Home Secretary Must Drop Plans To Restrict Rights Of Essential Migrant Workers, Says UNISON

Frontline care workers have taken their fight against proposed immigration changes directly to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s Birmingham constituency, warning that the reforms could devastate an already stretched social care workforce.

UNISON members distributed 20,000 leaflets door-to-door in Mahmood’s Ladywood constituency, urging local residents to contact their MP over plans the union says will hamper overseas recruitment and drive existing international staff out of the sector.

With hundreds of thousands of care roles already filled by workers from abroad, UNISON is calling for the visa proposals to be scrapped entirely, arguing that without urgent action, millions of vulnerable people who depend on care services could be left without the support they need.

Dozens of health and care workers who have migrated to the UK to fill essential jobs will also took part in a day of action organised by the union.

They are due to meet MPs to enlist their support and will be posting videos online to highlight their individual situations.

Under the government’s original proposals, migrant workers will need to have worked in the UK for 15 years to qualify for a more permanent right to settle (known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’). At present the period is five years, and many workers took jobs on that basis.
Moving the goalposts is morally wrong, says UNISON, but will also deepen the staffing crisis in social care and leave workers more vulnerable to exploitation.

International staff make up almost 30% of the care workforce but recruitment of migrant staff is down more than 80% according to latest figures.

UNISON says the government’s wider plans to improve pay and standards in social care risk being undermined if migrant workers are forced into prolonged insecurity.

In addition to dropping the 15-year qualifying period, the union is urging the government to introduce measures to enable workers to move between employers more easily to reduce exploitation through a sector-wide visa, and speed up the new fair pay agreement to improve wages.

UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: “Social care is already under immense strain, with tens of thousands of vacancies. The sector’s been reliant on overseas staff willing to do this essential work, but the home secretary is closing the door on them.

“Extending the qualifying period risks driving experienced, committed staff out of the sector altogether.
“If the government’s serious about fixing social care, it must match its ambitions on pay and standards with fair treatment for the workforce. But the best way to start is by scrapping these cruel, unnecessary proposals.”