https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/workers-are-being-employed-as-indentured-labour

Damning report finds migrant workers propping up Britain’s crumbling care system are trapped in awful working conditions

CAMPAIGNERS demanded reform today after a damning report laid bare shocking conditions facing migrant workers propping up Britain’s crumbling care system.

Unison surveyed more than 3,000 people who came to Britain on health and care worker visas to tackle shortages in the sector.

It found that nearly a quarter had paid fees to an employer or an intermediary upfront in return for a job — with dozens handing over more than £20,000.

Many workers, who are from countries including Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Zambia as well as India and the Philippines, were given no shifts when they arrived, or not the number promised.

Around 18 per cent said employers had deducted money from their salaries since arriving, with firms claiming the fees were for expenses such as training and administration.

Pay issues impacted three in 10 migrant care staff, with problems including unpaid travel time between care visits and no sick pay.

More than a quarter were paid below the legal minimum wage of £11.44 an hour.

In one shocking testimony, a worker reported having to sleep on the streets because their employer did not pay them for shadowing other colleagues.

And 9 per cent described the accommodation they were provided with as poor or very poor.

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Public Services International care organiser Huma Haq said the findings reflect a broader global crisis in care: “The exploitation of migrant care workers in the UK is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a broken system globally where governments have increasingly privatised and underfunded essential care services.

“Governments must step up and take responsibility for providing quality public care services.”

Original article is at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/workers-are-being-employed-as-indentured-labour