Migrant workers working the fields in Lincolnshire

Migrant workers

For some they are the backbone of the economy but for others they are a threat.

Inside Out investigates the growing number of migrant workers in Lincolnshire.

We sent a Portuguese journalist, Jose Pedro Frazao, undercover to find out what life is really like for the thousands of newcomers.

There's an influx of a new type of foreign worker who has come to the region to make a living.

Young, highly educated women are leaving their families behind to come to Lincolnshire's towns and villages to earn money for a better life.

Yet they aren't welcomed by everyone.

But what is the reality? How do the new migrants live?

We've discovered one farmer who has spent £2m building accommodation complete with a sports centre, and runs it like a boarding school, to keep his workers happy.

New lives in Lincolnshire

Elena and Darshute have new lives in the Lincolnshire market town of Spalding.

Both are part of the new wave of migrants coming to the county from Eastern Europe.

Darshute has come to England in search of work.

"There are no jobs where I come from," she says.

Alona left her home in Latvia two years ago. She's got a degree in law and economics, but was prepared to come over here to work on the land.

Darshute tells the same story - in Lithuania she worked as the deputy head of social services.

But with monthly wages of £100 and a worsening economy, she and her husband paid to come to Lincolnshire to try for a better life.

Jobs on the land

Some commentators call this form of work ''cowboy capitalism'.

And many agencies and trade unions believe that migrant workers are among the most vulnerable of all workers.

A recent TUC report reveals a number of problems for migrant workers including:

- very long hours
- pay below minimum wage
- dangerous working conditions

In their defence, employers say foreign workers are filling the jobs that local people just don't want.

There are 70,000 agricultural workers who are thought to be foreign nationals in Lincolnshire.

What used to be seasonal work is now year-round, fuelled by consumers and supermarkets wanting fresh vegetables 24 hours a day, 12 months a year.

But this explosion in the workforce has put extreme pressure on accommodation and led to some unscrupulous gangmasters exploiting desperate foreign workers.

The influx started with Portuguese workers arriving, but now Eastern Europe is becoming the favoured recruiting ground.

But what happens when it all goes wrong?

Links relating to this story:

• TUC
• Employing Migrant Workers
• Low Pay Commission
• AMICUS
• T & G Union
• Home Office

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Organic?

Some chickens don't live as good conditions as these

Do you buy organic because you care about the condition in which your food is produced? You may be surprised at what you're actually getting for your money, as Inside Out investigates.

Supermarkets are full of organic products, so-called because they're produced in supposedly better, more sanitary and less chemically-enhanced conditions.

But are they really worth the extra cash?

Take eggs, for example. Many people now only buy free range or organic eggs because they disagree with battery farming, where chickens are bred in overcrowded factory conditions to produce cheap eggs.

But it seems that some of the £19 million worth of organic eggs sold each year may have come from exactly the same sort of conditions as battery-farmed produce.

To label chicken or eggs as organic there are certain standards all food producers must meet, like making sure their birds spend a third of their life outdoors, as well as feeding them organic grains and making sure no antibiotics are administered unless absolutely necessary.

But the reality is that current regulations mean very few of the 30 million eggs sold as organic are purely organic.

That's because birds which could go on to produce organic eggs can spend the first 18 weeks of their lives being fed non-organic food, kept in-doors and given antibiotics.

They can then go on a conversion course to become organic.

And some organic chicken farms are slow to treat an ill bird, because if drugs are used, the farm can lose its organic status, and that costs.

In extreme cases, the reluctance to medicate can lead to death and disease in the flock.

Inside Out reveals footage shot secretly by animal welfare campaigners at a chicken farm and asked vet Alastair for his opinion.

He was shocked at what he saw, and has this advice for consumers:

"People have an image of organically reared birds as happy birds, ranging in the field - and in a lot of instances they are.

"I think you can get good and bad farms mo matter what the production method is, and I think we have to be aware of that, but I don't think all organically reared chicken is as welfare friendly as it might be or should be."

One of the better examples are poultry farmers Roger and Adrian Potter, who raise 26,000 organic chickens on their 17-acre Yorkshire farm.

They're committed to being totally organic, as Roger explains:

"It's a lovely way to farm, as natural as you can get, but it's an extremely expensive way to farm. This is the ultimate system we can get."

But for the 26,000 egg-laying hens kept in the spacious mobile farm houses, it's a small price to pay for a better quality of life and more consumer-friendly end product.

Just make sure next time you go to the supermarket that the food you're buying does exactly what it says on the tin.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Inside Out - Battery hens
• BBC Inside Out - Keeping chickens
• BBC Inside Out - Biodynamics
• OrganicFood.co.uk
• The Organic Garden

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Sporting sadness

Albert Johanneson in happier days

Albert Johanneson was at the top of his game - a professional footballer with Leeds United, he was on the road to great sporting success.

But when he died in 1995, it became clear that his personal problems had limited his career, with tragic consequences.

This week, Inside Out meets Albert's family at as they remember his triumphs and tragedies.

A rising star

Back in the 1960s and under the leadership of Don Revie, Leeds United were one of Britain's great teams - and Johanneson was key to their success.

Having come to the UK from the poverty of South Africa, Albert was determined to make a name for himself at Elland Road.

Pundits said he was ahead of his time, and when he played against Liverpool in the 1965 FA Cup final, it was his finest hour.

He was a fast, skilful attacker and popular with his team-mates, but in the midst of his success, his personal life was about to fall apart.

By the late sixties, cracks were beginning to show both on and off the pitch - Albert's marriage was in trouble, and his football career was in decline.

Sadly, he developed a drink problem, and died alone in 1995, aged just 53.

But for his daughter Yvonne, and granddaughter Stephanie, his memory lives on.

Inside Out went with the family to Elland Road, where Albert enjoyed his early success.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Sport
• Leeds Fans Player Profile
• Leeds Legends - Albert Johanneson
• Leeds United

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites