18 July 2014

The Migrant Advisory Committee (MAC) has released an extensive report drawing on proposals made in Labour Migration in Hard Times: Reforming Labour Market Regulation – an Institute of Employment Rights publication. The MAC supports the need for stronger labour regulations to protect vulnerable migrant workers, and confirms the need for greater resources and funding to ensure labour law is complied with.

The MAC confirms previous evidence that migrants’ labour is often actively sought for being undervalued and easy to exploit.

Research revealed that the agencies responsible for protecting workers from exploitation – the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) and the HRMC are underfunded and inefficient when it comes to labour checks. Only one in four hundred companies are investigated for minimum wage compliance each year, and those not compliant are rarely prosecuted. Businesses flouting employment laws could statistically expect a minimum wage compliance visit from HMRC once in 250 years, and have a one in a million chance of being taken to court.

The MAC notes that “the availability of migrant workers combined with the low level of labour market regulations has enabled some employers to maximise the advantages to them”.

Figures released by the ONS found 2.1 million migrant workers are in low-skilled occupations such as service and agriculture, with 500,000 of those workers arriving between 2004 and 2007.

Weak labour laws and lax enforcement allows for the deterioration of working conditions for both migrant and British born workers, making for an environment where racism and xenophobia thrive. This highlights the need for an immigration policy that is coupled with strong employment rights and youth education and training.

An in depth analysis of the MAC report by Bernard Ryan is available to read now.