Immigration proposals deny access to 'low-skilled' workers

Home Office secretary Priti Patel revealed that the government’s new points-based immigration system will require applicants to speak English, have a sponsored route through employment or an academic institution in order to gain a visa.

Stating plans to ‘end dependence on cheap labour from Europe’, Ms Patel said that only migrant workers offered jobs more than £25,6000 or more will stand a chance of qualifying.

She went on to say there ‘should be no discrimination between EU and non-EU workers’ and she hoped to attract ‘the brightest and best talent to the UK.’

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon conveyed her frustration with the proposals: “It Is impossible to overstate how devastating this UK government policy will be for the Scotland’s economy and that getting powers over migration in the Scottish parliament is now a necessity for future prosperity.”

NFU Scotland’s Andrew McCornick agreed that a Scottish Visa system may be the only way to meet labour demands in rural Scotland: “The proposals published will not provide sufficient options for non-UK workers to come and work in rural Scotland. As such, Scotland-specific work permits in a UK system should be considered as a means to offer businesses in Scotland flexible tools to attract and retain manual skilled individuals within our labour market where automation and recruitment of domestic workers are not available nor viable options."

The Home Office is deliberating the idea of individuals on salaries lower than the £25,600 limit being allowed to enter the UK if their profession is on the Shortage Occupation List. Commenting, Mr McCornick added: “Such a move would be largely meaningless to Scottish food and farming unless further agricultural and ancillary occupations are added to the Shortage Occupations List, as requested by NFU Scotland.”

Parliamentary undersecretary for the Scotland Office, Douglas Ross stated: “As an MP for a rural constituency I know there are challenges that communities in rural Scotland are facing, particularly the reliance on low-skilled and seasonal migrants. Although remote areas are not unique to us in Scotland. To further support this sector, we are quadrupling the Seasonal Workers scheme for agriculture from 2,500 to 10,000 places which is important for our vital agricultural sector. Expanding this pilot will help us assess and inform future decisions of our immigration system.”

NFUS soft fruits and horticulture chair, James Porter conveyed his frustration with the proposals: “It is looking likely that the 10,000 threshold for the SAWS scheme is likely to stay the same post 2020, which simply isn’t enough to satisfy the labour demands of our soft fruit and veg picking sectors which would require more like 70,000.

“The Home Office are trying to tell us to automate and become more efficient, but the technology isn’t there yet – we need people on the ground. This is also made worse by the fact that soft fruit have remained the same price for over 25 years, along with other agricultural products. I think there will be many within the UK Government who will not chime the same tune as the Home Office on these proposals.”

Defra secretary George Eustice addressed SAWS scheme concerns: “The farmers and growers I’ve spoken to have made a powerful case for needing more workers during the coming busy months. Expanding our Seasonal Workers Pilot will help our farms with the labour they need for this summer’s harvest, while allowing us to test our future approach further. We will always back our farmers and growers, who produce world-famous British food to some of the highest standards anywhere in the world.”

The Scottish Government’s immigration minister Ben Macpherson MSP criticised the language being used by the Home Office: “The use of the word ‘low skilled’ disrespectfully disregards the huge contribution that people make in many sectors of our economies, whether bringing our fruit in from the field or helping to grow our food across Scotland, taking care of people in the social care sector, working in thriving hospitality or tourism sectors or driving lorries and taking goods to markets and shops across the countries. This UK policy statement closes the door on people being able to come and work in these sectors which already require more people now to sustain their current growth and performance,” he stressed.

The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers also questioned the language and disregard for ‘low-skilled’ workers. A statement read: “It is our view that migrant staff working in the meat processing sector either arrive in the UK with the necessary skills or are quickly trained to the required skill level and should not be classed as ‘low-skilled’. Our members invest huge amounts of money in training staff both as a means to retention and to equip them with the very real skills required to put safe food on the nations tables.”

The UK’s veterinary profession are heavily reliant on overseas vets and questions have been raised over how they will recruit and retain the workforce it needs longer-term. The British Veterinary Association president Daniella Dos Santos commented: “The government’s blueprint for trade will require a massive boost to the veterinary workforce to deliver veterinary certification not only for exports but, as announced last week, also for imports. This new immigration system leaves a big question mark over whether we’ll be able to fill the workforce gap created by the end of free movement when we are already struggling to recruit and retain vets,” she concluded.