By Juan Camilo
If you were to listen at the door of policy-makers’ offices to a conversation about migrant workers, you would most likely hear them talking in terms of rather dry calculations about the contribution made by migrants in filling job shortages and skills gaps, and in providing a flexible workforce.
It sounds like this conversation will be repeated when the new UK government works out the details of its cap on economic migrants from outside the EU. The focus of the proposed cap will be on limiting the numbers of migrants, regardless of the potential contribution that newcomers could make to the economy and society.
Unfortunately for this proposal, migrants contribute much more to the economy than their specific skills and determination for hard work. They can also bring cultural competences and key contacts that are a great asset for companies working in global markets. So what would the immigration cap mean for London’s business community, as well as its migrants?
London is an economic powerhouse that hosts a large number of organisations doing business with countries across the world. In this context, the acute knowledge that migrant workers can bring of the nuances and complexities of international markets and their networks to access these markets can mark the difference between a successful enterprise and a flop. Restrictions on hiring foreign workers can make it difficult for companies to tap into this expertise and hire people with the appropriate knowledge of the local areas in which they operate. That is part of the reason why organisations such as London First, which groups businesses in the capital with the Lord Mayor of the City of London, have expressed their concern with the effects on recruitment of policies such as the points based immigration system and the proposed cap on non-EU migrants.
The potential of migrants to extend the networks of London-based organisations was brought home to me recently when I met Fernando, a Colombian who has been living in London for the past four years. Fernando is an engineer who has extensive experience working in large construction projects and who came to London as a student to improve his English. However, he knew from experience that certain construction materials for large projects were expensive and difficult to purchase in South American markets. He approached a British firm that specialises in selling those materials internationally but did not have operations in South America and offered to help them set up their South American operations using his experience and contacts. A few years down the line Fernando runs a successful arm of the company specialising in selling these products in South America. In setting this up his knowledge of local markets, language, culture and key contacts were invaluable, providing the British firm with insider knowledge that greatly facilitated opening up this new market. Today Fernando has a work permit and will soon gain permanent residency in the UK.
It is people like Fernando that business membership groups such as London ApplyFirst are concerned may be excluded from London’s labour market if a cap is enforced, potentially affecting the capital’s position as a global centre of commerce. In its haste to allay concerns over net immigration figures the new government will have to tread a careful path if it is not to affect the potential contribution of migrants such as Fernando to London-based global businesses.
Immigration cap - Lib Dems VS Tories
| Lib Dem | Tories |
The Liberal Democrats promised that they would, “prioritise deportation efforts on criminals, people-traffickers and other high-priority cases” and “let law-abiding families earn citizenship” (Liberal Democrat Party Manifesto 2010, p. 75). They stated that up until now, “immigration officers are focusing on families because they're easy targets, letting criminals off the hook”. But they stated that this makes no sense as many, “families … have been here for years, and just want to work and pay their taxes.' (Liberal Democrat Policy Briefing on Immigration, 2010) |
The Tories stated that immigration is generally too high and that Britain does “not need to attract people to do jobs that could be carried out by British citizens, given the right training and support”. They therefore set the target to introduce a limit to immigration that would "take net migration back to the levels of the 1990s - tens of thousands a year, not hundreds of thousands” (The Conservative Manifesto 2010, p.21). |
They argued for allowing ”people who have been in Britain without the correct papers for ten years, but speak English, have a clean record and want to live here long-term to earn their citizenship” (The Liberal Democrats Party Manifesto 2010, p. 75). They said this would be the best policy because “it would take years and cost us £8bn to deport all those who are living in Britain illegally”. Moreover it would allow immigration officers to spend their time efficiently to deport dangerous people and prevent employers from being complicit in illegal working (Liberal Democrat Policy Briefing on Immigration, 2010). |
They promised to, “introduce an annual limit on the numbers of non-EU economic migrants allowed to work in the UK”. The limit would ensure efficient public services and change each year according to the wider effects of immigration on society' They also argued for a “tightening up of the student visa system, which at the moment is the biggest hole in our border controls…” (The Conservative Party Homepage, 2010). |
They proposed to “establish a strong, unified, co-ordinated National Border Force with powers to protect UK borders effectively” (Liberal Democrat Policy Briefing on Immigration, 2010). |
Similarly, the Tories said they would, “work to prevent illegal migration with a dedicated Border Police Force to crack down on illegal immigration and people trafficking” (The Conservative Party Homepage, 2010). |
One of their main proposals was to introduce a regional “points-based system to ensure that migrants can work only where they are needed”' (The Liberal Democrats Party Manifesto 2010 p. 75-6). |
Their long-term goal was said to control “all future EU entrants” (The Conservative Party Homepage, 2010). |
| Latest news suggests that the Liberal Democrats have abandoned their initial policy proposal and now have agreed with the Tories an immigration cap on top of the existing Points-Based System. In her speech on the 25th of May the Queen said that her “government will limit the number of non-European Union economic migrants entering the UK…” (BBC, 25 May 2010). | |
| The immigration cap has been criticized by leading representatives of the London Business Circle for depriving the UK of skilled workers that it would ultimately need (Financial Times, 12 April 2010)
Moreover, the cap will have a negative impact on immigrants working in the UK. As Migrants’ Rights state, “it affects those people applying to renew their stay in the UK, such as a number of senior care workers who find that the criteria have changed and they are no longer eligible to stay” (14 May 2010). |
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Liberal Democrat Policy Briefing on Immigration, 2010: http://www.libdems.org.uk/siteFiles/resources/PDF/Election%20Policy/22b%20-%20Immigration.pdf#search="immigration cost deport"
BBC, 25 May 2010: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8702267.stm
Migrantsrights 14 May 2010: http://migrantsrights.org.uk/blog/index.php/2010/05/14/will-the-coalition-government-underpin-its-immigration-policies-with-a-commitment-to-migrants-rights/
