Trade union UNISON calls for urgent overhaul of visa sponsorship system after surveying over 3,000 migrant care workers
A brief new report published today by the trade union UNISON highlights the exploitation of many migrant care workers in the UK. You can download the 7-page report here.
Image credit: UK Government The report finds that unscrupulous employers are bringing care staff over to the UK with little regard for their welfare. Migrant care workers are being subjected to poor pay and working conditions, racism, and financial exploitation. One care worker is quoted as saying in the report: "They treat (us) like modern-day slaves."
The report is based on a survey of over 3,000 migrant care workers and it reveals that many have paid significant fees to intermediaries or employers before arriving in the UK.
"Dozens have had to pay employers and agents fees of £20,000 or more before they came to the UK only to discover there were no care shifts when they arrived or not the number promised. … Many have had money deducted from their salaries for airport pick-ups, uniforms and training," the report states.
UNISON found that nearly a quarter (24%) of migrant care workers surveyed paid fees to either care employers or recruiters acting on their behalf before arriving in the UK. Payments were made in exchange for promised employment opportunities. Over 100 respondents reporting fees between £5,000 and £20,000, with 50 saying they had paid over £10,000.
The majority of the fees were related to recruitment (70%) or visa expenses (67%), but workers also reported covering costs for flights (51%), administrative processes (51%), accommodation (40%), and training (25%).
Alarmingly, some workers were charged for items the Home Office explicitly forbids employers from passing on, such as certificates of sponsorship, with fees ranging from £10,000 to £20,000. One care worker from Nigeria told UNISON: "I paid £13,500 to get a certificate of sponsorship from an agency. They promised to secure a care job for me here in the UK, but I've not had any work from them for a year now."
UNISON also highlights how unscrupulous employers use visa sponsorship to threaten care workers who challenge mistreatment and exploitation.
The report notes: "More than a third (36%) said they or their fellow migrant worker colleagues had been threatened with dismissal or redundancy for raising issues about their treatment. If care workers from overseas lose their job or certificate of sponsorship, they face potential deportation. One worker was warned they would be dismissed for complaining about getting less work than agreed in their contract. Others said employers told them they'd be taken off the rota or their sponsorship would be cancelled. Some said they'd been sent text messages claiming they'd be sent back to their home country if they asked for days off."
UNISON warns that threats of redundancy or deportation are used to pressure migrant care workers into accepting poor working conditions. Many workers have sacrificed everything to come to the UK, leaving them extremely financially vulnerable. Regular threats of deportation highlight the precariousness of their situation.
Nearly half of the care workers surveyed reported experiencing racism, including being called racist names. Some workers reported being subjected to vile verbal racist abuse while being spat at and punched. A care worker from Zimbabwe working in Northern Ireland said: "I have been called a lot of names and had jugs of water thrown at me."
UNISON General Secretary Christina McAnea said the report's shocking findings were evidence of widespread exploitation of migrant care workers and showed the need for urgent reform.
McAnea commented: "Care staff who come here from overseas are shoring up a crumbling sector. These workers should be treated with respect, not taken advantage of and abused. No one deserves to be treated in this despicable way. Some workers are effectively being employed as indentured labour. This is not only immoral but also illegal. They've come to the UK in the expectation of getting work and training, but instead many are forced to exist on the breadline. The government must overhaul the sponsorship system as a matter of urgency. This would help prevent exploitation and drive up standards across the care sector."