and there were concerns some of them were “bonded labour” – people who had been tricked into travelling abroad by the promise of a job and were now working in low-paid roles with little control over their working hours to pay off debts.

According to the Car Wash Advisory Service, there are between 10,000 and 20,000 hand car washes in the UK. Many are located on petrol-station forecourts or in busy car parks, and most are unregulated.

Ms Creagh said the investigation – prompted by the concerns of one of her fellow committee members – would “shine a light” on environmental and labour issues and claims of links to people trafficking.

Creagh added that this investigation aims to clean up the industry.

“We are trying to get to a place where the public can have confidence that if they are using a hand car wash, they are not contributing to modern slavery. If it only costs a fiver, it may be a slave driver,” she said.

Director of the Car Wash Advisory Service Dawn Fraser said that many car wash operators simply do not know what it legally required of them, but admitted that there are around 8,000 “bad boys” who are engaged in criminal activities.

In a 2014 investigation in Nottingham, the Car Wash Advisory discovered that the majority of car wash operators did not have planning permissions, did not pay a legitimate wage, and did not have permission to dispose effluents through the sewers.

Fraser expressed her support for the MP investigation, noting that it can “encourage the 70% of firms which want to be legitimate but do not know what to do and close down those only there for money laundering and modern-day slavery.”

Subscribe

Freedom United is interested in hearing from our community and welcomes relevant, informed comments, advice, and insights that advance the conversation around our campaigns and advocacy. We value inclusivity and respect within our community. To be approved, your comments should be civil.

stop icon A few things we do not tolerate: comments that promote discrimination, prejudice, racism, or xenophobia, as well as personal attacks or profanity. We screen submissions in order to create a space where the entire Freedom United community feels safe to express and exchange thoughtful opinions.

Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

This week

Haiti’s children are being forcibly recruited into violent gangs

Haiti's escalating gang violence is having a devastating impact on its most vulnerable citizens—children. Armed groups are increasingly recruiting boys and girls, offering them basic survival needs in exchange for their lives and freedom. According to a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), children are being lured into these violent organizations under the guise of protection and sustenance, but what follows is a life of exploitation that can only

| Wednesday October 9, 2024

Read more