The Equality and Human Rights Commission has announced a formal inquiry into the employment and recruitment practices in the meat processing sectors in England and Wales.

The meat processing industry has been characterised by low pay and has become reliant on agency and migrant workers.

The inquiry will look into the pay and conditions of agency and temporary workers who do the same jobs as permanent or directly employed staff.

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: "We know there are good examples of companies and employment agencies who treat workers fairly, but there are concerns about inequality in recruitment and employment practices in other companies and we want to ensure fair treatment is the norm across the sector rather than the exception."

The inquiry will gather evidence over the next six months and commission independent research. It will then make suggestions as to how to improve the terms and conditions for workers experiencing poor practice.