THE DEATH of a young Czech worker on a farm in Arbroath may not have been completely in vain if new legislation brought about as a direct result prevents similar tragedies occurring here in the future.

Petr Adamik (28) died in April last year after the caravan he was living in at Birkhill Farm, near Marywell, caught fire.

At the time caravans for agricultural workers were not subject to the same stringent safety laws as those on caravan sites.

Now that law is set to change following a successful application by Angus Council to the Scottish Government to remove the licensing exemption on seasonal workers’ caravan sites.

A report that goes before today’s meeting of the council’s infrastructure services committee in Forfar states, “The conditions at most of these sites were well below the standards expected of caravan sites but fell outwith the normal legislative control due to an exemption in the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, by virtue of being seasonal agricultural accom- modation.

“Application was made to the Scottish Government to have this exemption removed in the Angus area.

“A letter has now been received in response to this application to advise that the minister was satisfied by the evidence provided by Angus Council and agrees that there is valid reason for Scottish ministers to remove the exemptions on licensing for caravan sites hosting seasonal migrant agricultural workers in Angus.”

Councillor Bob Spink—who campaigned for the move following the tragedy at Birkhill—said, “I am pleased to see this proposed move on the council agenda to remove the licensing exemption on seasonal worker caravan sites.

“This outdated legislation was put in place when ‘seasonal’ meant a few weeks of the growing season, not the extended, sometimes year-round occu- pation of caravan accommodation that we now see so often.

“I firmly believe that migrant workers contribute a great deal to the local Angus economy and that they fill a niche in the labour market clearly unpopular with the indigenous labour force,” the councillor added.

“They play a necessary part in particular in the agricultural scene.

“Indeed, many employers have said to me that without their input their businesses would not be viable.

“Having said that, I have long maintained their living conditions, accommodation, rights and pay should be on a par with any similar sector of our labour force and it is only by inspection, supervision and registration that we can enforce these conditions.

“This proposal moves to make regular inspection and an accepted set of standards hopefully more on a par with holiday caravan sites.

“The site owners by and large must realise that it is in their own long-term best interest to offer good conditions to their workforce.

“It is truly sad that it took the tragic death of a young man in a fire at Marywell to initiate this attention, but it is to the council’s and their partners’ credit they have been working to ensure this never happens again, or at the very least that responsible legislation and inspection will go a long way to decreasing the risk.”