Nearly 200 migrant flower pickers ‘liberated’ in a slavery raid at a farm have written to police demanding an apology for being made to feel like ‘victims’.
Three men were arrested on suspicion of modern slavery and gangmaster offences after the raid near Helston, Cornwall.
The letter, signed by 189 workers, says morale has been affected and defends the farm bosses.
The arrested men have since been released while investigations continue. The majority of those employed at the farm are from Lithuania and Romania.
Nearly 200 migrant flower pickers ‘liberated’ in a slavery raid at a farm have written to police demanding an apology for being made to feel like ‘victims’
All smiles: Workers holding daffodils at the farm in Manaccan, Cornwall where they earn up to £240 a day. About 100 protested when their bosses were arrested in a ‘modern slavery’ probe
Having fun: Some of the flower pickers at a party. The farm is now struggling to pay the workers because more than £10,000 in cash for wages was seized by officers
Fourteen of the workers chose to leave the farm after they were spoken to by police and other agencies.
The letter says they are being ‘treated well’ and ‘the farmer has always been good to us and we feel that he has been treated very badly’.
It states that a police officer ‘publicly stated that daffodil pickers at Bosahan Farm are being treated as modern slaves. As workers we contest this statement.’
Justinus Stanislaus, a Lithuanian translator who is helping the group, said: ‘They want to prove to the world that they are not victims of modern slavery.
‘It’s a wonderful place to work and they are treated well. They refute everything that has been said in that respect’.
On the evening of the raid many of the workers gathered at Camborne Police Station to protest against the arrests.
Workers can play pool in their spare time at the farm. The father and son owners were arrested last week but have been released under investigation
The following day, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer explained the raid, saying: ‘There were reports into police of alleged labour abuse, alleged offence of modern slavery.
‘Therein lies the dilemma – you have to at some point intervene and you just sift your way through the evidence.’
The pickers live in 45 on-site caravans which are heated by gas cylinders they buy themselves.
Each pays £35 rent a week, but on days when the weather is too bad to pick they are not charged for accommodation.
Their common room has pool tables and ping-pong. There are even parties and discos in the recreation room, which has a permanent disco light.
Fourteen of the workers chose to leave the farm after they were spoken to by police and other agencies
Comfort: The workers stay in 45 heated caravans on the farm in Cornwall
Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer (pictured) explained the raid, saying: ‘There were reports into police of alleged labour abuse, alleged offence of modern slavery’
Mr Scrimshaw said: ‘We sometimes give them alcohol when they have the next day off.’
The workers stay from January 1 to the end of March, then either return home or look for other farm work in the UK.
English farm-hand Virginia Platt, 51, has worked there for 28 years and lives in a caravan near the pickers with her daughter.
She said: ‘Obviously something was said and [police] had to follow it up, but I do wonder if it had to be such a large operation and it seems rather a waste of taxpayers’ money to send in so many officers to do a raid when a look around would tell you things are relatively comfortable. There were about 100 of them here.’
Entertainment: The common room has pool tables and the pickers can play ping-pong. Around 100 workers drove to a police station to protest their bosses’ arrests
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