Hungarian workers had been misled, treated badly and subjected to poor working conditions by an English company.
A Manchester-based gangmaster being shut down by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority according to a press release on 8 April 2014. They claimed that this was the result of an article appeared on the Hungarian online magazine site Index.hu last summer featuring complaints from Hungarian employees who had been misled, treated badly and subjected to poor conditions.
Both Incity Ltd. and a Debrecen-based outfit called Magnum One are run by the same person.
As a normal checking procedure, the GLA contacted the Hungarian police and labour inspectorate to check the company and according to the article a response was received about the complaints from the workers.
The Head of Crime Prevention Department of the Hungarian National Police informed the GLA about the news article. Inspectors visited the company to speak to its workers and check if the business was operating properly.
According to the press release Incity Ltd. got gangmaster’s license in 2011 and Magnum One had just applied for the second licence. After the visit the British authorities made a decision and the licence of Incity Ltd. was revoked and also refused the application for Magnum One.
Ágnes Németh, on behalf of the Hungarian National Police said that the Hungarian police encourage citizens to make sure of their rights and report to the authorities bad working conditions and humiliating treatment. This makes sure that employers receive a penalty for victim exploitation. Moreover she emphasised that cross-border co-operation of the authorities also guarantees that crimes of trafficking in human beings are prevented and detected.
Dr Krisztián József Járai, on behalf of the Hungarian National Labour Office stated that they provide information for workers on the legal aspects of the employment issues. They advise them to visit the EURES network (http://www.munka.hu/,%20https://ec.europa.eu/eures/main.jsp?catId=482&acro=job&lang=hu) before going abroad.