Workers paid less than minimum wage to pick berries destined for UK supermarkets

Thousands of people from south Asia are employed by the berry industry in Odemira, Portugal, supplying companies including Driscoll’s. Photograph: Francesco Brembati/The Guardian

Farm workers in Portugal appear to have been working illegally long hours picking berries destined for Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Waitrose for less than the minimum wage, according to a Guardian investigation.

Speaking anonymously, for fear of retribution from their employers, workers claimed the hours listed on their payslips were often fewer than the hours they had actually worked.