Turkish and Kurdish workers face exploitation in London says report

Taner Olmez (right) is Kurdish and says he has often had to work for low pay with no annual leave

Turkish and Kurdish workers are being exploited due to a lack of knowledge about workers' rights, according to a report.

The Refugee and Workers Cultural Association (RWCA), which wrote the report, said hundreds of workers reported low wages and no holiday or sick pay.

One worker described it as a "vicious circle" due to limited work options.

The RWCA said information on rights should be available in more languages.

Taner Olmez is Kurdish and has had several jobs since arriving in the UK three years ago.

In one, he worked six days a week, 12 hours a day for just £320 a week.

He said: "There was no reference to a holiday pay - if I didn't turn up I didn't get paid".

He knows of many others in London who have been in the same position.

'Vicious circle'

Of the hundreds of Turkish and Kurdish migrant workers interviewed in the city, many also reported long hours without excess pay, and facing bullying and harassment in the work place.

One worker spoken to in compiling the report told researchers: "We live in a vicious circle in the service sector. I am on annual leave, but I am not paid. I said that my child was born, I couldn't even take a day off from work to go to him."

One third of the workers interviewed were working illegally and the RWCA said this led to "additional victimisation and exploitation" by employers who abuse the situation.

Ibrahim Avcil says some of the conditions sounded like a third world country and not the UK

Ibrahim Avcil of the RWCA said: "We were extremely shocked to find out that the conditions these Turkish and Kurdish employees work under are extreme. You would think you would not see [them] in the UK but a third world country."

The report made a number of recommendations, which included a called for enforcement of employment rights, better education for employers and employees, and resources in other languages for all ethnicities living in London.

It also recommended protection for workers who report breaches.

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