Exclusive: Former Leicester clothing factory worker talks of 'unsafe' conditions on production lines
A former worker at a factory in Leicester claims staff were exploited and forced to work in poor conditions with low pay. He left soon after the start of the pandemic due to the lack of social distancing and general safety.
In an exclusive interview, he told Rajiv Popat that the owners put profits before anything else.
Late last year, Kushal Kumar, which is not his real name, got a job at a factory in Leicester that makes t-shirts and sportswear.
He says like him, some of the workers had arrived in the country from the Indian subcontinent - but didn't return when their visa ran out.
Mr Kumar said he would often work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week in poor conditions.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, he left the firm because because he felt it was unsafe to continue working there.
ITV news Central has been to the factory where Mr Kumar worked and contacted the owner but has not received a response to the claims made by him.
Factories in Leicester have come under the spotlight after a report claimed the outbreak of Covid-19 cases in the city could have been linked to textiles firms forcing staff to work even if they had tested positive for the virus. According to Public Health England, there is no proof of that.
And the city council is working closely with various agencies to crack down on what is says are a minority of sweatshops.
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