EOC(3) MW 23

Equality of Opportunity Committee

Inquiry into Migrant Workers  

Response from Valley race equality

Overview

The migrant workers support project began in early 2006. The project operates in four boroughs of South Wales, namely Caerphilly, Bridgend, RCT and Merthyr Tydfil. The population of this area is predominately homogenous, working class , White Welsh with BME people making up approximately 2% of the total. However, over the last five years the area has seen a large influx of Migrants from Eastern Europe, Portugal and the Philippines.

We estimate that numbers exceed 1000 in terms of the Portuguese population alone in Merthyr Tydfil Borough with numbers of Polish Migrants increasing on a weekly basis.  In RCT it is estimated that out of an approximate 1200 migrant workers, the most dominant nationality is Polish, followed by Lithuanians, Slovakians and Estonians. In the other two Boroughs Polish migrants are also the dominant nationality with many hundred settled in the Bridgend and Caerphilly area.  The Filipino community has also increased in all boroughs in recent years as a result of overseas recruiting by the NHS. They number over 400 in the Bridgend area alone.

Each nationality is typified by its different demographic make up. The Portuguese migrant workers, for example, are traditionally working class, primary educated and generally older than their Polish counterparts who are usually young, single and educated often up to University level. Contrary to the widely held perception that migrant worker groups are transitory , from our anecdotal experience both groups are motivated to remain in the Valleys area and this is exemplified by the large numbers of Polish and Portuguese children being enrolled in local schools . This is also true of the Filipino Community who are more financially secure and upwardly mobile and this can be demonstrated by the large number investing in property.

This influx has impacted both positively and negatively on the communities where these migrants have settled. The positive impacts are the introduction of new skills, hard to fill vacancies in the labour market have been filled and the Valleys have experienced increased diversity. However, the negative impacts have been experienced as increased community tension and as the influx has been rapid, services have found themselves unable to cope with the increase in demand for housing, education and health services.

Migrant workers are mostly found in the food processing and transport industries and they are often recruited directly from their countries of origin by employment agencies based in the UK and abroad. Hotels and restaurants are also employers of migrant workers especially in Porthcawl which is a traditional seaside resort.

The main objectives of our project are to promote community integration, tackle discrimination, exploitation and xenophobia and to assist migrant workers to access basic services.

Issues

During the course of our work we have observed that Migrant workers face a number of challenges including isolation, poor housing, overt racism, discrimination and an inability to access information and services.

Employment

Many difficulties faced emanate from the manner in which migrant workers are recruited. Employment agencies who recruit directly from the countries of origin have been accused of behaving in an unscrupulous manner in their recruitment methods. For example, promising permanent contracts yet making employees sign zero hour contracts written in English, a language which most of the workers do not speak. Contracts are usually paid at the minimum wage or sometimes below and often come with tied accommodation which is charged at well above the market rate and is repossessed should the worker cease to be employed by the agency. The workers also experience transport cost wage deductions. As a result of these actions individuals are faced with a myriad of problems during their first few months stay in the U.K. Some of the problems we have encountered are underpayment, homelessness, poverty, underemployment, lack of holiday pay and lack of compensation for workplace injuries.

Language Barrier

The majority of the migrant workers originate from non English speaking countries and therefore find it difficult find in difficult to realise their rights in terms of employment and to access basic services. There is anecdotal evidence that non English speakers are even targeted by employers for recruitment as they are more easily exploited. The ESOL provision is woefully inadequate in many of the project areas of benefit and fails to meet the specific needs of migrant workers as a group. Specifically, classes are often held during working hours and the courses are structured in such a way that migrant workers are unable to achieve any formal qualifications or gain access to courses as many colleges only recruit once a year.

Isolation

The recently arrived migrant workers suffer from isolation resulting from a lack of social networks and support structures. They find it difficult to access recreational facilities due to language barrier and are poorly integrated into the communities in which they settle. This issue also affects the children of migrant workers because of their parent’s lack of integration their children tend not to socialise with others outside of school hours.

Racism and discrimination

In the traditionally homogenous communities of the South Wales Valleys, significant numbers of migrant workers have been subject to racial attacks and discrimination. Most of these go unreported as the victims are unaware of their rights and the support mechanisms available. There are also negative perceptions of the police among migrant workers due to negative experiences in their countries of origin which result is low reporting levels of race hate crime.

Access to services

Most migrant workers, including those who can speak English, have faced difficulty accessing basic services such as housing, health care and banking.

The main issues when accessing housing are poor supply, overcrowding and apathy on the part of councils dealing with HMO’s . Migrant workers from the EU also have difficulty accessing low cost housing which is necessary as most migrant workers are employed on the minimum wage.

The main issue accessing health care is a lack of awareness of how the NHS functions and a lack of knowledge of how to access G.P services. Also there is little awareness among healthcare providers of how to make their services accessible to migrant workers in terms of language support and cultural needs.

As far as banking services are concerned it is very difficult for a non English speaker to obtain a bank account as they often cannot meet the list of required documentation and very few banks provide translation services. Often, the migrant workers only option is to ask their employer for support or to be paid cash in hand.

Accessing education for migrant worker children is also problematic because of the lack of funding for language support in some schools and the lack of experience of teachers in handling large numbers of pupils for whom English is a second language.

Interventions

In order to address some of these issues our project has responded by implementing the following interventions.

Migrant Workers Forum

In order to ascertain the issues on the ground in individual boroughs and to facilitate the exchange of information  on migrant worker issues among the various stakeholders  the first action we undertook was the establishment of migrant worker forums in Rhondda Cynon Taff and Merthyr Tydfil where the concentration of migrant workers were the largest. These forums are platforms which bring together statutory agencies, local authorities, local employers of migrant workers, trade unions and charities. These forums were the first of their kind in the U.K and were held up as an example of best practice by South Wales Police.

Out of these forums strategies and initiatives were developed to address the issues on the ground and these initiatives were implemented by ourselves as project workers In partnership with other interested agencies.

Welcome Packs

One of the key recommendations of the migrant worker forums was the development of welcome packs containing local information on accessing services such as health, education, housing, employment rights and recreation and were translated into key languages spoken by migrant workers. These packs were successfully developed and disseminated among migrant worker communities. We have successfully distributed approximately 5000 of these packs.

Esol Initiative

The need for English language classes that catered specifically for migrant workers was highlighted in the forums as the most pressing issue that needed to be addressed. Therefore, in partnership with other service providers such as local college, the project has established ESOL classes which run two nights a week in Merthyr Tydfil Borough. One night specifically caters to Polish Speaking migrant workers and is run by a Polish Speaking tutor and the other class caters for the Portuguese community and is similarly run by a Portuguese speaking tutor. In addition to this intervention we have signposted migrant workers to already established ESOL providers in colleges and workplaces.

International Club

The project has also established a fully constituted International Club in Merthyr Tydfil which is run solely by migrant workers. Its main objective is to provide support and opportunities to socialise for migrant workers who are otherwise isolated and excluded. The Club has already held two social events in Merthyr Tydfil which were attended by over 100 migrant workers from a number of different countries.

Social Events

As part of our project we have held several multicultural social events aimed specifically at migrant workers to promote community integration and reduce isolation. These events have proved very popular judging by the large numbers of people attending. At this event we distribute information leaflets and Welcome packs in order to help migrant workers access services. We have organised two trips to local places of historical interest in order to familiarise migrant workers with Welsh culture.

Training

In order to tackle discrimination in the work place we have devised a specialised training programme for employers of migrant worker aimed at raising awareness of migrant worker issues, employment rights / obligations and promoting equality and diversity in the workplace . We have undertaken this training at one of the largest employers of migrant workers in our area of project benefit. We have also carried out numerous equality and diversity training sessions at colleges and schools.

Advocacy

One of the projects main aims is to advocate on behalf of migrant workers and this is achieved in a number of ways.

As part of our project we carry out casework to support individuals with a variety of issues including racism and discrimination. Since the project started we have developed a comprehensive casework system which is well publicised among the communities in which we work.

We have also organised a highly successful dissemination conference on migrant worker issues which was aimed at raising awareness among key stakeholders in Blaenau Gwent Borough. This event was attended by over sixty representatives of statutory and voluntary agencies.

Additionally, Valrec has a high profile on many advocacy platforms such as the Multi Agency Forums Against Racial Discrimination, the National Migrant Rights Network and the All Wales Migrant Workers Forum. As a result of our work we are considered to be the key knowledge bearers of migrant workers information in the South Wales Valleys areas and consequently have developed strong links with organisations undertaking research in this area.

Policy Implications

One of the main problems is developing a picture of migrant workers in Wales is that lack of accurate information especially in terms of numbers. Most figures are anecdotal or estimates based on numbers who register with the Workers Registration scheme and National Insurance. This does not take into account the self employed, children and other dependents of migrant workers. Those who register for National Insurance in a particular borough are also not obliged to remain in that borough so geographic mobility is not tracked.

In terms of policy implications one of the main challenges as that statutory agencies and service providers often have little to no knowledge of migrant worker issues and therefore have difficulty knowing how to and responding to migrant workers issues. In terms of statutory agencies, many services have been overwhelmed by the large number of non English speakers who are accessing their services.

Schools

Many of the Catholic schools in our project area have been inundated with large numbers of non English speaking pupils who are the dependants of migrant workers. As these schools are situated in traditionally homogenous communities teachers have very limited experience of teaching children for whom English is a second language. Also funding for additional teaching support is inadequate to meet demand and schools are struggling to cope. Therefore it is essential that the Welsh Assembly Government increases budget allocations in this area to enable schools to meet the educational needs of these pupils.

Employers

Exploitation of migrant workers by unscrupulous employers is still rife with employment agencies working in tandem with local employers. This is in spite of legislation to regulate the activities of gang-masters. It is therefore essential that legislation is seen to be enforced in order to address these issues.

ESOL

The way in which Esol classes are funded is problematic for migrant workers as attending classes during the daytime and only being able to enrol once a year for a year long course does not meet the needs of a sometimes transient population. The way classes are funded is calculated on the number of completers and this arrangement is not suitable for migrant workers. Therefore, the Department of Education and Life Long Learning urgently needs to review the way in which these course are designed and funded so they better meet the needs of migrant workers.

Statutory Agencies

Agencies such as local authorities and the police service are keen to improve their understanding of migrant worker issues and this has been exemplified in their commitment to contributing to the established migrant worker forums. However, such agencies, without the support of this project would be unable to engage with migrant worker issues and may remain ignorant and unable to respond appropriately. The project has aimed to raise awareness however more much work is needed in this area, particularly with front line staff

Conclusion

Prior to the inception of this project migrant workers issues were not being explored or addressed by any service provider or statutory agency. As a result migrant workers were facing many issues and difficulties and very little was being done to address these problems. In the last eighteen months this project has raised the profile of migrant workers exponentially and many agencies are now committed to responding to these in a holistic manner. However, there is still a long way to go to ensure that all migrant workers receive the support that they require in order to integrate into the communities in which they live. In order for this to happen additional resources are required to enable our project to continue with its positive work.

As things stand Valrec is the only organisation which is working specifically supporting migrant workers in the South Wales Valleys Area. The establishment of Migrant Worker Forums in Merthyr Tydfil and RCT has proved very effective in bringing together statutory agencies to come together to tackle migrant worker issues more seriously and it is imperative  to replicate the strategy to the other remaining boroughs in the project area.