Invisible and Unwelcome

The following feature first appeared in the most recent edition of Landworker – you can read the full issue online here. 

The timing couldn’t be more telling. Just days after Labour suffered in local elections against Reform UK – Nigel Farage’s party that campaigned heavily on an anti-immigration platform – the plan was announced. 

Billed as proposal to “restore control”, the immigration white paper unveiled by prime minister Keir Starmer in May promised to end “the one-nation experiment in open borders”, whose “damage” to the country had been “incalculable”.

The plan seeks to put significant restrictions on legal immigration – for one, to end routes for migrants in most jobs which don’t require skills at degree level. Jobs below this skills threshold will only qualify if they’re on a shortage list – and that too, only on a temporary basis. These ‘low-skilled’ workers won’t be able to bring their families with them either, which makes the UK a much less attractive prospect for these migrant workers. 

Although it is yet to be determined which of these jobs considered ‘lower skilled’ will be on the shortage list, the message from this Labour government is clear: if you come from abroad, and you work in a job that is generally low-paid – no matter how valuable it is to society, such as care, agriculture or food manufacturing – you are not welcome. 

Landworker caught up with two of our Unite members working in food manufacturing – Iulian Firea, convenor at poultry processing firm 2Sisters, and Monique Mosley, a senior rep at Greencore, which produces sauces, sandwiches and ready meals for supermarket chains. 

Iulian, who has lived in the UK for more than a decade, and Monique, for over 20 years, both migrated to this country under freedom of movement rules when the UK was part of the EU. They both worked through the pandemic, employed in jobs which were applauded on Thursday evenings during successive Covid lockdowns. 

They’ve helped countless workers – both migrant and British-born – in their roles as reps. And they’ve contributed in innumerable ways to their adopted country – to their communities, and to the exchequer in tax. But under the government’s new proposals, Iulian and Monique would likely not have qualified to live and settle here permanently.  

Iulian doesn’t take it personally. In fact, he believes every country should aim to be, what he calls “self-sufficient and self-sustaining with its domestic workforce”.  

“But this is not a realistic aim for the UK in this particular moment, so to restrict immigration in the way Labour plans, just isn’t practical,” Iulian told Landworker.

He points to the harsh demographic realities facing the UK right now. 

“We are a rapidly ageing population,” he explained. “The average age in the UK right now is over 40 and is set to increase every 10 years. One in four people are over 60. If you consider one in every four is not in work, and one in four is nearing retirement age, we’re approaching the point of a labour force that is exhausted. To remove the tax income and productivity gains from a large and reliable segment of the labour force – migrant workers – is not a good idea.”

Iulian went on to highlight the hypocrisy of a government that on the one hand, says it wants to train British workers to fill roles previously reliant on migrant labour, but on the other hand just agreed a trade deal with India that critics believe may in some cases incentivise hiring Indian workers.

Iulian argued that a sensible immigration policy should focus above all on incentives to improve productivity throughout the economy and ensure that work pays.

“If we want to have a vibrant and fair economy, we have to make sure that all jobs have decent wages and good conditions so that work really pays,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we incentivise the outcomes we want.” 

Iulian went on to criticise the government’s plan to yet again move the goal posts on immigrants already here. Under Labour’s proposals, immigrants must live in the UK – and pay the associated visa and other fees like the NHS surcharge fee – for 10 years, instead of the current five. It is understood that the rules will be retrospectively changed for people already on a five-year pathway to settlement.  

“That these rules will apply to people who are already here is unfair – they have already proved themselves. 

In fact, these workers are among those holding this economy together and yet we are not giving them the certainty and the stability they deserve. Why are we alienating people who have contributed so much to this country?”

For Monique, what concerned her most was the language Keir Starmer used in his speech unveiling Labour’s immigration plans. In his speech, Starmer said that without tougher immigration rules, the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers”. Critics said this rhetoric mirrored Enoch Powell’s infamous 1968 ‘rivers of blood’ speech, which was denounced even at the time as racist, xenophobic and inflammatory. 

“I’m very worried about the rise of the far right and how politicians pander to them,” Monique explained. “I’ve never claimed any benefits, I’ve always worked, I’ve always paid my taxes and now I’m seen as the font of all evil.”

Monique sees many parallels between now and the Second World War. 

“My family is Jewish and had to flee before the Second World War broke out. Just like then, when Jewish people were demonised and dehumanised, the same thing is happening now to migrants. It’s shameful that just days after Liberation Day, Keir Starmer is giving speeches like that. The language he used is unacceptable. My fear is I’ll have to leave the UK, because it could become unliveable in if you’re not English.”

Like Iulian, Monique believes that Labour’s immigration plans are above all impractical. She believes the push to make companies recruit British-born workers in many sectors like hers is unworkable. 

Monique reports that two years ago, Greencore held a big recruitment drive, but the company struggled to recruit local people.

Monique went on to note the government’s immigration policy should focus on supporting
immigrants more. 

At present, the near total lack of support and training migrant workers receive from the government or other authorities means many don’t speak English and don’t have access to learning it. This leaves them with no choice but to stay within their communities.

“If you don’t know the language, you won’t know, for example, what your rights are,” Monique explained. “You’re more vulnerable to being exploited.”

Education should be at the centre of immigration policy, not just of migrants, but of British-born people too, Monique adds. 

“People need to be taught from as early as school about the realities and the benefits of migration,” she said. 

“Maybe if it were embedded in the curriculum, people would be more welcoming of migrants.”

Meanwhile, Iulian adds that unions could play a vital role in supporting the government, if only government truly embraced unions as partners. Unions could, for example, access workplaces to ensure migrant workers aren’t being exploited, Iulian explained. 

For Monique, she urges people to understand the vital roles that migrant workers play in the UK.

“Most people just don’t realise that migrant workers are the backbone of our everyday lives – they may be in low-paid roles, but these jobs are vital. From nurses in the NHS to care workers to toilet cleaners in airports, to dishwashers in restaurants, to workers on the line at a meat processing plant. They’re so important, but they’re invisible. That’s got to change.”

By Hajera Blagg