Almost 200 Warwick jobs threatened by new immigration policy
Following a motion from the Home Office which went into effect on 6 April, nearly 200 of Warwick’s non-EU employees could be among the 40,000 nationwide to risk deportation for earning under £35,000, an FOI by the Boar has revealed.
The new policy, spearheaded by Home Secretary Theresa May, requires all non-EU workers living in the UK since 2011 to prove that they earn the annual threshold salary, or face deportation.
The reform has generated considerable criticism, questioning both the economic repercussions and ethical justifications of displacing tens of thousands of working migrants in the current climate.
This is particularly the case, since it has been admitted as only a “modest contribution” to the government target of reducing net annual migration to under 100,000.
Warwick currently employs 2,003 employees for under £35,000 per year, of which 9% classify as non-EU.
The backlash culminated in a petition which, gathering over 112,000 signatures, forced an MP debate in Parliament’s second chamber to reconsider the threshold.
However, the motion passed with temporary stipulations in sectors which are already facing critical shortages, such as nursing and professional healthcare.
While former Cabinet Minister Alistair Carmichael criticised this policy of discrimination on a basis of income, suggesting it would jeopardise the UK’s place as a “forefront global economy,” the government response to the petition defended the threshold, citing the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) recommendation that “the strongest indicator of economic value is salary”.
The response added that the decided salary threshold, which sits nearly £10,000 above the national average, was the median pay in the skilled jobs sector at the time of calculation.
Exemptions to the rule are listed in the Shortage Occupation List, which is intended to prevent the loss of skilled immigrants hampering certain job sectors where essential workers are typically paid well under the threshold. These include some teaching and PhD-level jobs, such as university researchers.
The University only employs people who can clearly demonstrate the right to work in the UK.
Peter Dunn, Director of Press and Policy
Warwick currently employs 2,003 employees for under £35,000 per year, of which 9% classify as non-EU. While well over half work in research and academics, many could remain vulnerable to this new immigration protocol.
When asked how Warwick plans to support these employees, Press and Policy Director Peter Dunn responded: “The University only employs people who can clearly demonstrate the right to work in the UK.”
Further exemptions include international students and charity workers, categories which, according to the government response to the petition, “have never led to settlement in the UK”.
Comments (1)
I think it bears pointing out that the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), who pulled this figure of £35,00 out of thin air, is partially composed of members of Warwick’s Institute for Employment Research (IER). So these folks are effectively having dozens of their co-workers deported. Warwick is a lovely, inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment as usual!