Every summer thousands of Brits flock to southern Europe’s party towns in the hope of getting an exciting job during the summer season.
Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca in particular see young Britons land in search of work as club reps. Their job is to tout punters into their employer’s bar, often offering boozy deals at knock-down prices.
However, the Home Office has warned that Brits entering this seasonal industry are ripe for exploitation from criminal gangs. Such is the vulnerability of the Brits working on the strips, that they could find themselves as de facto “modern slaves” – working long hours for pitiful wages.
As a result, Border Force officials have been handing out leaflets to more than a thousand Brits heading out to the Med this summer, in the hope of minimising the chances that they will be drawn into modern slavery.
Operation Karetu is due to come to an end on July 19, after running across 22 airports from June 17.
Operation Karetu was initially launched in 2018 over concerns about the welfare of young British nationals being exposed to labour and sexual exploitation.
According to the Home Office, the Operation has had significant success and since 2022 there have been zero cases of labour exploitation reported to the British Consular in the Balearics.
That said, the Force accepts that many incidents of exploitation continue undetected – as such the Operation is set to continue on an annual basis.
Home Office Minister, Seema Malhotra said: “Travelling abroad for a summer in the sun is an exciting prospect for thousands of young people across the country, but it’s important they’re able to do that safely.
“Operation Karetu is just one example of Border Force’s work to protect the British public, ensuring young people are kept safe from unscrupulous employers.”