Migrant Workers and People Seeking Asylum - Facts and Myths

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1 Migrant Workers and People Seeking Asylum - s and Myths Information for young people in Somerset

2 Understanding the difference between Migrant Workers, Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Illegal Immigrants Migrant Workers are people who have moved from one place to another to look for work, often with their families. Most workers coming to Britain are from within the European Union (EU). They may also come from other countries but only if they hold an appropriate visa. Many British people are also migrant workers, moving to other countries on a short or long term basis to work there. Perhaps you know people who have moved to other countries to do this. An Asylum Seeker is a person who has fled their own country and applied to the government of another country for protection or refuge. They are known as asylum seekers while they are waiting to find out whether they will be granted refugee status. They have asked for protection and the right not to be returned to their own country where they would face danger. This could be because of war or because they face political persecution. The majority of asylum seekers are not allowed to work, with only a minority having special permission to do so. They do not get any special benefits. A Refugee is a former asylum seeker who has been recognised by the government as meeting the definition of a refugee, as set out in the United Nations Convention on Refugees in Refugees are allowed to work but must have a National Insurance (NI) number and pay taxes and National Insurance just like anyone else. Refugees also have the right to register as a NHS patient at a GP surgery. The refugee definition is very strict and asylum seekers have to prove they meet it before they are granted refugee status. They must prove they have a well founded fear of being persecuted if they were to return to their country. Illegal Immigrants are people from outside the EU who do not have a current visa and have no legal right to be in the UK. They are not allowed to be employed as they will not be registered with a NI number. Illegal immigrants are not entitled to housing or any benefits. They cannot register as a NHS patient and will only be treated in an emergency by a hospital or GP. Myth: Migration to Britain is something new For thousands of years people have moved from other countries to Britain. This includes the Celts, Romans, Saxons, Angles, Vikings and Normans. 1

3 In recent centuries, there have been large scale migrations from many countries, for example: France Huguenots fleeing persecution Ireland fleeing famine Germany fleeing the second world war Hungary fleeing the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1956 Uganda Asians fleeting persecution Indian, Pakistan and the Caribbean seeking employment, often responding to recruitment drives by British employers We are all the descendents of people migrating to Britain at some time in the past! Migration of people to Britain often reflects our history and alliances. In the Second World War for example, Polish people fought alongside British soldiers and Polish pilots became famous for their skill and bravery in the Battle of Britain. After the war, many Polish people were unable to return home because of the communist regime in their country and settled here. There have been Polish clubs, schools and churches in many parts of Britain since then. The English language reflects these great movements of peoples and the way that English people have learned from other cultures for example: Alcohol (from Arabic) Husband (from Scandinavia) Anorak (from Inuit) Jungle (from Hindi) Barbeque (from the Caribbean) Ketchup (from Chinese) Brick (from Flemish in Belgium) Pal (from Romany) Bungalow (from Bengali) Robot (from Czech) Chocolate (from Mexico) Tattoo (from Tahitian) Fog (from Danish) Many traditions that we think of as typically British have in fact been brought here by people from other countries. This includes fish and chips (thank you to the Huguenots!) 2

4 Myth: We are being swamped with migrant workers Most so-called large-scale immigration has occurred since In a typical year like 2006: 591,000 people arrived to live in the UK for a year or more 157,000 of those who arrived came to study at the same time, 400,000 people left the UK for a year or more This means that net long-term immigration to the country in 2006 was around 43,000 people. In terms of an overall increase in the population this is a drop in the ocean! There are fewer migrants in the UK than in Germany, France, Canada or the US. Myth: Our public services can't cope with the influx of migrant workers Without migrant workers our public services would be in real trouble. Migrant workers make up: 19% of social workers (22,000) 16% of care workers (105,000) 11% of housing/welfare workers (19,000) 10% of nursing assistants (23,000) 8% of education assistants (29,000) (source: UNISON Communications) 3

5 Myth: Schools are badly affected by the children of migrant workers and asylum seekers Somerset County Council, like other local councils, has a duty to ensure that every child has equal access to educational and learning opportunities. Schools get extra resources and support from the County Council to help them meet children s needs, for example to help children learn English. There is also training and support for school staff. Many children and young people have particular needs, which schools will meet, for example through extra support, at some time in their school life. This includes far more children than just those learning English as an additional language. Schools in Somerset do a very good job supporting children who move here from abroad, helping them understand the curriculum and fully contribute to the school and community. Most children from abroad adapt to their new school life and learn English quite quickly. Many are very well educated in their home country and learn so fast that they do very well in tests and examinations. Many schools also see children from abroad as a benefit. All children and young people gain from having other pupils in their school from different backgrounds as they learn about other cultures and share their own culture with children who have newly arrived. Our world is getting smaller and in our adult lives we will socialise and work with people from many different places so getting to know more about other cultures when we are young can help us get on with our social and working lives. Many schools have falling numbers of pupils and are at risk of losing staff admitting children from migrant worker families often helps them keep staff and avoid difficult decisions about how to reorganise classes. Children and young people from one country will often enjoy spending time with each other and talking in their home language. That is natural English people often do the same when they are abroad! Young people in British schools can sometimes feel uncomfortable about this because they don t understand the conversation, but it is important to remember how we might feel if we were in the same situation. Friendships between people from different language backgrounds are the best way to overcome any feelings of this kind. Having pupils who speak different languages in schools is also an opportunity for all of us to start to learn other languages and some schools even add new languages into their curriculum, which helps create a more inclusive school community. Links between communities can be strengthened by language learning and there may be opportunities for overseas exchanges. International trade is growing and there are many job and business opportunities for people who speak more than one language, so learning languages can be good for all of us! 4

6 Myth: Migrant workers cause unemployment There is no fixed number of jobs in the UK migration has increased the number of jobs, not reduced it. Put simply, immigration increases the size of the economy creating more jobs for everyone. That's not to mention the taxes and National Insurance that are paid into the UK economy providing more resources to better fund our public services. A study by the University of Leicester found that migration does not have a negative impact on the employment of UK-born workers, including groups that might be considered vulnerable, such as young people, the low paid and those in rural areas. Myth: Migrant workers take our social housing, benefits and get priority in NHS services A study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission revealed that new migrants made up less than 2% of those in social housing throughout the UK. Migrant workers do not get priority in housing over local people and do not jump to the top of the waiting list. Reasonable preference is given to people who are statutorily homeless, living in unsatisfactory living conditions or people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds, providing they have a local connection to their chosen area. Generally applicants should be 18 years of age or over. There is no automatic entitlement to benefits for migrant workers. They have to apply for benefits in the same way as everyone else. There are extra tests that a migrant worker will have to pass to qualify for benefit. If they do qualify, they will receive the same level of entitlement as a local person. Council Tax is based on the value of the house and therefore a house where migrant workers live is charged exactly the same as a house where local people live. Migrants do not get priority in health treatment over local people and do not jump to the top of waiting lists. Care is provided to all equally and is based on need. 5

7 Myth: Migrant workers undercut our wages Migrant workers do not generally take jobs at a lower wage than someone else doing the same job. They do however tend to work in the lower paid jobs and some employers may lower wages if they think that they will still be able to find people to work for them, especially for casual work. Nevertheless, employers are still required to offer the legal minimum wage. Migrant workers are sometimes exploited by a minority of unscrupulous employers who take advantage of their limited language and/or knowledge of employment rights. This can undercut the wages of domestic workers but the solution is to improve the enforcement of employment rights to protect all workers. Myth: Migrant workers come to the UK as it's a soft touch for benefit scroungers Migrants contribute more to the UK tax and benefits system than they claim from it, and make a proportionately greater contribution to it than UK citizens. The Home Office has estimated that in 1999/2000, migrants made a net contribution of 2.5 billion. Most migrant workers do not have any entitlement to non-contributory benefits until they have completed one year of uninterrupted employment in the UK, during which time they will be paying for taxes for services they can t yet access. This can mean that some migrants end up destitute in the UK without any right to public funds and services. Accommodation for people seeking asylum is often in the poorest areas of towns and cities. They are not allowed to work and adult asylum seekers are only entitled to a weekly cash payment, for food and other needs, equivalent to 70% of normal Income Support (in 2008 this was about 42 per week). Asylum seekers have often fled their home countries in very traumatic circumstances, fleeing war or other violence, often breaking families apart. Asylum seeking young people are often unaccompanied having fled here with no parents or other adults to care for them, often experiencing long journeys under very difficult conditions. 6

8 Myth: Migrant workers mean increased crime It is more likely for migrant workers to become a victim of crime rather than to commit a crime. There is however a small percentage of migrants who do commit crimes, the majority of which tend to be against other migrants. If caught committing a crime, migrant workers are dealt with and punished as any UK citizen would be. Myth: The number of asylum seekers coming to the UK is going up and up Over the last few years the number of people claiming asylum in the UK has reduced dramatically and is now less than a fifth of what it was in Britain takes in only about 3% of the world s refugees and far fewer than many other European countries, in comparison to our population size (we rank only 8th). Budgets for asylum seekers in Europe have decreased since 2000 and less money is spent in the UK than several other countries including Belgium, Italy, France and Germany. Many more people go to countries around the world which are much poorer and so have much more limited resources available to help refugees. Acknowledgements Information in this document comes from several sources, principally publications by: UNISON Communications Boston Borough Council South West Trades Union Congress Who makes up the South West? (2009) Advice was also given by staff at Equality South West and Somerset Racial Equality Council. For additional copies, please contact: The Equalities and Diversity Team, Children and Young Peopl s Directorate, Somerset County Council Working together for equalities If you have difficulty reading this publication we can supply it in large print, on audio cassette, arrange translation or provide a member of staff to discuss details. 7