FOCUS □ PRECARIOUS, INFORMAL AND MIGRANT WORKERS Here to Stay? The the tion current political and the recession landscape labour has market concerning radically in the changed migraUK . the politicallandscape concerning migration and the labour marketin the UK. Inward migration had playeda majorpartinthe overallgrowthin employment over the past decade,butthecontext hasbeentransformed by widespreadredundancies, and an increaseof unemployment above twomillion in early2009. In this new situation,long-running public debatesovermigration have takena new twist. Can labour migration be switchedoff,in the nameofprotecting British workers? New Labourand labour migration The policyof LabourGovernments on labour migration went througha numberof distinct phasesafter 1997.In particular, thesecondBlair Government (from June2001)sawa relaxation of theruleson admission toBritain for employment. Olderlabourmigration routes, suchas workpermits forskilled workers andtheseasonalagricultural workers scheme, were expanded. Meanwhile,new schemeswere put in place, including thehighly-skilled migrant programme (2002) and the sectorsbased scheme (2003), whichallowedtemporary workpermits inhospitality andfoodprocessing. The sameperiodalso saw thedecisiontogivelabourmarket accessto workersfromthe eight centraland Eastern European states (the 'A8') which joined the EuropeanUnionon 1 May2004. Thisperiodofrelaxation was associatedwitha marked riseinlabourmigration. Inparticular, the numberof non-EUwork permits issued each yearincreased from 67,100in 2000to a peak of 96,600 in 2006, while more than 200,000A8 workers registered eachyearfrom 2004onwards. Fromearly2005,facedwitha political reaction, particularly because of perceivedpressureson publicservices, theGovernment beganto revisit itsapproach. In February 2005- intherun-up to theMay2005election- itannouncedtheintroductionof a new framework foreconomicand student migration, knownas the 'points-based system' (PBS). In 2006,itdecidedthatBulgarian and Romanian nationals (the'A2')wouldnotbe givenaccess to the labourmarket when those statesjoinedtheEU on 1January 2007.Instead, theywould be channelledinto lower-skilled schemes in agriculture and food processing, whichwouldbe reserved forthem. The points-based system Since it was announcedin 2005,the PBS has beenrolledoutinstages.Itscorepurposeis the strengthening of state controlover economic migration fromoutside the European Union. Employers mustbe licensedbeforetheymay sponsorsomeone under the new Tier 2 for skilledworkers, whichis similar to theprevious work permitscheme. With licensingcomes checksovercompliance withimmigration lawby the employer,togetherwith reporting duties whentheemployment relationship comesto an end. For migrants, meanwhile, thePBS has led to stricter obligations toprovetheyhavethemeans to maintain themselves after arrival. The highly skilled (thenewTier1) andskilled workers (Tier 2) havebecomesubjecttonewEnglish language requirements, even for positions(such as in sport)wherelinguistic ability is notnecessary to thejob.Meanwhile, legalrights ofappealbyeconomic and studentmigrants have been withdrawn . As initially conceived,thePBS did notnecessarily imply a restriction on access to thelabour market. Butthefactthatitsintroduction coincided withthe onset of recessionled to a more restrictive approachbeingadopted.Amongthe mainchangesto datehavebeen thefollowing: ■ In 2007,manychefsand careworkers were re-classified as notsufficiently skilledworkers ,preventing themfrom beinggranted workpermits, or(later)beingadmitted under Tier2; ■ In late2008,theGovernment followed the adviceofthenewMigration Advisory Committee (MAC),and narrowed thelistof 'shortage occupations' forwhichadvertisementis nota pre-condition toadmission underTier2. Forexample,insecondary schools,onlymaths and scienceteachers are classified as in 'shortage'; ■ Since1 April 2009,thehighly skilledTier1 has been reserved tothosewithmasters' degreesorhigher, wherepreviously, a bachelors 'degreeorequivalent was sufficient. Prior earnings below£20,000 perannumarealso be disregarded, wherepreviously£15000was theminimum whichwouldcount. Further changesare likelyto the highly skilled andskilled tiers ofthePBS.On 29April 2009,the MACrecommended a further narrowing of the shortage occupation list, including by the removalof quantity surveyors and construction managers, and a reduction intherangeofsocial workers, careassistants andchefs whoqualify. In addition, theGovernment has askedtheMACto reportlaterin 2009 on whetherthe approach under Tier1shouldbe revisited inthelight ofthe recession, andwhether Tier2 shouldbe reserved to shortageoccupationsonly. These developmentsare likelyto lead to further restrictions upon economic migrationto the United Kingdom. The current recession has radicallychanged the political landscape concerning migration and the labourmarket BERNARD RYAN isReader in law atthe University of Kent Page 11 Volume 16Issue 3 2009 INTERNATIONAL union rights FOCUS a PRECARIOUS,INFORMAL ANDMIGRANT WORKERS Inmanysectors, unionshave organised migrant workers, recognisingthe practical importanceof doingso Widerreforms The emergenceof the PBS has providedthe opportunity for the Government to introduce somewiderreforms concerning economicmigration .One ofthesewas the'civilpenalty' for those who employworkers in breachof immigration law.Undertheold system, employers facedonly a criminal penalty in suchcircumstances, and as a result fewwereeverprosecuted or convicted. Since28 February 2008,employers have instead faced an administrative fine,whichtheymust either payorchallenge. In orderto avoidliabilityforthesefines , there is a newobligation upon employersto recheckthe statusof workers whose permission to workis not unlimited in time.Whilethisnew framework is logically distinct from thePBS,an employer's failure tocomplywiththeir obligations can lead toa reduction orloss ofentitlement to sponsorskilledworkers underTier2. A second group of developments which...