UK Poverty Post

Reform is needed to stop the exploitation of migrant workers

I enjoyed listening to the report on Radio 4 about the impact that the recession is having on Polish migrants. Interestingly, they found that contrary to earlier speculation, many Polish migrants are remaining in the UK – there is no mass exodus. But I was disappointed that the BBC failed to emphasise the impact of the Workers Registration Scheme (WRS) and the government’s failure to adequately address the exploitation experienced by migrant workers. Worse still, perhaps, was the unjustified highlighting of the 40% rise in migrant benefit claims.

These claims were made by migrants from the eight Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 (A8 migrants). But digging a bit deeper I have found that this represents an increase of only 77 people, a significant fact that the radio report failed to mention. Considering the vastly difficult economic climate that the UK has been experiencing, this is a very small and insignificant rise. As is so often the case, statistics fail to tell the whole story.

Last month saw the government extend the WRS for a further, and final, two years. This poorly thought-out scheme requires A8 migrants who come to work in the UK to remain in continuous employment for twelve months – with breaks between jobs lasting no longer than thirty days – before they can claim benefits. Yet, as you can imagine, fulfilling this requirement can be a difficult task for migrants who are often employed in temporary work, by employers that don’t provide the necessary paperwork. This policy has led to hardworking migrants – who have paid their fair share of tax – being denied benefits when they are in desperate need of support.

Due to the lack of mainstream media coverage migrants receive (other than usual scaremongering), you could be forgiven for thinking that they are immune from the problems facing the UK workforce. It is important to remember, though, that migrants are just as susceptible to losing their job in a recession as anyone else. Returning to your country of origin is not a straightforward process when you’ve been made redundant from a low-paid job and it is, therefore, no surprise that in February Homeless Link reported that migrants now make up one in four of rough sleepers in London. While I welcome the funding given by the government to Homeless Link, which aims to reduce rough sleeping among recent EU migrants, the failure to address the inadequacies of the WRS scheme is shameful and means that much of the good work being done will be wasted.

This exclusionary welfare policy puts many migrants in a position whereby they are desperate for jobs to survive. Radio 4 emphasised the “perception among employers that migrants work harder” but they have failed to recognise the impact of welfare policy on migrants’ need for work. Furthermore, our poorly regulated labour market means that exploitative employers can take advantage of poorer migrants’ desperation and their often-scant knowledge of employment rights.

Last week, Oxfam held a roundtable discussion attended by migrants, think-tanks, academics, NGOs and unions to examine the impact of the recession on migrant workers. One of the key areas discussed was the increasing hostility towards migrants, especially given competition for low-skilled jobs. It is clear that more must be done to confront the notion that migrants are “taking all our jobs”.

With tensions exacerbated in the recession, it’s imperative that the government appreciates the effect that their poorly thought out and exclusionary welfare policy, coupled with a labour market with limited regulation, will have on the livelihoods of both British nationals and migrants in poverty.