21 May 2015

The police will have powers to seize the wages of undocumented workers, in plans to be unveiled in the Queen’s Speech next Thursday.

According to the BBC, Cameron will say it’s “too easy” for migrants not entitled to be in the country to exploit loopholes.

He will say; “The truth is it has been too easy to work illegally and employ illegal workers here. So we’ll take a radical step – we’ll make illegal working a criminal offence in its own right.

“That means wages paid to illegal migrants will be seized as proceeds of crime… and businesses will be told when their workers’ visas expire… So if you’re involved in illegal working – employer or employee – you’re breaking the law.”

It goes without saying that we should not further persecute exploited workers, but more effectively find and prosecute those employers who are doing the exploiting.

The government’s plan to prosecute the victims rather than the perpetrators of crime is cruel and barbaric, and will be utterly ineffective.

Labour migration in hard times edited by Bernard Ryan, provides a comprehensive insight into labour migration, the exploitation of migrant workers and the need for labour law reform.