Leicester's garment industry

That this House is appalled by the resurgence of attention on the scandal of workplace exploitation and failure to pay the national minimum wage in Leicester’s garment industry; expresses alarm that successive governments have been aware of this exploitation for over a decade yet have failed to act; is concerned that little action has been taken in 2020 to protect workers in Leicester’s garment industry; calls on Boohoo and other large garment corporations to sign the Transparency Pledge, end the race to the bottom in its supply chain and recompense underpaid workers; is shocked by The British Retail Consortium’s estimation that workers in Leicester’s apparel manufacturing are underpaid a total of £2.1 million per week; calls on HMRC to investigate the extent of money laundering and VAT fraud within the sector; urges the government to reverse the underfunding of regulatory institutions including HMRC, the HSE and local authorities; further urges the government to introduce legislation to regulate the fashion retailer purchasing practices; calls for the GLAA to establish a firewall between immigration enforcement and employment rights enforcement; recognises that Trade Unions are the best line of defence against workplace exploitation and the need for unions to be granted access to workplaces, be involved in labour market inspections and for the scope of collective bargaining rights to be widened; and calls on private companies, regulatory bodies and the Government to begin approaching this crisis with the ambition and urgency it demands.