When offered an agricultural job in Ireland six years ago Sam hoped it would be a \u201cturning point\u201d in his life.<\/p>\n
From Uganda, he planned to \u201cwork<\/a> and send money home to [his] wife and son\u201d. <\/p>\n Sam (a pseudonym used for this article to protect his identity) arrived into Ireland in November 2020 on a general employment (GE) permit. This allowed him to work solely for the employer and in the location printed on the permit.<\/p>\n Ireland was in one of the Covid pandemic\u2019s most severe lockdowns. Horticulture, an essential industry, was desperate for workers. <\/p>\n \u201c[The employer] told me: \u2018You will be working, picking fruits, about 40 hours a week.\u2019 When I got here it was totally different. I was collecting boxes, washing, making pallets \u2013 anything he wanted me to do. <\/p>\n \u201cThen the hours were extremely difficult \u2013 50 to 60 a hours week at least. I started at 6am every day and every day I did not finish on time. Sometimes not until 10pm.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would say to him about pay for the extra hours but he would threaten. He knew I had to stay, that I had nowhere to go.<\/p>\n \u201cHe provided accommodation. There were nine of us in a three-bedroom house. It was so tough. We have to pay \u20ac50 a week and only in cash. It was in the countryside where we couldn\u2019t meet other people.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam got days off but only every 10 to 14 days. As for holidays, he says he got two weeks off during more than two years there. \u201cMy body was completely worn out. For those two weeks I slept in the house.<\/p>\n \u201cMentally I was not okay. What would keep me a bit happy, I had my wife and son in Uganda. I did calls with them and that would calm me. <\/p>\n \u201cI went online, looking for help and I found the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland [MRCI]. I contacted that organisation and they to help me out.\u201d <\/p>\n Cases of \u201csevere exploitation\u201d like Sam\u2019s are \u201croutine\u201d in the general employment permit system, the MRCI said. <\/p>\n In a report published on Monday it says exploitation \u201cis not isolated to a small number of employers\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cIf you are a GE permit holder … then more likely than not you have been exploited at some point,\u201d says the report, titled Tied to Exploitation: The experience of migrant<\/a> workers in Ireland.<\/p>\n