The Trades Union Congress (TUC) estimates there are almost 100,000 "vulnerable" workers in the region, trapped in what it described as "a continual round of low-paid and insecure work where mistreatment is the norm."

The TUC's Commission on Vulnerable Employment, published this week, revealed there are two million vulnerable workers across the UK.

The North East has the third highest proportion of vulnerable workers – 8.7 per cent – of any region in Britain.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said evidence from the region had been "crucial" in helping the commission come up with its recommendations.

"What we heard from local unions and advisers from the Citizens' Advice Bureaux, and other agencies, gave us real insight into the problems experienced by vulnerable workers, and what needs to be done to make their lives better," he said.

The Commission, set up by the TUC and involving employers and independent experts as well as trade unionists, says Government, unions, employers and consumers must all play a part in ending exploitation at work.

Its report concluded that "employment practices attacked as exploitative in the 19th century are still common today," and the "poor treatment at work that we have found should not be tolerated."

"All the Commissioners – whatever their backgrounds – were shocked at just how vulnerable some workers are in the North East and the rest of the country today," said Mr Barber.

"Good employers have nothing to fear – and much to gain – from policies that stop them being undercut by bad employers who break the law or use loopholes to get round it."

Paul Myners, chairman of developer Land Securities – which owns Sunderland's Bridges shopping centre – sat on the commission.

He said: "The commission's report contains an extensive list of interesting ideas and recommendations with which a responsible Government, responsible employers and others concerned with the vulnerable in our society will want to engage."