Tesco launches inquiry into claim that overseas workers earn just 8p an hour

Job agencies are reportedly charging migrants up to £1,500 to place them in Tesco jobs in Malaysia on the promise that they will earn between £180 and £215 a month.

The workers then find themselves subcontracted to work up to 360 hours a month for between £20 and £50, after various deductions have been made, according to reports.

Tesco today promised to investigate the claims, saying in a statement: "Doing business in some overseas markets can be challenging as local laws and customs sometimes appear to conflict with the high expectations we have here in the UK and elsewhere in the international community.

"However, wherever we operate we insist on the highest standards of welfare for workers, both our own and - as in this case - those employed by contractors working for us.

"We take allegations such as these very seriously and have launched an immediate investigation with our contractors.

"Whilst we do not believe that they are deliberately seeking to disadvantage their workers, if improvements need to be made we will not hesitate to make them."

One Bangladeshi migrant who was taken on as a cleaner at a supermarket in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur had paid a labour agent in Bangladesh more than £1,500 to find him a job in Malaysia.

The 26-year-old, who asked not to be named, said he has ended up having to share a one-bedroom flat with 12 fellow Bangladeshis, taking it in turn to use the beds.

Even with these cost-cutting measures, they cannot hope to recoup the £1,500 they spent on getting their jobs.

He said: "I decided to come to Malaysia so I could earn more money and feed my family properly.

"I had savings of about £250, I raised another £375 by selling some land, and the rest I borrowed from friends and neighbours or from money-lenders."

He told the Daily Telegraph: "The agent promised that we would be paid 25,000 to 30,000 Bangladesh taka [£180 to £215] per month."

However, migrant workers such as Tesco floor cleaners rarely earn much more than 750 Malaysian ringgit (£117) for a month - £20 to £50 per month following deductions, many of which the workers cannot understand.