International Trade Secretary Liam Fox repeated at a Conservative Party Conference fringe meeting this week that the right of EU27 citizens currently living and working in the UK was a major bargaining chip in the Brexit negotiations. He was setting ou…Read more…
Tackling teacher shortages is not only about migration policy
The TUC has submitted evidence to the Migration Advisory Committee’s review of teacher shortages, highlighting that shortages that are currently being experienced in primary and secondary schools across the country require urgent action by the government. Migrant workers play an important role as…Read more…
Taking back control of our borders. Unless you’re a city fat cat.
There are over three million EU citizens living and working in the UK who are concerned about their future right to remain in the UK. Many Brits currently living and working in the rest of the EU have the same concerns about their own future. Organisat…Read more…
The #right2remain must apply to expats as well as immigrants
The TUC has joined with a host of others across the political and business spectrum to call for citizens of other EU countries living and working in the UK to be given the right2remain after Brexit. That’s in the gift of the UK government, and there are good reasons for granting it…Read more…
ONS migration statistics show action on low pay and deregulation needed across Europe and at home
The Office for National Statistics today published figures on the number of migrants in the labour market up to the end of June. Given that this only captures information from a few days after the referendum, it’s not possible to read from these findings any impact of Britain’s vote to leave the…Read more…
EU citizens’ right to stay: We need your evidence
I’ve joined a panel established by British Future to look at the detail of how a guarantee to EU27 citizens (people from the 27 countries staying in the EU) currently living and working in the…Read more…
Let EU citizens stay – new inquiry launched
I’ve joined a panel set up today by centre-left think tank British Future to look at one of the knottiest problems caused by the Brexit vote in June – what to do when we leave about the EU citizens who are already living and working in the UK. The TUC and CBI have jointly…Read more…
Even with Brexit deal unknown, the government can act now to manage migration better
While there is still considerable uncertainty about whether or how free movement will feature in any Brexit negotiation, today the TUC has released the report Managing migration better for Britain. It makes clear there are actions the government could take now which would tackle the negative…Read more…
EU acts against exploitation of migrants. Bit late.
Last month, before the referendum, I took part in a meeting of the Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation in Brussels. The European Commissioner for Social Affairs, Belgian liberal Marianne Thyssen, addressed the meeting and disc…Read more…
Unite Policy Conference 2016 – Wednesday’s business
I’ve already posted videos of Jeremy Corbyn’s speech and Sharon Graham’s presentation on the Unite Industrial Strategy – Work, Voice, Pay.
The liveliest debate of the day was around the aftermath of the EU referendum and what UNITE’s position on freed…Read more…
European attitudes to diversity & migration: room for improvement
A new analysis of European views on migration demonstrates that diversity is not as unpopular as the referendum result and right-wing populism in France, Germany and Italy might suggest. But it also reveals that British views are in some ways more like…Read more…
Defending Corbyn and Freedom of Movement
Unite’s National Industrial Sector Committee (NISC) for my sector (GPM&IT) met this week and agreed to submit the following as emergency motions to the Unite Policy Conference this month.
It is likely that the “leadership” will try to avoid either…Read more…
Give EU migrants already here an assurance they can stay
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady has co-signed a letter in the Sunday Telegraph today building on the joint statement that she made with CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn last week, calling on the government to guarantee that EU migrants already in the UK can stay no matter what…Read more…
Responding to the EU Referendum – Len gets it wrong
After a campaign marked by racism, fear-mongering and lies from both the main campaigns, the result is now out – a vote to leave the EU. This isn’t the result Unite campaigned for, our union was clearly on the “Remain” side, though (thank goodness) it …Read more…
Working people must not pay the price of leaving the EU
The result of the referendum is, of course, a disappointment for the TUC. We campaigned hard for Remain, because we believed that was the best option for working people’s jobs, wages and rights. But the British people have spoken – and they have voted to leave the EU. As the representatives of 6m…Read more…
‘Refugee lives do matter’
National delegate conference agrees to continue working to combat myths around migration
The article ‘Refugee lives do matter’ first appeared on the UNISON National site.Read more…
UKIP poster takes referendum campaigning to a new low, says UNISON
UNISON has made a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police about racist posters that have been displayed on UKIP ad-vans in the capital today (Thursday). UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis…Read more…
EU campaign will focus on NHS and racism around migration, NEC
UNISON executive prepares for EU referendum and union conference
The article EU campaign will focus on NHS and racism around migration, NEC first appeared on the UNISON site.Read more…
Migration and the EU referendum
UNISON produces two new factsheets on migration and an inclusive Europe as part of campaign for a Remain vote in the EU referendum on 23 June
The article Migration and the EU referendum first…Read more…
Unions cry foul as European proposals to tackle exploitation of migrants face yellow card
I’ve written before about how the European Union provides the best opportunity to prevent the exploitation of workers who are temporarily posted to other EU countries (and thus the undercutting of the existing workforce.) The best avenue for such action would be revising the EU’s Posted Workers’…Read more…