TV SHOW PROVES THAT MIGRANT WORKERS ARE KEY TO UK ECONOMY
May 3, 2010 at 3:55 pm | Posted in Goldteam News | Leave a commentTags: CIPD, food industry, migrant, migrant workers
The recent BBC television programme “The Day the Immigrants Left” shows just how vital migrant workers are to the UK economy. The programme focused on the Cambridgeshire town of Wisbech which has a large migrant workforce and tried an experiment to see if the UK could cope without migrant workers. Four employers were persuaded to swap their migrant workers with unemployed locals with interesting results. Of the twelve people, five didn’t turn up for work and two of those who did were late and distinctly unenthusiastic. One, who has been unemployed for five years said: “I won’t do a job I don’t find very interesting. I do feel a little pressurised to find a job, but it’s not to the point that I can just take any job.” It is little wonder then that firms continue to hire migrant workers to plug skill gaps and in fact the recent CIPD labour market outlook survey has found that around one in five employers have recruited migrant workers in the last three months. And without migrant workers there is no way that we would be able to fulfil our client’s requirements in the food industry!
Should GLA legislation be extended?
February 15, 2010 at 2:45 pm | Posted in Goldteam News | Leave a commentTags: compliance, ethics, food industry, gangmaster, GLA, hospitality, recruitment, recruitment agencies, vulnerable workers
While it’s great to see news of crackdowns on illegal operatives working as herb pickers in Norfolk – and the ongoing investigation into suspected unlicensed gangmaster activity – I believe there should be an extension of legislation into other industries. We operate in the food production, hospitality and healthcare sectors, and are licensed by the Gangmaster Licensing Authority because food production is a regulated area. Unfortunately even just using the word gangmaster has a negative connotation these days. Those recruiters who choose to operate ethically and in full compliance with the law often get tarred with the same brush as ruthless criminals who set out to exploit vulnerable and often illegal workers. Vulnerable workers and unscrupulous operators are not confined to the food manufacturing sector. I would argue that industries such as hospitality and construction should also be regulated – particularly with the 2012 Olympics coming up. The recent crackdown is obviously good news – but there is a danger that ‘rogue traders’ will just move into to other unregulated areas – that’s bad for vulnerable workers, bad for recruitment and bad for Britain! What’s your view?
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