Euromedia

UK opens door to migrants

The home secretary of UK, David Blunkett said that UK needs new workers to boost the economy despite strong opposition.
This is another aspect of exploring the "identies" -- the more senior members of EU seem not very enthusiastic to welcome the immigrants from the new EU members states. Is it economic or culturally or both? It's worth some thoughts.

From The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Refugees_in_Britain/Story/0,2763,1143968,00.html

The home secretary, David Blunkett, has strongly rejected calls for Britain to ban job-seekers from states that will be joining the EU in May, arguing that Britain needs new workers to boost the economy.
In a challenge to groups such as Migration Watch, which argue vehemently against any kind of migration to the UK, Mr Blunkett told the Guardian that the government will welcome those who come legally to work in Britain.

Preparations are under way, he revealed, to encourage new migrants to go to Scotland, as well London and the south-east of England.

He has joined Jack McConnell, Scotland's first minister, in arguing that Scotland requires an influx of new workers for demographic and economic reasons.

The home secretary endorsed Tony Blair's call last week for a clampdown on fraudulent welfare benefit claims. But he stressed that this did not amount to an attempt to stop willing workers from the eastern European countries joining the EU coming here.

"We need to ensure that we can meet those big areas for unskilled employment, like low level hospitality and catering. This will be partly met by a sensible approach to the accession countries from May onwards," Mr Blunkett said. "We have said that employment is welcome because it is better to have it legally than clandestinely."

Mr Blunkett also told the Guardian he believes that the government has got to get to grips with the asylum issue. He believes the public is now willing to listen to the case for legal, managed economic migration, which he argues is needed to meet the requirements of the economy, particularly London and the south-east of England.

"We are now moving to a position where that is recognised and that is possible," he said.

The death last Thursday of 19 cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, at least five of whom were in the country illegally, has highlighted the terrible conditions in which many illegal migrants live and work.

Mr Blunkett said: "One of the sadnesses is that because they are illegal migrants they may have changed their names and tried to change identity in this process."

He said the tragedy reflected the importance of the steps that "have to be taken to protect these people from the risks they are forced to take to work in this country".

It is expected that one of the main tasks facing the new organised crime agency which he and Mr Blair are due to launch today will be to target the people traffickers and gangmasters who profit out of the trade in illegal migrants, who pay them thousands of dollars to get into Britain.

Mr Blunkett's emphasis on the potential benefits to the UK of legal migration from the 10 countries that will join the EU on May 1 stands in stark contrast to the policy being pursued by the other members of the union. So far only Britain and Ireland have decided not to impose any restrictions on new EU citizens arriving to seek work.

Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands say the migrants can come, but that they have first to apply for a work and/or a residence permit.

Mr Blunkett warned EU countries such as Germany, which plan to impose "transitional restrictions" for up to seven years on new workers from eastern Europe, that the move could backfire. "The countries that have said they will delay the right to work are those that are most likely to face clandestine working and entry. They have got very little way of stopping that, because people can still cross their borders and they can claim to be visitors."

He said the government had a clear position - legal working by the new EU citizens was one thing, but illegal or unjustified attempts to claim benefits was another.

"Those countries that are blocking illegal working will be just as subject as we are to fraudulent claims on benefit and we are determined to ensure that we avoid that. We will make sure that they can't."

Mr Blair sparked speculation last week that Britain was considering restricting the right to work for migrants from the new EU accession states after May, when he gave a loosely-worded reply to Michael Howard, saying the government was looking at "closing off concessions" to prevent the movement of new EU citizens to Britain.

But Downing Street later clarified the position, saying he was talking about closing down their ability to claim benefits, not restricting the right to work.

Ten countries, including Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia will join the EU on May 1.

Posted by Rujun Shen at February 8, 2004 07:27 PM