‘Medieval Working Practices’? British Agriculture and the Return of the Gangmaster

Coerced, Forced and Unfree Labour: Geographies of Exploitation in Contemporary Labour Markets

“…worldwide; there is not room to explore these literatures here. What is important to note is that the widespread recognition that unfreedom is a feature of labour markets in the ‘advanced capitalist’ economies is relatively recent (Brass 2004), and that it extends beyond sectors that have traditionally garnered the greatest attention, such as agriculture (Anderson and Rogaly 2005). Thus, political and institutional responses, and academic research programmes in fields other than history and development studies, are also relatively recent phenomena.…”

“…Anderson and Rogaly (2005, see also Brass 2004; Lerche 2007b; Rogaly 2008b) counter this discourse through an approach that focuses on structural and macro political–economic processes that influence forced labour practices, including attention to demand factors, production systems, and labour shortages. This approach, I would suggest, vitally shifts the terms of the debate away from the sole focus on the identification and prosecution of instances of exploitation to a more systematic analysis of the power relations that produce exploitation in the context of the capitalist space‐economy.…”

‘Labour Chains’: Analysing the Role of Labour Contractors in Global Production Networks

“…(ILO 2005: 54). Other researchers have also highlighted the role of labour contractors as a channel for recruitment of unfree or forced labour (Bales 1999;Brass 2004;Lerche 2007;Rogaly 2008). Many mention globalisation as a factor underpinning the rise of unfree or forced labour, but beyond empirical case studies there is a limited unpacking of the analytical implications.…”

Foggy Social Structures : Irregular Migration, European Labour Markets and the Welfare State

“…The origins of the gangmaster system are deeply rooted (Brass 2004) and geographically specific to certain types of agricultural areas in the UK. The system first came under scrutiny in the early nineteenth century when, following the Reform Act of 1832, Britain's first union -the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers -was formed by the Tolpuddle Martyrs.…”

“…This made no progress, like almost all ten minute rule bills, but was simply designed to raise awareness of the gangmaster situation in the UK. 10 This related to the 'Sixth report of the 1862 Children's Employment Commission', published in 1867 (see Brass 2004). 11 This was a temporary strategy (lasting until 1951) to stop the movement of casual workers across the country and to prevent gangmasters from exploiting farmers' demands for labour.…”