Modern slavery convictions spark call for investigation into Yorkshire recruiter

Calls for an investigation into Brighouse-based recruitment company Transline have been launched by Unite.

The national union said that the company should be investigated after two brothers, Erwin and Krystian Markowski, (pictured below) were convicted under the Modern Slavery act.

The pair admitted ‘conning and threatening’ workers they allegedly recruited for the company for Sports Direct’s Shirebrook warehouse. 

Both were given six-year jail sentences at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday after it emerged that they had trafficked vulnerable men from Poland to work in the Shirebrook warehouse.

They removed the trafficked men’s passports and gave them £90 a week to live on from the wages that the pair withdrew from their bank accounts.

Transline, which organised temporary workers for the site, has vehemently denied the claims and said that the pair were not associated with the company.

A Transline spokesperson said: “These two brothers have no association to Transline. In February 2016, a single worker reported that they were being exploited in this manner – we reported this to the police, providing all the information we had available.

“Two other employees were identified as being in the same situation at the first employee’s residential address. The police later confirmed that all three former employees had been relocated and were safe, and an investigation was ongoing.

“We have stringent and thorough checks in place on identities and bank and payment details to prevent this type of criminal activity, and find any instances deplorable and cruel.

“We will always support the authorities in catching criminals such as these two brothers, and bringing them to justice.”

Transline has been associated with two recent investigations into working conditions. The first was at the Sports Direct warehouse in Shirebrook, the second at the Asos distribution facility in Barnsley.

A spokesperson for Sports Direct said: “We welcome the conviction of these two individuals, who were brought to justice after being reported to police by the Transline agency and Sports Direct in February 2016. It sends a clear message that we will not tolerate these kinds of behaviour.” 

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said: “The behaviour and the misery meted out by the Markowski brothers on vulnerable workers would shame a Dickens’ novel. It is all the more shocking that it took place in 21st century Britain in the warehouse of a high street retailer.

“Transline, the recruitment agency involved, has already got form when it comes to the exploitation of workers, having had its licence to operate in the food and agriculture sector taken away by the authorities. There now needs to by a full scale investigation into Transline’s behaviour and employment practices.

“Companies using recruitment agencies such as Transline also need to take a long hard look at the behaviour of the agencies they use. Pointing the finger and trying to abdicate responsibility is morally wrong and will not avoid the reputational damage that comes with cases such as these.”