Waitrose releases short films geared toward helping UK migrant fishers

U.K. supermarket firm Waitrose has created videos to help migrant fishers in the U.K. better understand what is expected of them in their jobs and their rights as workers.

The chain, which operates 331 stores in the U.K., and its corporate parent, the John Lewis Partnership, said it was responding to reports of sector-wide labor issues, including overworking and the payment of illegal recruitment fees.

Its four-video series, which it translated into nine languages, reviews workers’ legal rights and offers practical advice, such as how to buy and use international phone credits

“In what we believe to be a first for any U.K. supermarket, we’ve released a series of videos that educate workers – particularly migrant workers – on what to expect when entering the sector,” Waitrose said in a statement. “Featuring fishermen from countries including India, Latvia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Ghana, the clips share worker’s real experiences, and the things they wish they’d known when starting work in the U.K. The videos clearly explain workers’ legal rights – including ensuring adequate rest, entitlements to pay for all hours worked, safety training, and the provision of free personal protective equipment – with the aim of improving welfare standards across the industry.”

The videos were produced by independent human rights consultancy Impactt, in partnership with the Seafarers’ Charity, Stella Maris, and The International Transport Workers Federation. In coordination with the videos, the organizations conducted interviews with 40 fishermen, who corroborated many of the findings of a 2022 report “Letting exploitation off the hook,” which detailed the abuses migrant workers faced in the U.K. fishing industry. 

The report – and Waitrose’s study with Impact – found many fishers worked 16 to 20 hours per day continually across three to four weeks, against U.K. law, which stipulates if a fishing vessel is at sea for more than three days, workers must be given at least 10 hours rest every day, rising to 77 hours across any seven-day period. The reports also found migrant workers had paid fees up to GBP 2,300 (USD 2,800, EUR 2,700) to recruiting firms to obtain employment in the U.K.

“Workers are often unaware that such fees should never be paid by job seekers,” Waitrose said. “Instead, as the new videos make clear, the vessel owner must cover recruiters’ costs, so workers aren’t left out of pocket.”

Waitrose is pushing for all U.K. fishing vessels to subscribe to the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS), a voluntary program setting standards for vessel management and safety. And Waitrose funds a regional outreach manager to visit fleets in the U.K. fishing hubs of Southwest England and Northeast Scotland and push for the integration of best practices toward vessel and crew management in the fleet.

“The U.K. fishing industry relies on international workers, but too many join the sector without fully understanding their rights or what to expect,” Waitrose Senior Human Rights Program Manager Sam Ludlow-Taylor said. “While we’ve long championed sustainable fishing, we know there’s more to do in our supply chain, and particularly across the wider sector. That’s why we’re making the videos public, to help drive real change across the industry.”

Waitrose also found positives for fishers interviewed for the study, including good pay, good food, good working relationships between crew and captains, and wi-fi onboard most vessels.

“There’s lots to celebrate about the UK fishing sector; it can provide comfortable salaries – significantly higher than migrant workers may earn in their home countries. Likewise, as this research shows, crews can forge incredible bonds,” The Seafarers’ Charity Impact Director Tina Barnes said. “Of course, there’s still work to do and these videos will make a tangible difference to the lives of fishermen – both from the U.K. and abroad.”

Photo courtesy of P.Cartwright/Shutterstock