Caroline Robinson of @workersupportc.bsky.social said "It’s contradictory to introduce a new regulator for the purpose of reducing regulatory burdens. Labour enforcement has been decimated over the past 20 years by successive government cuts".
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
This isn’t just job loss. It means not knowing if you can continue to provide for your children or plan for the future.
These workers are leading with solutions:
→ Job fairs to connect workers with employers
→ flexible sponsorship models
→ Clearer local authority support when licences are revoked
“Have a heart and care for those who care for you.”
Earlier this month we supported a meeting between Social care workers & the Scottish Government.
They came to Scotland to do essential work but when the Home Office revoked their employers’ license to sponsor workers,many were left “displaced"
We'll be asking:
How do we ensure the new agency rises to the challenge for all Scotland’s workers?
Read more on our website (workersupportcentre.org.uk/2026/03/05/e...)
graphic image of lots of diverse people
On 7 April the new Fair Work Agency launches.
Tomorrow, with @melaniesimms.bsky.social, Prof. Ruth Dukes & Dr Eleanor Kirk @glasgow.ac.uk, we’re bringing together key voices to explore what this shift in labour market enforcement means for workers in Scotland.
(image:Zdravka Boudinova-Zdravolina)
We're #hiring for two amazing roles!
⭐A Communications Manager to lead brand new @therobertsontrust.bsky.social funded three year hope based communications work at WSC.
✨A Policy & Participation Officer to support our policy work.
Check out both & apply!
workersupportcentre.org.uk/get-involved/
We're hiring! Check out our Policy and Participation Officer role below!
Come and join our amazing team and make a real contribution to welcoming every worker to Scotland and ending exploitation.
Partner with incredible workers to make change happen, join a movement working for change.
New Low Pay Commission (LPC) Report, (featuring much WSC evidence!) key findings for seasonal farm workers:
- re-iterated that Gvt must ensure minimum standards for housing.
- found payslip confusion contributes to lack of trust & transparency.
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69807f...
Come and meet our team and find out about our work in this short video.
Our newsletter is out now, and features this lovely introduction to the team and how we make change happen together with workers.
Check out the video & sign up for our newsletter!
www.youtube.com/shorts/zuUD6...
Policy and Participation Officer @workersupportc.bsky.social - advancing seasonal agricultural and social care workers’ rights by supporting WSC’s policy and advocacy work.
🕗Full time
💵£32,000 – £34,000
📍Perth
Find out more at tinyurl.com/mwfuzmwv
#Hybrid #Policy #Advocacy #Rights
We spoke to @rebeccamccurdy.bsky.social for this piece on social care staff shortages.
"Caroline Robinson [..] told The Herald that some care workers become displaced “overnight” [..] workers are “being penalised” because their employers lost their licence."
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2571006...
It was good to hear The First minister mention Worker Support Centre in his response to @richardleonardmsp.bsky.social on seasonal farm worker housing conditions yesterday at FMQs, but workers need urgent action to ensure standards are in place BEFORE the May elections & the 2026 picking season.
Today BBC reports on one worker's experience of squalid housing on a UK farm.
People who pick our food deserve the same basic right as anyone else: a safe, warm place to live.
We're calling for urgent implementation of standards for farm worker housing.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Welcoming Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney MSP, to our office on Friday
We shared our 5 Step Exploitation Prevention Model and shared footage of squalid housing many workers in his constituency live in, paying high rents.
Full post on our website!
workersupportcentre.org.uk/2025/12/15/w...
And if you want to follow our work into 2026 sign up for our newsletter here:
workersupportcentre.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...
We believe everyone should be safe, valued and respected at work - no matter our job or nationality.
In 2025 workers across Scotland have showed what that looks like in action.
Check out our FIRST EVER newsletter to hear more about this work.
workersupportcentre.org.uk/2025/12/10/w...
Help shape the future of social care in Scotland. Join others committed to making a difference & take our short, anonymous survey now. Your voice matters.
👉 bit.ly/48CxbC1
#SocialCare #YourVoiceMatters #CareSector
Thanks! This is the result of tireless effort from the workers with whom we partner, who've spent precious time sharing their views with politicians & gvt on how the UK can ensure seasonal farm worker housing is safe, affordable & warm.
Now we work for strong standards that are enforced for all.
See cases in our Annual Report 2024:
workersupportcentre.org.uk/resources/ws...
"Dismissals have catastrophic consequences on workers’ livelihoods. Workers greatly fear dismissal because of the need to repay debts incurred to come to the UK and the impact on their chance of future work"
This is something we've raised since "day one" rights were first mentioned.
Farm workers here on temporary visas remain without unfair dismissal protections-even when returning every year.
Last yr we had 145 dismissal cases: used as a threat, used when people complain, used to maintain power.
How do we create labour enforcement standards that protect all workers in Scotland as the UK's new Fair Work Agency comes into view?
Tomorrow we’re bringing together regulators, trade unions & experts to discuss.
Read more about this work here:
workersupportcentre.org.uk/2025/11/25/c...
Banner illustrating an article about seasonal agricultural workers in Scotland
🆕Seasonal agricultural workers: co-creating resources to enhance rights’ awareness. Report on an event funded by an SCGA engagement award. @workersupportc.bsky.social scga.scot/2025/11/21/s...
The seasonal worker visa’s structure impedes union organising, with workers in the country for no longer than six months. But with the scheme ongoing since the 2019 pilot and looking like it’s here to stay, it makes sense to ask whether major unions could be doing more to overcome these challenges
Great work by @mellino.bsky.social
Why no one is organising seasonal workers?
We've discussed with workers through 2025
@carolinerobinson.bsky.social WSC
“They feel like things have been raised already, and there’s a lack of care about those issues in the UK in general – so what would change?”
Last week, the @workersupportc.bsky.social (WSC) was featured on a BBC Radio 4 programme ‘Abused for Our Food’ which exposed the reality faced by seasonal farm workers in the UK.
You can visit the WSC website to listen to the programme in full.
workersupportcentre.org.uk/2025/10/24/w...
Apparent proposals to reintroduce employment tribunal fees - last seen in 2013 under the Con-Dem coalition and scrapped following a successful challenge by UNISON - stand to undermine improvements (to some areas) in the Employment Rights Bill @timsharp.bsky.social www.tuc.org.uk/blogs/dont-l...
This is really important work…
Labour’s Employment Rights Bill may well transform workers’ rights. But only if people can access justice and enforcement of remedies can’t be dodged.
Do you really have rights at all, if the barriers to asserting them are so difficult to overcome?
New report on @scga.bsky.social co-developed by us with students and academics @uofglasgow.bsky.social as part of a project to understand seasonal agricultural workers' rights and entitlements in relation to their
💸 Pay and
✈️ visas
In Scotland.
⬇️ Check it out at the link below.
🌱 Who wants to work a 12-hour day and be paid for eight?
No one, yet we found widespread underpayment of seasonal farm workers.
So we're
💻 calling for policy change &
📝 equipping workers with tools to evidence time & pay.
Check our our new post!
workersupportcentre.org.uk/2025/10/02/m...
