A harrowing BBC investigation has unveiled that dozens of workers from the Philippines, Ghana, India, and Sri Lanka may have been trafficked into the U.K. to work for a small Scottish fishing firm. The workers, employed by TN Trawlers and its sister companies—owned by the Nicholson family—were subjected to what they describe as exploitative and dangerous conditions. Between 2012 and 2020, the Home Office recognized 35 of these men as victims of modern slavery. Despite two long-running criminal investigations, no cases of human trafficking or slavery have been brought to trial.

TN Trawlers continued to recruit workers from around the globe even while under investigation. Workers described grueling hours, inadequate food and water, and a complete lack of concern for their well-being. TN Trawlers has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that their employees were well treated and fairly compensated.

“Treated like slaves”

The BBC reports,

Joel had a young family back home in the Philippines, thousands of miles away. He had been expecting to earn a good income working in the UK. He was to be paid $1,012 (£660) a month for a 48-hour week.

He caught a bus from London to Carlisle, where, he says, he was picked up by the owner’s son, Tom Nicholson Jr.

“On our way to go to the boat he told us: ‘You have to give me your documents’ – so without hesitation I gave all my documents to them,” he said.

Joel says he was then taken straight to the fishing ground to start working.

But he was surprised to find that his boat was the Philomena rather than the Mattanja, which was the only vessel he was authorised to work on under the terms of his visa. “This was already something fishy for me,” he said

He claims that instead of the 48-hour week he had been told about, he was working 18 hours a day, seven days a week while the Philomena was out fishing.

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