Migrant workers

Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 large numbers of migrant workers have arrived in the UK from eastern Europe.

The south west of England with its diverse economy and seasonal work has always attracted migrant workers. Tourism and agriculture in particular have always drawn in those who work part time or for part of the year only.

Global economic changes are now driving a more systematic process of immigration and the presence of migrant works has allowed certain sectors of the economy to boom. Unfortunately migrant workers are often at a disadvantage in the labour market. With poor knowledge of their rights at work they are more likely to be subject to poor working conditions and practices, low levels of pay and are often excluded from services such as health care and training.  There is widespread evidence of systematic exploitation of migrant workers by gang masters who organise workers to come to the UK and then make unfair deductions for food, uniforms and accommodation often of a very low standard. Poor language skills, insecurity and lack of knowledge of employment rights prevents many migrants from challenging such exploitation.

Home Office figures released in February 2006 show that some 345,000 migrants have arrived from Poland (204,000), Lithuania (45,000) and Slovakia (36,000) in particular. More than 80% are young, between 18 and 34, and single. East Anglia, London and the South West are the top three destinations for these groups. The total figure needs to be treated with caution: many people have already returned home after working for a fixed period.
In addition workers have been drawn to the South West from other regions: Portugal, the Horn of Africa and southern Africa have all featured. Care workers in particular have arrived to work in the south west’s growing health/care sectors from South Africa and Zimbabwe. Other sources of employment for migrant workers include warehousing, construction, food processing and abattoirs.

Regional

Overall, policy towards migrant workers in the region needs to be much more integrated. There are a range of agencies involved in monitoring and keeping a watching brief on migrants but less focus on delivery. SW Trade Union Congress (TUC) has advocated a more integrated approach to supporting and integrating migrant workers. Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has recently warned of the particular difficulties faced by workers in rural areas where they are less visible to the statutory agencies.

Equality South West Migrant Worker Project

Equality South West are currently in the process of conducting a two year project, funded by the South West RDA, to support migrant workers and their employers and to encourage the take-up of good practice. The project has four main objectives:

• A better understanding of the trends in migration and the impact and implications this has for the sustainability of businesses in the region.
• Better skills training provision for migrant workers.
• Employers are equipped for the task of employing migrant workers and are using best practice.
• A better coordinated public sector response to the issue at regional level.

  In terms of actions the project will be seeking to:

  • Survey and analyse current trends in migration including the numbers, future intentions, skill requirements and needs of migrants
  • Stage a number of regional and sub-regional events for businesses on employing migrant workers, in order to promote good practice and help businesses in skill shortage areas to recruit and retain migrant workers.
  • Produce a toolkit of good practice for employers, helping businesses to comply with government legislation and promoting cases of good practice.
  • Support the work of the Regional Skills Partnership on the skills agenda for migrant workers. This will include mapping supply of and demand for training amongst migrant workers (in particular English courses) and making reocommendations.
  • Produce a directory of regional research on migrant worker issues for local and regional partners.
  • Facilitate the development and implementation of the SW Forum for Migrant Workers’ regional action plan.
  • Identify and work with partners to identify specific barriers to migrant women. 

The South West Forum for Migrant Workers, which represents local authorities and regional stakeholders, is the steering group for the project.

For more information on the project please contact either Charles_Dorr or Monika_Stennett

Links to follow from this weeks E:Bulletin

The Immigration Group Alert

The Immigration Group have provided an update on key immigration group issues of interest to stakeholders – for more details see: Immigration Group