Government overseas care worker ban criticised by unions

The government’s new immigration measures could ‘accelerate an exodus of migrant staff’, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has warned, as a new report shows tens of thousands are already set to quit for countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The policy was also strongly criticised by the GMB and Unison. 

At its annual conference in Liverpool, the RCN said the government is creating a ‘hostile environment on steroids’ which will do ‘great damage to key services’ such as the NHS and social care.

The report, Unreciprocated Care: why internationally educated nursing staff are leaving the UK, is based on a survey of over 3,000 migrant nursing staff, including care workers, nursing support workers and registered nurses. It found just under half (42%) are already planning to leave the country, with two thirds of those intending to move to a country other than their home country. Those who planned to leave were asked what would impact their decision to stay in the UK, with 70% selecting salary and 40% selecting immigration policy.

It comes after the government announced plans to close the care worker visa route at a time of widespread vacancies in social care and introduce more restrictive immigration measures. Migrant nursing staff in social care and the NHS cannot access public funds until they are granted indefinite leave to remain (also known as settlement), a status they can only secure after 5 years in the country. The situation has left some resorting to food banks and charity assistance to make ends meet, with one telling the RCN they were forced to send their baby back to their home country. The government is proposing doubling the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain to 10 years.

Other countries provide nursing staff quicker routes to settlement, with Canada and New Zealand offering permanent settlement on arrival.

From the RCN’s annual conference, General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger will condemn the government’s proposal to close the care worker visa route when there is ‘no credible plan to grow the domestic workforce’, urging ministers to secure the future of social care and the NHS by abolishing the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) rule and granting immediate indefinite leave to remain to nursing staff.

The RCN says its survey findings could mean up to 55,000 migrant nursing staff are considering leaving the country. This figure doesn’t include those in care worker roles, suggesting thousands more could now also be considering their future in the UK, whilst others cancel plans to come over.

In NHS services across the UK there are over 34k unfilled registered nurse posts. Meanwhile, workforce vacancies in England’s care sector alone are as high as 131,000.

The report also details shockingly normalised levels of discrimination faced by migrant nursing staff. Overall, two thirds (64%) of respondents said they had experienced discrimination since moving to the UK.

As well as providing faster and cheaper routes to settlement, countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand offer superior pay [NOTES]. Additionally, in the UK, those from overseas must currently wait five years to apply to stay permanently, paying yearly visa renewal costs and then £3,029 per person to apply for indefinite leave to remain.

International nursing staff in their own words: 

On pay, a nurse from India, said: “My salary has not increased as quickly as my house rent and council tax and, sometimes, I struggle to pay the bills and couldn’t afford even the basic food items by the end of each month, not able to save enough for my family.”

On racism, a nurse from Trinidad and Tobago, said: “Systemic racism and bullying in the workplace were the most jarring thing for me. Staff appear to be seen as replaceable and expected to tolerate physical, racial, and verbal abuse by patients.”

On the cost of living and NRPF, a nurse from Kenya, said: “I had to get food and clothing from charity organisations. At the same time, I could not afford childcare as a single parent and I made the difficult decision to fly my baby back home.”

On leaving the UK, a nurse from the Philippines, said: “I love living in the UK. I love the people. I love my job and my department. I always try to defend it to my other international nurse friends that have moved to the US, Canada or Australia. But somehow, it’s too tiring to defend this country when it’s not reciprocating you the care and support that we as immigrants deserve.”

Responding to the release of the report, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Professor Nicola Ranger, said:

“Our report shows thousands of migrant nursing staff are ready to leave the UK. This situation is bad enough, but now the government’s cruel measures could accelerate this exodus, doing great damage to key services.

Closing the care worker visa route and making migrant nursing staff wait longer to access vital benefits is the hostile environment on steroids. They pay tax and work in our vital services, they deserve the same rights. Sadly, this government is intent on pushing people into poverty, away from the country, and with no credible plan to grow the domestic workforce in sight. Government must do all it can to get the next generation into nursing.

Rather than pandering and scapegoating, ministers should focus on what patients and vulnerable people need – safely staffed services. Without the measures we’re calling for, our amazing colleagues from overseas will continue to leave.”

The government’s plans also came under fire from the GMB, who said that the plan to scrap care visas will be potentially catastrophic for the sector.

Will Dalton, GMB National Officer, said:

“Scrapping this visa will be deeply damaging – potentially catastrophic for our beleaguered care system.

The whole sector is utterly reliant on migrant workers – yet we still have more than 130,000 vacancies across the country.

Care work is difficult, often dangerous yet very badly paid.

GMB is working with the Government on Fair Pay Agreements in care, which are desperately needed to give these highly skilled professionals the wage rise they deserve.

But there is absolutely no chance these will in in place in time to fill the void these new visa restrictions will create.”

Unison also criticised the decision and called for urgent clarity on what the changes meant for those already working in the UK.

Christina McAnea, Unison’s general secretary, said:

“The NHS and the care sector would have collapsed long ago without the thousands of workers who’ve come to the UK from overseas.

Migrant health and care staff already here will now be understandably anxious about what’s to happen to them. The government must reassure these overseas workers they’ll be allowed to stay and continue with their indispensable work.

She urged ministers to stop describing care jobs as “low skilled” and said the government must “get on with making its fair pay agreement a reality.”

The Labour government has defended the decision, describing it as part of a reset of the immigration system designed to reduce dependency on foreign labour and invest in British workers.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking during a BBC interview, insisted that there are still untapped pools of labour within the UK.

“Employers should be looking to hire from those already in the UK, including people on existing visas who are yet to be deployed,” she said. “There’s also room to extend some visas, but we believe it’s time to draw the curtain on recruiting new care workers from abroad.”