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UK: Work Rights Centre finds migrant workers at risk of exploitation through multiple govt. failings in sponsorship system
The UK NGO, Work Rights Centre, has released a report - Systemic Drivers of Migrant Worker Exploitation in the UK - analysing 40 cases of migrant workers at risk of exploitation. The report finds multiple failures in the government employer sponsorship system which leaves migrants at risk of labour exploitation.
From the perspective of migrant workers, sponsorship is akin to bonded labour. It hands employers the power to exploit migrants, knowing that it will be very hard for them to leave. We have seen many tragic cases where people come to accept exploitation. The work-sponsorship system needs urgent reform to prevent even more migrant workers being exploited.Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, chief executive of the Work Rights Centre
Work Rights Centre recommends the government adopts three key measures:
- Reform the Points Based Immigration system, to end dependency on sponsors and give migrant workers and businesses the flexibility they need.
- Strengthen protections for workers, including by introducing a well-resourced Single Enforcement Body with a data sharing firewall between labour and immigration enforcement.
- Appoint a Migrant Commissioner to lead on the development of a Migrant Worker Welfare Strategy, and coordinate efforts to identify and mitigate the risk of migrant worker exploitation in the long-term