Editorial 60

Exploiting migrant workers

Les Allamby, Director, Law centre (NI)

It was a routine Friday afternoon in the office when the phone rang. East Belfast Independent Advice Centre was dealing with a number of accession state workers who where being threatened with dismissal and immediate loss of accommodation by a local building firm.

Further investigation revealed that the workers had been promised £8.50 an hour prior to travelling but were now being paid £6.50 an hour. Alongside deductions made from wages for employee national insurance contributions and rent for tied accommodation, there were also deductions for an administrative charge for handling pay, a company registration fee and employers national insurance contributions. Paradoxically, the workers had been told they were not employees but self-employed. The employer had also taken £70 and passports off them in order to register them under the Home Office Workers Registration Scheme (a registration scheme for employees). None of the workers had a contract of employment or a statement of terms and conditions. Two workers complained to the employer about the deductions. As a result, they had been told there was no more work for them and to leave the employer’s accommodation within 48 hours. A frosty phone call to the Managing Director of the company staved off immediate eviction and correspondence will hopefully resolve other concerns around unlawful deductions from wages: employment status, possible dismissal for enforcing a statutory right, potential race discrimination, the need for a written statement of terms and conditions and a number of ancillary issues.

What this unfortunately all too common example illustrates is the vulnerability of migrant workers. Accession States workers have effectively the same employment rights as their locally born and bred counterparts. Unfortunately, they don’t have the same access to out of work benefits, creating real difficulties for those who lose work for whatever reason. For those here on work permits, the position is even bleaker where loss of employment means loss of work permit and the choice of either returning home or finding work and becoming undocumented. Undocumented workers who face long-term adverse immigration consequences if discovered are perhaps the most vulnerable of all to exploitation.

There are now a plethora of initiatives - the Law Centre and Human Rights Commission will shortly be launching rights booklets for migrant workers in several languages with funding from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. Several organisations have produced welcome packs and DVDs for migrant workers. Antrim Citizens Advice Bureau has the assistance of a local Polish translator once a week, provided free by a local employer. South Tyrone Empowerment Programme and ANIMATE have been at the forefront of promoting good practice. The Equality Commission and Business in the Community have actively sought to educate employers on the value of properly looking after migrant labour. These and other initiatives are very welcome.

What is needed is a greater lead from government, more effective co-ordination of information for migrant workers, education for employers, better access to advice and strong enforcement of those who do not heed the positive message. The difficulty is that government remains ambivalent about migrant workers. The option of treating Accession States workers differently within the social security system for at least a further two years as allowed under the Accession Treaty was recently taken up. Managed Migration laid out the welcome mat to certain types of migrant labour (for example, well educated with technical skills in high demand) and a suspicious look through the curtains to others. The ambivalence being shown at Westminster creates policy difficulties for local government departments. Nonetheless, the challenge is not going to go away. Local government departments have to ensure that those exploiting migrant workers do so at their peril and that some form of safety net is around to assist those who do fall foul of unscrupulous employers and employment agencies.

© Law Centre (NI) July 2006