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Challenges in UK’s post-Brexit immigration system expose migrant workers to exploitation

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Shillong, November 14: A recent report, titled ‘Systematic Drivers of Migrant Worker Exploitation in the UK’ by the Work Rights Centre, reveals significant challenges in the UK’s post-Brexit Points Based Immigration System.

As per IANS, the system, tethering work visas to sponsors, grants employers substantial power, leaving thousands of migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation.

According to the report, failures in the Home Office’s employer sponsorship scheme heighten the risk of exploitation for migrant workers. The study draws on 39 case studies, including individuals under the Health and Care Visa and Seasonal Worker Visa.

The UK’s labour enforcement system exacerbates the problem, characterized by multiple agencies with unclear remits, insufficient resources, and a reliance on businesses for self-regulation. This inadequacy, the report asserts, hinders the identification, response, and prevention of the exploitation of migrant workers.

Dora-Olivia Vicol, the CEO of the Work Rights Centre, likens sponsorship to bonded labour from the perspective of migrant workers. She emphasizes the urgent need for reform to prevent further exploitation, citing tragic cases where individuals accept exploitation due to the challenges within the work-sponsorship system.

The report spotlights the plight of an Indian nurse stranded in the UK after paying a substantial sum to an agent who failed to secure promised employment. Facing deportation, the nurse must find another sponsor employer within a limited timeframe.

To address these issues, the report calls on the government to end employer-sponsorship of visas, allowing migrants the freedom to change employers. It also advocates for the establishment of a Single Enforcement Body for secure reporting of labour exploitation and the creation of an independent Migrants’ Commissioner tasked with developing a comprehensive Migrant Worker Welfare Strategy to prevent long-term exploitation.

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