Mass immigration to parts of Britain HAS driven down wages of the poor and put pressure on services, official report finds | Mail Online
or
BBC News - Low-skilled workers 'at risk of exploitation'
or the original report
https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...mmary_2014.pdf
funny how both sides read the same paper.
Mass immigration to parts of Britain HAS driven down wages of the poor and put pressure on services, official report finds
Migration Advisory Committee says parts of the country 'struggling to cope'
Influx of foreign workers has 'negative impact on the wages of the low paid'
Government advisors also attack 'feeble' penalties on firms breaking law
Reveals companies can expect HMRC investigation just once in 250 years
Employers hit with prosecution for not paying basic wage every million years
Migration Advisory Committee says parts of the country 'struggling to cope'
Influx of foreign workers has 'negative impact on the wages of the low paid'
Government advisors also attack 'feeble' penalties on firms breaking law
Reveals companies can expect HMRC investigation just once in 250 years
Employers hit with prosecution for not paying basic wage every million years
BBC News - Low-skilled workers 'at risk of exploitation'
Low-skilled, vulnerable workers are at risk of exploitation because of lax labour checks, a report has warned.
The government's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) found employment rules were either not being properly enforced or were being flouted by employers.
The government's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) found employment rules were either not being properly enforced or were being flouted by employers.
https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...mmary_2014.pdf
Five themes emerge from our investigation. First, our flexible labour market has
mainly served us well, but there are insufficient resources devoted to key
regulatory bodies such as HMRC, which enforces the national minimum wage,
and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. Similarly, the penalties for breaching
the regulations are not severe enough. There also needs to be more sharing of
labour market intelligence among the agencies.
Second, the youth labour market is a concern. We do not find strong evidence
that this is a consequence of the expansion of the EU in 2004. Schools presently
have an incentive to boost the number of A* - C grades in GCSE exams. This
may imply insufficient attention is given to those towards the bottom (and top) of
the ability range. Many apprenticeships do not stretch the individual sufficiently
and have too little employer input. Greater attention needs to be given to raising
the awareness of, and adjusting aspirations towards, available opportunities and
improving the soft skills of those at the lower end of the ability range.
Third, there needs to be greater recognition of, and support for, the local impact
of immigration. The non-UK born population of England and Wales grew by 2.9
million between 2001 and 2011. Three quarters of this rise was in just a quarter
of local authorities. Although we show that, nationally, the economic impact of
immigration on GDP per head, productivity and prices is very modest, the
economic and social impact on particular local authorities is much stronger. This
includes pressure on education and health services and on the housing market
and potential problems around cohesion, integration and wellbeing.
Fourth, demand for migrant labour is strongly influenced by institutions and public
policies not directly related to immigration. These include, for example, labour
market regulation, investment in education and training, and pay levels in some
publicly funded low wage jobs. The trade-offs between immigration levels and
greater or lower investment in these areas is worthy of fuller discussion.
Fifth, the 2004 EU enlargement provides lessons for both the UK and other
member states for any future EU expansion. There are eight candidate or
potential candidate countries. They have a combined population of over 90
million and income levels mostly of around a third to a half the EU average. Given Migrants in low-skilled work
2
that differentials in income are a prime driver of migration flows, both the EU and
British authorities will wish to think carefully how any future expansions are
handled.
mainly served us well, but there are insufficient resources devoted to key
regulatory bodies such as HMRC, which enforces the national minimum wage,
and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. Similarly, the penalties for breaching
the regulations are not severe enough. There also needs to be more sharing of
labour market intelligence among the agencies.
Second, the youth labour market is a concern. We do not find strong evidence
that this is a consequence of the expansion of the EU in 2004. Schools presently
have an incentive to boost the number of A* - C grades in GCSE exams. This
may imply insufficient attention is given to those towards the bottom (and top) of
the ability range. Many apprenticeships do not stretch the individual sufficiently
and have too little employer input. Greater attention needs to be given to raising
the awareness of, and adjusting aspirations towards, available opportunities and
improving the soft skills of those at the lower end of the ability range.
Third, there needs to be greater recognition of, and support for, the local impact
of immigration. The non-UK born population of England and Wales grew by 2.9
million between 2001 and 2011. Three quarters of this rise was in just a quarter
of local authorities. Although we show that, nationally, the economic impact of
immigration on GDP per head, productivity and prices is very modest, the
economic and social impact on particular local authorities is much stronger. This
includes pressure on education and health services and on the housing market
and potential problems around cohesion, integration and wellbeing.
Fourth, demand for migrant labour is strongly influenced by institutions and public
policies not directly related to immigration. These include, for example, labour
market regulation, investment in education and training, and pay levels in some
publicly funded low wage jobs. The trade-offs between immigration levels and
greater or lower investment in these areas is worthy of fuller discussion.
Fifth, the 2004 EU enlargement provides lessons for both the UK and other
member states for any future EU expansion. There are eight candidate or
potential candidate countries. They have a combined population of over 90
million and income levels mostly of around a third to a half the EU average. Given Migrants in low-skilled work
2
that differentials in income are a prime driver of migration flows, both the EU and
British authorities will wish to think carefully how any future expansions are
handled.
funny how both sides read the same paper.
