18/12/2007

Government right to restrict unskilled migrants says CIPD

Following the Government’s announcement that unskilled workers from outside the EU will not be allowed to work in the UK when the new points based immigration system is introduced is fully justified, according to John Philpott, Chief Economist at the CIPD.

Dr Philpott said:

“The detail of the forthcoming points based system, strikes a sensible balance even though it may frustrate some employers.

“The UK economy is now fully stocked with Eastern European migrants capable of performing unskilled jobs. Blocking entry of unskilled people from outside the EU may sound harsh but will be good news for disadvantaged jobseekers and many in existing ethnic minority communities in the UK, and will ease strain on housing, schools and social services.

“The Government’s points based immigration policy is both fair and economically sound - but ministers should be wary of overdoing the dog whistle rhetoric of ‘British jobs for British workers’.”

As the new system beds in Global Visas is concerned that many people will be caught out. “Under the new Points Based Scheme (PBS) for immigration, sponsors have far more to lose if they get it wrong and also a far greater burden of proof to confirm they have all the relevant processes and procedures in place to justify continued registration as a sponsor,” says Liam Clifford, director Global Visas.

“For example, if a company changes hands and fails to register the changes, all sponsored employees could have their visas revoked. The biggest issues will be with large companies relying on hundreds of senior overseas nationals to work in their team. Under the new scheme, if a sponsorship licence is revoked or suspended as part of a dispute or for other reasons it will prevent any new staff being allowed into the UK and those in the UK must stop work.”

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