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200 migrant workers arriving in Merseyside each week
MERSEYSIDE has witnessed an unprecedented explosion in the number of foreign nationals moving to the region to work.
An extra 200 people from foreign countries are arriving each week in Merseyside to begin work.
Figures revealed today by the Liverpool Daily Post show that, after several years of steady growth in the number of migrants working in the region, the figure shot up 39% last year.
It means that, in March, 2007, 32,000 overseas nationals were working in the Greater Merseyside region, up from 23,000 in March, 2006. In 2003, the figure was just 15,000.
The rate of growth of foreign nationals – measured by national insurance registration – in Greater Merseyside eclipses most other areas of the country, including more traditional areas of migration such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
Experts believe a combination of Liverpool’s growing global profile, coupled with a sudden rise in jobs in sectors such as construction, has helped to make Merseyside attractive to overseas workers.
The figures do not include overseas students, or illegal workers.
Now employers and the Government are being urged to make sure that new arrivals are well protected.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said it was important immigrant workers were protected from rogue employers.
He said: “Workers, such as Polish workers, are making a substantial contribution to Britain's economy, and sectors like agriculture and construction would struggle without their valuable contribution.
“However, some rogue employers are taking advantage of this new, vulnerable workforce, and exploiting their lack of understanding of British working culture and problems with language.”
The growth ties in with admission of Eastern Bloc countries to the European Union, making it easier for workers from countries such as Poland to work in the UK.
The Sefton Business Partnership described the arrival of workers from overseas as vital to meeting its regeneration objectives.
“The first wave of migrants was over-qualified for the jobs available and eager for any work – the second wave is more discriminating, staying longer, and bringing over or starting families.
“A single European labour market making Southport attractive to migrant workers has helped meet demand and is helping achieve certain overall regeneration objectives.
“But care needs to be taken that this does not undermine the employment objective of helping the most disadvantaged in the labour market into work.”
Amicus, which represents thousands of blue collar workers on Merseyside, said that some employers were taking advantage of foreign labour to pay cheaper wages.
A spokesman said: “They are taking people on as self-employed, which means they have no period of notice and workers are being laid off at the drop of a hat.
“We are not opposed to migrant workers, many of us have worked abroad. Even though there is so much work in the city, there are many Liverpool construction workers who are unemployed or who have to work in places as far away as Norway.”
Liverpool University, which has been commissioned to carry out research into the impact migrants are having, has called for employers to make sure the skills of arriving migrants are put to good effect.
A report they compiled said 80% of arriving migrants were under-used in the workplace.
Dr Simon Pemberton, Director of the Merseyside Social Inclusion Observatory, said: “There is a clear need for regional labour market policies to be linked to an immigration system which explicitly sets out skills requirements relevant to job market shortages.
“In the North West, there is currently a productivity gap of around £13bn – £10bn of which relates to lower productivity per worker. There is clearly a need for more skilled professionals to both support and retain higher skilled jobs in the region, especially within ‘knowledge-based’ industries. A significant majority are over-qualified for their current occupations and keen to be employed in a role more suited to their abilities.”
Around 40% of new arrivals to Merseyside are Polish and the Daily Post revealed in January how concerns were growing that the region is relying too heavily on immigrants from these countries to support a falling population.
Southport is another area to have seen a sharp rise in migrant workers and the Sefton Business Partnership said that the arrival of migrant workers was key to it achieving regeneration objectives.
A spokesman for the Northwest Development Agency, which has commissioned research into the impact of migrants, said: “London, for example, attracts people from a large number of countries, while the North West attracts people from a much narrower base of countries.
“When migration from Poland starts to decline, London will be nowhere nearly as badly affected by this as the other regions.”
Source: David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post
10/03/2008
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