Unite attacks ‘loophole’ in government’s migration cap policy
23 November 2010
Unite, the UK’s largest union, has today (Tuesday 23 November)
accused the government in its migration cap policy announcement of
squandering a golden opportunity to root out abuse and misuse by
companies of the intra-company transfer route for skilled
workers.
Unite believes that by excluding intra company transfers from
the migration numbers contrary to advice of the Migration Advisory
Committee, and by failing to restrict use of tax and accommodation
allowances, the government has turned a blind eye to misuse and
abuse of the points based nigration system which has a detrimental
effect on UK workers.
Unite believes that this is already hitting its members in the
IT sector – and the situation is set to get worse.
Presently employers can count accommodation allowances of up to
30 per cent of the salary total or 40 per cent if the certificate
of sponsorship is less than 12 months. In addition, pay and
allowances are not taxed if the migrant worker is temporarily
transferred for under two years.
This is a subsidy which potentially acts as an incentive to
undercut domestic labour and domestic pay rates, as noted by the
Migration Advisory Committee in its report last week.
For example, a resident worker on a £35,000 package could result
in £10,000 more tax payments than a similar migrant worker on an
intra-company transfer visa.
The introduction of a salary threshold at £40,000 for
intra-company transfers of more than a year will lead to employers
manipulating the system by transferring workers from outside the UK
for less than a year.
Peter Skyte, Unite national officer, said: ”The government has
spectacularly squandered the opportunity to deal with misuse and
abuse of the intra company transfer scheme in its migration cap
announcement in the face of largely empty threats by big business
to withdraw investment from the UK.
”The measures announced will do little to prevent employers from
abusing the system, and manipulating tax and accommodation
allowances to undercut UK resident workers.
”The government has also failed to take any action to stimulate
job opportunities to reduce the high unemployment rate for skilled
computer science graduates and young people in general by providing
employers with greater incentives to source labour from the
domestic market as envisaged in its original consultation on the
migration cap.”
ENDS
Notes to news editors:
For further information: Please contact Peter Skyte on 07768 931
302
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