CWA urges the Government to crack down on employment law abuse

Gordon Balmer, Executive Director of the Car Wash Association, said:

“Modern slavery is often practised in broad daylight, with non-compliant hand car wash operators openly flouting employment and environmental regulations with total impunity.

“Hand car washes make up a significant portion of the UK’s informal economy, giving illegal migrants the recourse to work in a cash-in-hand, unregulated sector. Sadly, these migrants quickly fall victim to gang masters who leverage their vulnerability into personal profit.

“The lack of political interest has been alarming. The Government’s abandonment of their manifesto pledge to establish a Single Enforcement Body was an explicit message to gangmasters that they may continue to operate without any meaningful intervention.

“I was extremely pleased that Gary Sambrook MP gave a voice to these victims of modern slavery by asking the Prime Minister if he intended to crack down on unscrupulous practitioners by implementing a long overdue national licensing scheme.”