Care visas down, but sector still heavily reliant on overseas staff, says UNISON

Commenting on the latest Home Office asylum and visa figures published on Thursday, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Without the support of workers from overseas, the social care sector would have collapsed long ago. Pay rates remain low so care employers are struggling to fill many thousands of vacancies. That’s why it’s so worrying to […]

Migrant care staff having to share beds, sleep rough and charged thousands in illegal fees, says UNISON

Care staff who come to the UK from overseas are having to share beds with other workers, sleep rough, and pay huge fees to work because of exploitation by rogue employers, according to a report released by UNISON today (Tuesday).  Some migrant care workers have paid more than £20,000 to intermediaries in return for a job before they […]

At-home care services for vulnerable Kirklees residents must be brought back in-house, says UNISON

Homecare services for people in Kirklees must be brought back in-house and delivered by the council, says UNISON today (Tuesday). The union is calling on Kirklees Council to deliver the services itself, rather than outsourcing to private care providers, as part of efforts to crack down on the exploitation of migrant care workers. Currently, anyone […]

New migrant care worker charter will help stop exploitation in Yorkshire and Humberside, says UNISON

Councils are being urged to sign a new charter to tackle the exploitation of migrant workers across Yorkshire and Humberside, says UNISON today (Monday). The migrant worker charter launched by the union aims to prevent social care staff from becoming victims of modern slavery when they travel from overseas to work in the region. It highlights […]

Political figures across Yorkshire and Humberside must do more to tackle exploitation of migrant workers in the region, says UNISON

Politicians across Yorkshire must step up and take serious action to crack down on the exploitation of migrant care workers, says UNISON today (Tuesday). Increasing numbers of migrant workers in the care sector have been joining UNISON over the past year and reporting incidents of exploitation they have experienced. These include being forced to pay […]

Migrant family ban makes no sense without proper reform of social care, says UNISON

“Care companies couldn’t function without migrant care workers.” Commenting on the announcement today (Tuesday) from care minister Helen Whately that migrant care staff coming to the UK will be banned from bringing family with them after mid-March, UNISON head of social care Gavin Edwards said: “Care companies couldn’t function without migrant care workers. Firms have to recruit from overseas […]

Raising awareness of the Migrant Worker Network

UNISON is calling on its migrant worker members in the Yorkshire and Humberside region to sign up to the union’s Migrant Worker Network. The network is an informal group of UNISON members with a first generation immigrant background including overseas and migrant workers, EU settled status workers and workers who have subsequently naturalised as British […]