Migrant Workers Held Protest at Labour Conference Over ‘Broken Promises’

Migrant workers must not be made scapegoats for politicians’ failure to invest in public services, UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan has told protesters at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Speaking at a demonstration earlier this week as part of the Fair Visa Campaign, Andrea accused ministers of breaking promises made to migrant workers who came to the UK to help shore up the health and social care sectors.

Under plans from home secretary Shabana Mahmood, care staff, NHS employees and lower-paid public service workers will have to wait 15 years to qualify to settle in the UK, instead of the current five.

UNISON is calling for the five-year qualifying period to be retained for all skilled workers. The union also wants a sector-wide visa sponsorship scheme in the social care sector to reduce exploitation of staff by employers.

Andrea told demonstrators: “The NHS, social care and other essential services rely on the hard work of migrant staff. People who came to this country to help look after our loved ones are forced to work on restricted visas under harsh rules which make them second-class citizens.

“Now the promise of being able to settle in the country after five years is not only being broken but replaced with the threat of 15 years of insecurity and exploitation.

“Moving the goalposts at this stage in the game is wrong and unfair. Migrant workers must not be made scapegoats for decades of political failure to invest in public services.

“The prime minister talks about building a national care service, an idea UNISON fully supports. However, that will require respect and appreciation for what care workers do and urgent action to retain the workforce.

“Andy Burnham needs to do the right thing. The government must drop these plans, keep the promises made to migrant workers and invest properly in public services.”

Labour MPs Kim Johnson and Richard Burgon also spoke at the event, which took place just outside the conference secure zone and was attended by around 400 people – many symbolically wearing balls and chains.

It came just days after housing, communities and local government secretary Angela Rayner stood by comments she made in March criticising the plans. She had said that making it harder for migrants already in the UK to settle permanently was ‘un-British’.