Bolton Unison organise meeting on migrant worker rights

This came after the town’s branch of Unison, Britain’s biggest trade union, organised a meeting with MPs and council leaders this week to discuss the issues migrant workers face.

Union officials say they hope the council and MPs will take strong action to stamp out exploitation like this by signing up to the Migrant Workers Chart.

Unison steward and deputy convenor Shay Oluwaseyi said: “Migrant workers often fall victim to exploitation, including poor accommodation, illegal wage deductions, job instability, and inadequate health and safety measures.

“These exploitative practices are frequently linked to unscrupulous employers or agencies that sponsor them.

Kirith Entwistle MP was one of the speakers (Image: Bolton Unison)

“Many of these agencies demand substantial fees for sponsorship, yet migrant workers still encounter issues such as being assigned to shifts that are already covered or being left alone on shift when no one comes to relieve them.

“They also risk victimization if they speak out or seek union support.”

The union has argued that migrants have the same rights as other workers but in practice they are not always treated fairly.

This is even though workers from outside the EU contribute around £5.2billion to the UK’s economy every year, according to the union’s findings.

Cllr Sean Fielding speaking (Image: Bolton Unison)

Bolton Unison branch secretary Andrea Egan said: “Migrant workers play a massive role in maintaining and delivering essential public services.

“As a result of the introduction of the Health and Care visa, there’s been a upsurge of migrant workers coming to the UK to work in the UK.

“Many of these workers arrive in good faith, mainly to work in care roles, yet some agencies expect them to pay as much as £12,000 for them to be sponsored.

“There are companies who are set up as ‘Sponsorship Visa Employers’, promising decent jobs but then subject their workers to some appalling conditions.

“These are things that we need to change.”

The meeting was attended by Bolton North East MP Kirith Entwistle, Bolton South and Walkden MP Yasmin Qureshi and Bolton West MP Phil Brickell.

Ms Entwistle said: “Migrant care workers are facing conditions that can be classed as nothing short of modern day slavery. It should not be happening in this day and age.

“Every worker deserves stability and to be respected in the workplace.

“Exploitation and racism have no place in our workforce, especially when our migrant workers have been asked to fill a huge gap in our care sector.

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“Along with Labour’s New Deal for Workers, I’ll be doing what I can to stand up for workers’ rights to ensure no one is taken advantage of at work.”

Also at the meeting were Bolton Council leader Cllr Nick Peel and cabinet member for adults, health and wellbeing Cllr Sean Fielding.

Cllr Fielding said: “The health and care sector in this country would fall over if it were not for the labour of migrant workers, and some of the stories we heard of migrant workers' treatment and the bureaucracy they have to go through to get and keep their jobs was shocking.

“In partnership with Unison, Bolton's Labour Council is actively looking at what we can do to provide greater security for migrant workers, and therefore greater stability and reliability of care for the vulnerable people in our communities who receive it.”